Latest news with #StFX
CBC
12-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Antigonish craft brewery testing health warning labels on beer cans
Most people are familiar with the warning labels on cigarette packages. But a project in Antigonish, N.S., is piloting how similar labels could work for alcoholic beverages. In hopes of increasing awareness of the health risks associated with alcohol consumption, a researcher at St. Francis Xavier University has teamed up with a local craft brewery to test warning labels on beer cans. Kara Thompson, research chair in substance use policy and prevention at St. FX, is leading the labelling project in collaboration with Candid Brewing Company in Antigonish. "This is the last stage of the project where we're actually implementing them in a real-world setting and seeing how consumers, whether consumers notice them, how they understand them and how they use them when they're purchasing and consuming alcohol," Thompson told Information Morning Nova Scotia host Portia Clark. The labels, rolling out on select Candid products over the next several months, inform consumers of the number of standard drinks per container and alcohol's connection to cancer. They also include information on Canada's new national guidance on alcohol and health, which says three to six drinks a week increases the risk of developing certain cancers, including colorectal and breast cancer, and more than seven drinks a week also increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Bryan Druhan, co-owner of Candid Brewing, said he was intrigued to be part of a project breaking new ground in Nova Scotia. "It's an interesting first step," he told Information Morning Nova Scotia. "It's nice to be out ahead of it. It's certainly happened in other jurisdictions, so having a chance to be in collaboration and have some input was, I think, valuable so we were happy to jump at the opportunity." Druhan said he views the labels as being important to help consumers make informed decisions. "I think, you know, consumers are smart," he said. "They make choices every day, whether it's about alcohol or other products they are buying. So we just looked at it as an opportunity to give our consumers more information." The pilot will monitor the reaction of consumers who were initially recruited and surveyed as part of data collection prior to the launch of the labels, Thompson said. "The labels will launch for the next four months or so and then we'll follow up with those same people to assess things like has their knowledge of the link between alcohol and cancer changed, is their understanding of a standard drink better, have they noticed the label and talked about the label with peers." Thompson said information in Nova Scotia about the health risks of alcohol is sorely lacking. "We haven't done a very good job in this province about communicating anything about alcohol and alcohol-related risks," she said. "Less than 50 per cent of Atlantic Canadians are even aware that alcohol and cancer are linked or that alcohol is a carcinogen." She said the provincial government should take more of an initiative in educating the public about Canada's drinking guidelines, pointing to provinces such as New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island that have launched wide-scale public health campaigns.
CTV News
23-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
New child-care centre with 104 spaces coming to St. Francis Xavier University
L-R: Andy Hakin, President and Vice-Chancellor of StFX; Michelle Thompson, Minister of Health and Wellness and MLA for Antigonish; and Brendan Maguire, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, hold a rendering of the new child-care centre. (Province of Nova Scotia) A new child-care centre at St. Francis Xavier University will create 104 daycare spaces in Antigonish, N.S. The Nova Scotia government is partnering with St. FX for the project, which will see an existing building on campus removed to make space for the new facility. 'Once constructed, the new child-care centre at StFX will make a big difference for parents and students in the community, helping them save thousands of dollars on child-care costs,' said federal Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu in a statement Monday. The province says the centre will offer spaces for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. The university will maintain the facility once construction is complete. 'Antigonish needs more access to child care, and I'm pleased that our government and StFX are able to deliver solutions for our community,' said Antigonish MLA Michelle Thompson on behalf of Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Brendan Maguire. The government says St. FX is currently preparing for the centre's operation and a public process for selecting a child-care service provider. CTV News has reached out to the province for a timeline of the project. The centre is part of the provincial government's efforts to expand access to child care through the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. Nova Scotia has signed a five-year extension to the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and the Canada-Nova Scotia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, worth more than $1 billion total. The extended agreements will be in place until March 31, 2031. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
13-05-2025
- General
- CBC
St. Francis Xavier community mourns Father Stan
Social Sharing St. Francis Xavier University is mourning the loss of Rev. Stanley MacDonald, a friendly presence on campus and an ardent supporter of varsity sports at the Antigonish, N.S., school. MacDonald, known affectionately as Father Stan, died on Sunday. He was 92. "St. FX lost a gentleman. St. FX lost a friend. We're going to miss him," Bob Hale, assistant vice-president of administration and ancillary services at St. FX, told CBC News on Monday. MacDonald was from Glace Bay, N.S., and attended St. FX. He played varsity rugby and hockey and graduated in 1954, later becoming a priest and returning to St. FX in 2008 to be a clergy-in-residence. He regularly attended varsity games for both men's and women's teams. Hale said MacDonald would often be the one to get the crowd chanting "Go X Go" at games. WATCH | Father Stan leads Go X Go chant in locker room: "The kids would gather around him and echo his 'Go X Go' until the entire arena got going with it. At the recent basketball championships in Halifax, Father Stan — they captured it on the big screen and had a 'Go X Go' chant in the Scotiabank Centre, so that was pretty exciting for him and his family." When he wasn't at games, Hale said, MacDonald made time for everyone and was genuinely interested in their stories. "He wanted to know where they were from, who their parents were and if they were enjoying their time at St. FX and if there was something he could do for them," Hale said. "Even when he had fallen ill, when the nurses and various other staff would come in, he always had time for them and made them feel like they were the most important thing happening at that time." In a letter to the campus community, St. FX president and vice-chancellor Andrew W. Hakin said MacDonald "always had a smile, a fist bump, and a cheery word for everyone he met." Hakin described MacDonald as "an unofficial guidance counsellor, book club guide, spiritual advisor, meal companion, and the ultimate StFX Super Fan." "He represented the very best of being Xaverian. May his noble spirit rest in peace," Hakin wrote.
