Month: April 2019

It’s hard to believe that in 2018 there’s still a stigma around menstruation, despite the fact that it’s a natural — not to mention normal — bodily process. But now a national survey by Plan International Canada has revealed that the negative perception not only still exists, but has a profound impact on women’s lives.

The online poll, which included 2,000 Canadian women, found that 83 per cent of those age 18-25 felt their periods held them back from fully participating in an activity and that 70 per cent have missed school, work, or a social event as a result.

“Menstruation can affect girls’ and women’s lives in lots of different ways. Whether it’s pain from cramps, lack of access to painkillers, or lack of access to hygiene products, there are many factors that can impact their ability to fully participate in daily activities,” youth advocate Amy Bing, of Plan International Canada, told HuffPost Canada in an email.

Period poverty — the inability to afford menstrual products — is a particular concern for women in Canada and around the world, Bing added.

In fact, the national survey found that one-third of Canadian women under 25 have struggled to afford hygiene products to manage their periods.

While the survey did not offer any explanations as to why this might be, more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of participants agreed that feminine hygiene products are one of the top three material costs for women, in addition to cosmetic products and beauty services.

“What all people who menstruate know, and what this information underscores dramatically, is that menstrual hygiene products are not a luxury,” Caroline Riseboro, the president and CEO of Plan International Canada, told HuffPost Canada via email.

“Like toilet paper, soap and water, hygiene products are not optional. They are necessary and essential to women’s and girls’ health, comfort, and participation in work, school and society.”

In addition to preventing women and girls from getting equal career and learning opportunities, a lack of accessible menstrual products also adds to the period taboo because it sends the message that menstruation isn’t normal.

However, some campaigns are trying to change this, such as the “Free the Tampon” movement at Toronto’s Centennial College, Riseboro noted.

The initiative makes feminine hygiene products available for free in all women’s washrooms across the college’s Toronto campuses. And in an effort to be inclusive, the packaging is gender-neutral to acknowledge that trans and non-binary students menstruate, too, CBC News reports.

“Not only do actions like these lead the way in combatting period poverty, they also work to normalize menstrual health products as something that should be easily accessible everywhere, and not something women and girls should be ashamed of or struggle for,” Riseboro said, in regards to the “Free the Tampon” campaign.

While periods are still taboo, school campuses in major Canadian cities — including Montreal, Calgary and Halifax — are noticing the conversation around menstruation is slowly changing.

“I think there’s these little pockets of change that are occurring, and over time, especially if institutions such as ours start to get on that bandwagon, and start to provide these products for free, you’re going to see a growth — hopefully an exponential growth — in this movement,” Shannon Brooks, Centennial’s associate vice president of corporate services, said, according to CBC News.

Youth ambassador Bing agrees. “Too often, menstruation is treated like a secret that can only be talked about among women and girls, behind closed doors – if at all,” she said. “People of all genders must come together to have real, open conversations about these issues, and raise their voices to help address the social, emotional and financial costs of menstruation.”

The Canadian government removed tax on menstrual products in 2015, and in February this year, the NDP passed a resolution to make these products free.

“Tampon and pads should be treated just like toilet paper,” said Tiffany Balducci, a Durham Labour Council party delegate. “They serve a similar purpose — items that tend to our everyday, normal bodily functions.”

Recognizing the need for accessible feminine hygiene products shows people are finally acknowledging that period shame is gender discrimination.

“It’s critical that we recognize that period stigma, taboos, lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, and the resulting loss of opportunities to participate fully in society are part of a bigger picture of how women and girls are discriminated against every day,” said Riseboro.

“We’re calling on everyone to bring periods to the start of the conversation, to advocate and take action to prioritize women’s and girls’ menstrual hygiene.”

Plan International Canada’s national survey came at an appropriate time, as May 28 marks Menstrual Hygiene Day.

Five years isn’t a very long time when you live under the umbrella of loss and grief. I wanted to write something to honour the memory of my daughter Rehtaeh on the fifth anniversary of her death, but words fail me. What can I say that I haven’t said before?

Things have changed since 2013. Victims of sexual assault turned their stories and whispered voices into a raging chorus that became a powerful movement. The cries of justice for one became the rallying cry for many with #BeenRapedNeverReported, #TimesUp and #MeToo. A movement born from a long chain of awful stories and shattered lives.

Somewhere in that chain is a link with Rehtaeh’s name on it. That is her legacy.

A lot of people and voices helped mould that link. Rae would be 22 years old today. To honour her today, I picked 22 messages from the thousands we’ve received from all over the world.

