Catch up: Prescription opioid drug use soaring in Canada and other stories you may have missed

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A crackdown on OxyContin has failed to curb Canada's opioid crisis as prescriptions for dangerous alternatives to the painkiller are soaring, Carly Weeks and Karen Howlett report.

After an explosion of addiction and overdoses from OxyContin in the early 2000s, every province except Alberta stopped funding the drug in 2012.

Canada is the world's second-largest per capita consumer of opioids, and a report last week found that at least 655 Canadians died as a result of the powerful opioid fentanyl between 2009 and 2014.

And though provinces stopped funding OxyNEO, a tamper-resistant and harder to crush version of OxyContin, there are still many other opioids available on the market that provincial drug plans continue to cover. Many patients simply shifted from one drug to another, escalating the crisis.

Many addiction experts say the key to solving Canada's opioid crisis is in drastically reducing the number of prescriptions written for the drugs.

Hackers have followed through on a threat to release online a huge cache of data from AshleyMadison.com, a website that helps cheating spouses find one another.

The data was posted to the dark web, meaning it is only accessible using a specialized browser.

Troy Hunt, a Microsoft security expert, said over 1 million unique email addresses were attached to payment records, which could have far-reaching consequences for users of the site.

Tech website Wired said 9.7 gigabytes of data was posted, and appeared to include member account and credit card details

“We have explained the fraud, deceit, and stupidity of ALM (Avid Life Media) and their members. Now everyone gets to see their data,” the hackers (also known as The Impact Team) said, according to Wired.

“These guys want as much notoriety as possible. This isn’t cyber terrorism. It’s cyber vigilantism,” said Ajay K. Sood, General Manager for Canada of cyber security firm FireEye Inc.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is on a quest to derail the Conservatives' re-election efforts, Jane Taber reports.

Ms. Wynne is throwing herself into the federal election campaign, more so than any other premier, by endorsing Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and campaigning aggressively for his party.

She is betting heavily on a risky strategy with her unabashed support for the Trudeau Liberals.

Darrell Bricker, Global CEO of polling firm Ipsos Public Affairs, said Ms. Wynne's move is risky for both her and Mr. Trudeau. He said their polling shows Ms. Wynne is becoming controversial, and will be especially so if Ontario teachers strike in the fall just as the school year is beginning.

The close ties will not help the Trudeau campaign, he suggested.

Ms. Wynne targeted the NDP's Thomas Mulcair Monday night in Toronto, joining the stage with Mr. Trudeau and calling Mr. Mulcair's plan to abolish the Senate and to provide $15-a-day childcare, “unworkable,” “incomplete” or “impossible.”

Because Ontario is in dire straits economically, Ms. Wynne will need an ally in Ottawa to push through her plan. Mr. Trudeau's policies line up well with the Ontario Premier's vision thus far.

Slumping oil prices won’t get Sotheby’s down. It’s listing a luxury home in Calgary for $12.25-million.

The 10,000-square-foot home owned by Calgary developer Jim Quinn is the highest asking price the city has seen since 2009.

“We’re not expecting a typical buyer,” said listing agent Corinne Poffenroth, adding that she's confident the mansion can sell despite Calgary seeing a 36 per cent drop in sales over the past year for homes asking for over a million dollars.

The home located in the Aspen Estates neighbourhood arrives on the market as luxury home sales have dropped from 3 per cent of total sales last year to 2.8 per cent so far this year, according to Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at the Calgary Real Estate Board.

Ms. Poffenroth said home sales could pick up in the fall after the typically slow summer season, especially as buyers tire of waiting for drastic price reductions that aren't happening.

A massive $900-million plan for a new 20,000-seat arena and 30,000-seat indoor football stadium has been announced by the group that owns the Calgary Flames and Stampeders.

The new arena would replace the Scotiabank Saddledome, where the Flames currently play.

But Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi wasn't immediately prepared to hop on the plan's bandwagon.

It calls for the project to be funded through a $250-million ticket tax, a $240-million community revitalization levy, $200 million from team ownership and $200 million from city taxpayers for the fieldhouse.

“I have said for a long time — and continue to strongly believe — that public money must be for public benefit and not private profit,” Mr. Nenshi said in a statement. “The question for council, the ownership group, and all Calgarians is whether this proposal meets that test.”

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman released a statement praising the Flames.

“While this is an extremely important initiative for the team, it is even more important for Calgary’s fans and the community,” he said.