Welcome to the weekend, Canada! Once again, we’re here to help kick things off with a roundup of our favourite good news stories from across the country this week. We’re feeling extra energized today, but that might be because spring is in the air and we can finally step outside freely again.
Here are 10 good news stories from around Canada this week.
BC and the US have partnered up
The best part? They’re partnering up to take on Japanese (aka murder) hornets. More and more have been springing up in the Pacific Northwest, so BC is working with Washington state to find, track and eliminate the invasive species. “What’s your job like?” Oh, the usual, I’m a hornet mercenary.”
The Canada-US Border is staying closed for now
Even as millions of people across North America get vaccinated, it looks like Canada and the US aren’t quite ready to mingle once more. Luckily, this means less danger for Canadian citizens still waiting to be vaccinated, and hopefully, fewer restrictions on travel once things open again.
Canadian artists took home Grammy Awards
This year’s Grammy’s were iffy, to say the least. But, we were very happy to see Montreal producer Kaytranada receive the praise he has so long deserved. Not going to lie, we’ve been fans of his since the Soundcloud days, so the recognition is a long time coming. On the other hand, props to The Weeknd for taking the ball away from the Academy.
Tim Hortons is going ‘back to basics’
Based on the number of new menu items, promotions, what have you… it’s clear that Tim’s has been struggling to find its groove these past few months. So, we’re happy to see that the company is going back to the whole ‘good donuts and coffee’ idea. Now, fingers crossed that the egg situation improves.
Pizza Hut joined the future of art
In complete contrast to Tims, Pizza Hut announced they made Non-Fungible Pizzas this week. Is this good news? We think so, if only because it gave us a fun way to talk about Non-Fungible Tokens and their insane rise over the past few weeks. We’re selling JPEGs, folks, and lots of them.
The NHL is giving a $10,000 grant to a high school teacher
Any love for our nation’s educators is good, and the NHL just dished some out big time. To honour the amazing job that teacher Jeremy Spink has done, the NHL has given his Red Deer school a great big boost in their tech budget. This will mean more resources for Mr. Spink’s students and more advanced ways to teach. Awesome!
Canadians are on all 4 of the top NCAA women’s basketball teams this year
It makes sense that Canada has some of the best basketball players in the world. Hey, Canada is where the sport was invented after all! So it’s doubly awesome that the top four seeded teams in the women’s NCAA tournament all have Canadians on their roster. There are 27 Canadians in the tournament (more than the men’s!) and we’re super excited to watch them ball.
More COVID-19 supports are coming for workers and families
Here’s some more general good news! The pandemic has been hard for a lot of people so it’s great to see some new supports coming our way. The new supports will include more weeks of employment insurance benefits. There are also some new benefits for self-employed workers on EI and extensions for how long you’re allowed to take benefits.
Canada’s oldest known person has gotten the vaccine
The 114-year-old Phyllis Ridgway got her vaccine this week in Toronto. She was born March 10, 1907, so this is the second world-wide pandemic she’s lived through (the first being Spanish Flu). And, given she got her shot so close to her birthday, she said it was the best one she’s ever had. Thanks for the reassurance, Phyllis.
This Bhangra dancing Yukon resident is spreading positivity across the country
If you’ve missed it, Gurdeep Pandher of the Yukon has been posting very fun, heartwarming videos of him dancing. His style of choice is Bhangra, from Punjab, India, and it is incredibly fun to watch. He recently wrote a piece for the Toronto Sun talking about positivity, joy, and, of course, dancing. Check it out for an instant uplift.
Bad news for all you good news lovers, that’s the end of our round-up! We hope these stories warmed a part of your heart that has been frozen all winter, or at the very least made you smile. See you next week with some more good news.