This is the legacy of Rehtaeh Parsons. These are the voices that speak for her.

— Avalon Sexual Assault Centre

— Emily Lindin, The UnSlut Project

— Jenny Kierstead, founder of Girl on Fire

For everyone who has helped turn the story of Rehtaeh’s tragedy into a story of hope, thank you. You have made a difference.

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc’s shares lost as much as a quarter of their value on Wednesday after executives said that profit margins would plummet for several years due to the costs of improving privacy safeguards and slowing usage in the biggest advertising markets.

The second-quarter results were the first sign that a new European privacy law and a succession of privacy scandals involving Cambridge Analytica and other app developers have bit into Facebook’s business. The company further warned that the toll would not be offset by revenue growth from emerging markets and Facebook’s Instagram app, which has been more immune from privacy concerns.

Facebook’s fortunes shifted in under two hours as the company first reported revenue and user growth that missed expectations and then issued warnings about future growth and expenses.

Operating profit margin, which fell to 44 percent in the second quarter from 47 percent a year ago, will sink to the “mid-30s” for more than two years, Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said in investor guidance.

The plummeting stock price wiped out as much as $150 billion in market capitalization and erased the stock’s gains since April when Facebook announced a surprisingly strong 63 percent rise in profit and an increase in users.

If the share drop holds on Thursday, it would be Facebook’s largest single-day decline, topping a 12 percent decrease in July 2012.

Nasdaq futures dropped 0.85 percent late on Wednesday, suggesting the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index would fall when trading opens on Thursday morning. Facebook’s results prompted selling in other Nasdaq listings, including media and advertising rivals Amazon.com Inc, Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc.

Gloomy forecast for revenue growth

Facebook had cautioned investors to expect a big jump in second-quarter costs because of efforts to address concerns about poor handling of users’ privacy and to better monitor what users post. Total expenses in the second quarter surged to $7.4 billion, up 50 percent compared with a year ago.

Facebook forecast similar increases for the second half of the year, also citing spending on video content and marketing.

Its gloomy forecast for revenue growth surprised investors, though, and prompted many questions from financial analysts on a conference call with company executives on Wednesday.

Sales in the second quarter grew 42 percent, its slowest pace in nearly three years, to $13.2 billion compared with $9.3 billion a year ago.

Wehner said quarterly revenue growth would be closer to 30 percent the rest of the year.

He cited currency fluctuations and a shift in usage to features where Facebook shows less advertising or charges less due to lower demand.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union also will cause a revenue drop. The new privacy law forced several changes to Facebook’s privacy terms and sign-up process, leading a minority of users to opt for non-personalized ads, which tend to generate less revenue.

“They’re talking about currency headwinds, but more we think it’s due to slower user growth given GDPR and more focus on privacy,” Morningstar analyst Ali Mogharabi said.

‘Entering a new period’

Facebook’s daily active users in Europe declined by 3 million amid the new regulation. Worldwide daily user growth for Facebook’s namesake service slid for its sixth straight quarter, bringing it to nearly 1.5 billion users in the second quarter.

The company said for the first time that more than 2.5 billion users interact with at least one of its apps each month, but analysts have said many of them are spending more time with Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. Commercialization of those apps is nascent.

Revenue from emerging markets has not picked up the slack either. Sales from United States, Canada and Europe fell $75 million in the second quarter compared with a year ago, while revenue from other markets rose $51 million.

Gene Munster, a venture capitalist at Loup Ventures, said in an email that Facebook is “entering a new period” where declining user growth will translate to slower revenue growth.

He added that Facebook has “a track record of resetting revenue growth and expense expectations only to turn around and exceed those expectations the following quarter.”

Facebook reported $5.1 billion in profit, or $1.74 per share, compared with the average estimates of $5.1 billion and $1.72 per share among research gathered by Thomson Reuters.

Facebook out from China, again

The threat of additional privacy regulatory setbacks remains a concern, according to analysts.

Facebook suffered a blow in China on Wednesday when regulators there withdrew their approval of a company innovation hub to support local startups, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Misinformation on WhatsApp contributing to mob killings in India have added to the pressure onFacebook to re-evaluate how its services maintain security and decorum.

Nearly all social media services have received greater scrutiny since U.S. intelligence agencies in January 2017 revealed that organizations tied to the Russian government had seeded content on the platform to shake up the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

OTTAWA — The federal government is planning to introduce safeguards to tackle a flood of steel entering the Canadian market due to “exceptional circumstances.”

Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the government is embarking on a 15-day consultation to explore safeguards it can use to mitigate potential negative effects to Canadian steel producers in the event foreign steel producers divert U.S.-bound product to Canada because of recent U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel.

