CALGARY—The sudden and mysterious deaths of 34 prized stingrays at the Calgary Zoo’s new “touch tank” had veterinarians searching the water in vain yesterday for some explanation.
The $250,000 cownosed ray exhibit—which looks more like an elongated hot tub than fish tank—sat lifeless and only half full of water yesterday, less than three months after opening to much fanfare.

TORONTO—A decision to forcibly impose chemotherapy on an 11-year-old Hamilton boy who didn’t want to go through another round of painful treatment was “heavy-handed” and “worrisome” considering how often similar conflicts arise, several bioethicists said yesterday.
The boy, who cannot be named because he is now in the care of the Children’s Aid Society, has been thrust into the thorny debate over the right to seek alternative therapies and ignore conventional wisdom.

TORONTO—The Ontario coroner’s office says a South African woman whose death sparked a full-scale health scare was killed by a blood clot.
Dr. William Lucas says 43-year-old Brenda Buckley died of a pulmonary embolism.
Lucas could not confirm media reports the clot developed as a result of deep-vein thrombosis—an ailment that can develop when people sit for long periods of time—but says it is a likely cause.
Buckley’s death on Friday prompted officials to quarantine the Via Rail train on which she was travelling, halting the trip some 100 km west of Timmins, Ont.

FOLEYET, Ont.—One person has died aboard a CN Rail train carrying more than 260 passengers to Toronto and has been quarantined in Northern Ontario.
Via Rail spokeswoman Catherine Kaloutsky confirmed one person has died, but told CTV News she was awaiting more details from the scene.
Police believe four-five people are ill with ’flu-like symptoms on the train, which is stopped in Foleyet, Ont., northwest of Sudbury.
OPP Sgt. Laura Nichols said the train was quarantined after CN Rail officials notified police that someone was feeling ill.

WINNIPEG—Nearly 650 Manitobans with debilitating sleep disorders have been sent out of province for treatment in the last three years because the wait for medical attention at home is too long.
Data obtained by the Winnipeg Free Press through a Freedom of Information request shows Manitoba Health has approved 643 people to be treated for their sleep disorders in Ontario between 2005 and March, 2008 at a cost of $714,622.

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta.—Greenpeace has launched a “whistleblower” campaign to gather anonymous tips about injured wildlife or environmental damage caused by the oilsands.
But officials with Alberta Environment and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers say they’re worried people will call the Greenpeace line rather than the government agency’s emergency line when wildlife is in distress.
The move comes after the environmental group said it alerted provincial officials about a flock of loons landing on a blowdown pond at the ConocoPhillips Surmont site on the weekend.

BURLINGTON, Ont.—Sixty-two patients at a Burlington, Ont. hospital died as a result of C. difficile infections during an outbreak of the superbug that lasted 20 months.
A review of deaths by the Infection Prevention and Control Unit of the University Health Network in Toronto shows the outbreak ran from May 1, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2007.
Aggressive control since November has driven infection rates lower then they were before the outbreak at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital.
No new cases have been reported since April 15.

Responding to a new survey showing that Canadian employees feel workplace stress, burnout, and depression are on the rise, the Canadian Mental Health Association is urging employers across the country to accept greater responsibility for the mental health of their employees.
“Employers must do more to promote a healthy work/life balance, otherwise they, their workers, our economy, and society will suffer serious consequences,” warned Dr. Taylor Alexander, CEO of the CMHA.

If you work outdoors, you have a higher risk of developing skin cancer because you regularly are exposed to the sun for longer periods of time.
Often this exposure happens during those times of day when the sun’s ultraviolet rays are at their strongest (between noon and 2 p.m.)
The Northwestern Health Unit is focusing on sun safety for outdoor workers during its 2008 Sun Safety Awareness Campaign.
Outdoor workers need to be aware that skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Canada, and the main cause is exposure to the ultraviolet rays (UVR) from the sun.

Every 10 minutes, a Canadian will have a stroke.
There are more than 300,000 stroke survivors in Canada—and every year another 50,000 join their ranks.
Stroke Recovery Canada, a program of March of Dimes Canada, helps stroke survivors across the country to more easily re-engage in their communities, and affirm that there is meaningful and quality life after a stroke.
With May designated as Stroke Recovery Awareness Month, Stroke Recovery Canada has increased its efforts to educate the public about stroke recovery.