“Canada is now at risk of a surge,” Morneau, who noted that the country is already seeing an increase in imports, said on Tuesday.

“We want to make sure we keep a market that is stable and that we deal with import surges in a way that doesn’t harm businesses and as a result harm Canadian producers and workers.”

Morneau, who announced the consultation at Hamilton, Ont.-based manufacturer ArcelorMittal Dofasco, said the government’s research into the steel industry will focus on steel plates, concrete reinforcing bars, energy tubular products, hot-rolled sheets, pre-painted steels, stainless steel wires and wire rods.

He said the government has already been “extensively consulting” with allied countries about what can be done to protect Canada from surges, but the consultation will expand to hearing from Canadian producers and users of steel.

Canada, he said, is allowed to introduce safeguards under international trade rules if “exceptional circumstances” are met. He said the risk of harm to Canadian steel producers and workers would qualify and if the government feels the issue is severe enough, it could refer it to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal.

He called the U.S. tariffs that kickstarted the need for the consultation “unacceptable,” but said the consultation is very separate from the ongoing talks between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“We have clearly seen some tariffs that have been put in place that we don’t agree make sense based on our strong and enduring relationship with the U.S.,” he said. “Tariffs are bad for everyone… we obviously are going to continue to advocate not only to roll back these tariffs, but not to consider any further tariffs because we think they are destructive.”

LONDON — Pippa Middleton is following in her sister’s footsteps — she’s about to be a mother.

The younger sister of Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, revealed in the publication Waitrose the “happy news'” of her pregnancy and says she has passed her first trimester.

She is photographed working out and discusses how she has adapted her exercise routine to her condition. She promises to chronicle her pregnancy workouts as a columnist for Waitrose Weekend magazine, which is published by a British supermarket.

This will be the 34-year-old’s first child. She married hedge fund manager James Matthews in 2017.

Pregnancy rumours had been swirling for weeks prior to Middleton’s announcement, and royal watchers keenly observed her movements at the recent wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex.

Middleton was spotted after the wedding at the French Open in late May:

The tennis fan said about her first pregnancy in Waitrose, “I wanted to know things like, would I strain if I served in tennis, are all strokes of swimming safe, can I still do a normal yoga class if I avoided certain positions? Could I still work my abs?”

Her sister Kate had her third child, Prince Louis, earlier this spring.

With files from Lisa Yeung.

• Toronto house prices are 4 per cent lower than a year ago
• Vancouver leads in price growth, but has weakened recently
• Canadian house prices ‘more likely to stagnate than fall outright’

These are uncertain times in Canada’s housing markets.

The house-price boom is over in Toronto, but no one’s really sure where the market is headed next. In Vancouver, solid price growth over the past year has been replaced by a deep sales slump this summer.

The overall market is showing “neither strength nor deep weakness,” says National Bank economist Marc Pinsonneault.

The Teranet-National Bank index of house prices rose for the fourth month in a row in July, up 0.8 per cent from the month before. But “these rises were all below the historical average for these months,” Pinsonneault wrote in a client note Tuesday.

Over the past year, the index has grown 1.8 per cent nationally, the slowest price growth since 2013, noted Stephen Brown, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics.

“There were disappointing results for Canada’s largest cities,” he wrote.

And while Toronto showed some modest growth — up 0.8 per cent in a month — the city’s house price index is 4 per cent lower than it was a year ago. Adjusted for seasonal differences, Toronto house prices have been flat in recent months, Pinsonneault said.

“This means that the recent rises in these indices reflected only seasonal pressures, not an underlying trend,” he concluded.

Similarly in Vancouver, the index rose by a mild 0.4 per cent in July, but if adjusted for seasonal differences, prices have fallen for the past two months, Pinsonneault said. The Vancouver index is 10.6 per cent higher than a year ago, thanks to strength in the market late last year.

The Teranet-National Bank price index attempts to create an “apples to apples” comparison of house prices by tracking “sales pairs” over time — that is, comparing the sold price of homes to their previous sold prices.

The Canadian Real Estate Association will be releasing its home sales data for July this week, and it’s likely to show a mixed bag, with sales picking up in Toronto and slowing down in Vancouver.

The nationwide ratio of home sales to new listings — a key measure of the health of the housing market — “implies that house prices are more likely to stagnate than fall outright,” Brown wrote.

“But that could change if rising interest rates cause demand to fall or prompt a rise in distressed sellers.”

Brown added that, even without house prices falling, the slowdown in the market could still prove to be a drag on the housing market, as it will result in slower construction activity.

Fresh air is motivating, potentially fun and invigorating, and, most critically, convenient. When it comes to reaching any health goal, consistency is key! What is more convenient than training in your “birthday suit”? No fancy equipment required! (And no, you don’t have to be naked!)

Basically, harness your inner child, slather on some sunscreen, grab your hat and some water, and get outside — you might just have some fitness fun in the process!

Work out at the park!

Warm-up with five to 10 minutes of walking or jogging — however long it takes you to get to the park.

Sprint one length of the park. Do walking lunges back. Repeat four to 10 times.

Or, find a hill. Lunge up the hill. Jog down. Repeat four to 10 times.

Then, find a park bench and do two sets of “11s”!

First set of 11s: jumping jacks and push-ups. Do 10 push-ups and one jumping jack. Then nine push-ups and two jumping jacks. Continue to decrease the number of push-ups and increase the number of jumping jacks until you are doing 10 jumping jacks and one push-up.

Walk or jog for 10 minutes around the park

Second set of 11s: step-ups and mountain runs. Do 10 step-ups (each leg) and one mountain run (each side). Then nine step-ups and two mountain runs. Continue to decrease the step-ups and increase the mountain runs until you are doing 10 mountain runs and one step-up. Always do the repetitions on each leg.

Jog for an additional 10 minutes (optional).

Walk or jog home.

Exercise details

Walking lunges: Step forward into a lunge. As you stand up bring your back leg up and forwards into the next lunge. Keep your chest out and core engaged. Use the bum muscle of your front leg to stand up.

Step-ups: Place your right foot on the bench. Make sure your heel is on the bench. Engage your core and your bum to stand up. Control on the way down.

Scapular push-ups: Start with your hands on the bench and feet on the ground. Engage your core. Make sure your body is in a straight line — don’t arch or round your lower back. Do one scapular retraction by pulling your shoulder blades together and “cracking a walnut” with your shoulder blades. Keep your arms straight. Then bring your shoulder blades back to their original position and do one push-up.

Mountain runs: Start in a plank position — hands on the bench and feet on the ground. Core engaged. Bum down. Don’t arch your back. Alternate “running” your knees in towards your chest.

Work out in your backyard!

Warm-up by skipping rope for three to five minutes. Then do one light Tabata cardio set.

Skippingis an incredibly efficient, convenient, and low-cost cardiovascular workout, and holding the rope works your shoulders and triceps.

A Tabatainterval is four minutes. You alternate 20 seconds of hard work followed by 10 seconds of recovery eight times. A relaxed warm-up Tabata could be side steps, high knees, or bum kicks.

Main set: Do four Tabata sets. Alternate between a cardio Tabata and a strength Tabata. For the cardio try running, skipping or body-weight exercises such as jumping jacks, burpees or mountain runs. For the strength Tabata try bench push-ups, squats, or lunges.

Sample exercise details

Lunges — stationary or walking: Make sure both feet stay facing forward, with your chest out and core engaged. Use the bum of the front leg to stand up. To get fancy, lunge up a hill if you happen to have one in your yard!

Side lunge: Start standing. Step your right leg out to the side and sit backwards into a squat. Your left leg stays straight with the right leg squatting. As you sit backwards make sure your sit bones widen. Chest out. Core engaged. Engage your right bum muscle to push yourself up to balancing on your left leg.

Squats: Start standing with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Sit backwards — like you are sitting into a chair. Think of your sit bones widening as you move your bum towards the ground. Watch your knees — don’t let them cave in. Keep them in line with your middle toes. To stand up engage your core and bum. Chest out.

There are a million variations to make squats more “fun.” Try holding low in the squat and pulsing, slow down the tempo (try four counts down and four counts up), and/or add a jump.

Work out anywhere!

Tabata-style body-weight intervals: A fantastic element of Tabata sets is that they can be done anywhere, with whatever equipment you have. Have no equipment? Use your body. Be creative!

Walking, jogging, or running: This one is as simple as it sounds. Lace up your shoes and go — just progress gradually. Jogging and running are hard on the body. Start with a one-minute jog and two-minute walk. Slowly increase the amount of time you jog or run.

Kathleen-approved “Anywhere” sample workout

Warm-up with 10 minutes of walking, jogging, or running; a relaxed Tabata of side steps, high knees, or bum kicks; or gently jumping rope for three to five minutes.

Then do four Tabata sets. Alternate between a cardio Tabata and a strength Tabata. For the cardio try running, skipping or body-weight exercises such as jumping jacks, burpees or mountain runs. For the strength Tabata try bench push-ups, squats or lunges.