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Aaron Derfel

@aaronderfel.bsky.social
3.8K followers 103 following 479 posts

I'm an investigative journalist at the Montreal Gazette. You can also find me on Mastodon at mas.to/@aderfel and Telegram at t.me/AaronDerfel. My bio: www.concordia.ca/faculty/aaron-derf…

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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
1) BREAKING: I interviewed the Montreal native and nurse who was beaten, her hair pulled out, in the New York subway on Sunday in what the NYPD is confirming was an antisemitic incident. montrealgazette.com/news/jewish-...
montrealgazette.com
Jewish woman from Montreal recalls being choked, beaten on New York subway train
"Jews are eating kids," 23-year-old nurse was told by passenger who attacked her.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
1) BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: A second distinguished heart surgeon is quitting Quebec to join the exodus of medical specialists from the province Dr. Dimitri Kalavrouziotis's departure will deal yet another blow to Quebec's troubled health-care system. montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
Exclusive: Second prominent heart surgeon joins exodus from Quebec
Quebec will be left with 44 cardiac surgeons and a backlog of nearly 1,600 heart operations.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Although Premier Christine Fréchette announced today the green light for two pilot projects involving digital health records with Epic Systems, Quebec has nixed the idea of partnering with the U.S. company for a province-wide rollout.👇 montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
Exclusive: Quebec drops U.S. firm for provincewide rollout of electronic medical records
On May 9, Santé Québec will launch two pilot projects with Wisconsin-based Epic Systems digitizing patients' files.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
1) BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: The McGill University Health Centre is cancelling a phone line for patients to schedule their blood tests, forcing them to use the Clic Santé website which is often booked solid for weeks in advance. Please click on my story below. montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
Exclusive: MUHC cancels phone line for booking blood tests
Patients will have to go online to schedule appointments for bloodwork and other sampling procedures, but spots are often full.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
1) BREAKING: Although Santé Québec's board of directors on Thursday approved plans for digital health records, Premier Christine Fréchette warned the projects won't proceed unless security guarantees are obtained to safeguard patient data. montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
Premier Fréchette insists on 'security guarantees' for Santé Québec's digital health records
Digital sovereignty concerns have arisen as Epic Systems of the U.S. will store patient records on its servers.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
1) Less than 3 weeks away from deployment, Santé Québec's pilot projects for digital health records have already turned into a PR disaster. Let us consider some of the major problems. Please check out my analysis about this in the @mtlgazette.bsky.social below.👇 montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
Analysis: Santé Québec's digital health plans are a PR disaster
Health Minister Sonia Bélanger warned Tuesday she retains the right to veto the two pilot projects.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
1) In response to my exposé today, Santé Québec announced it will reinstate an ER indicator on its online dashboard that used to exist when Health Minister Christian Dubé managed the info. At the same time, Santé Québec has faulted my reporting for being "false." Let me reply.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
1) BREAKING: In what appears to be another sign of a lack of transparency by Santé Québec, it has dropped from its medical dashboard several targets to reduce emergency room overcrowding. Thus, the public has no idea if those targets are being met or not. montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
Exclusive: Santé Québec drops targets for reducing ER overcrowding from medical dashboard
"They've definitely taken a lot of the ER stats away," says a highly placed source.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Heart surgeons are furious with how Santé Québec appears to be playing down the crisis in premature deaths among patients on lengthy wait lists for cardiac surgery. Santé Québec is also being accused of gaslighting the public on wait times. My latest.👇 montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
Santé Québec 'minimizing' deaths of heart patients on wait lists, surgeon says
The organization managing Quebec health care says "the medical reality is complex" when it comes to patients dying before surgery.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
1) In response to my story in @mtlgazette.bsky.social today, Santé Québec has posted a comment on X that it wishes to "provide certain clarifications in order to properly situate the facts and the context." This statement, in itself, is misleading. Let me explain. x.com/sante_qc/sta...
x.com
Santé Québec on X: "À la suite d’une publication et d’un article diffusés par Aaron Derfel, nous souhaitons apporter certaines précisions afin de bien situer les faits et le contexte. Il est important pour nous d’offrir une information juste et complète au public. https://t.co/LlP6xpopoe" / X
À la suite d’une publication et d’un article diffusés par Aaron Derfel, nous souhaitons apporter certaines précisions afin de bien situer les faits et le contexte. Il est important pour nous d’offrir une information juste et complète au public. https://t.co/LlP6xpopoe
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
1) EXCLUSIVE: Santé Québec, which took over the management of the province's troubled health-care system, is now being accused of gaslighting the public on wait times for heart surgery. The reality is patients are still dying before their operations. montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
Exclusive: Santé Québec accused of gaslighting public on heart surgery stats
"If you don't want to face the problem, just ignore it," Dr. Bernard Cantin says of the missing data.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Tale of Two Cities: How Montreal's anti-ICE protesters are treated compared to those on the streets of Minneapolis. One of The Gazette's new hires, Leora Schertzer, risks pepper spray to report from the scene. Please read her story below.👇 montrealgazette.com/news/local-n...
montrealgazette.com
ICE protest outside GardaWorld's Montreal headquarters leads to arrest
The Montreal-based security giant GardaWorld is reportedly helping staff the Florida detention site known as “Alligator Alcatraz."
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
1) My heart goes out to those slain in Tumbler Ridge, including five children as young as 12. My sympathies also to the 27 injured. The focus should be on them, not the assailant. But I would like to draw your attention to this article in the National Post. nationalpost.com/news/canada/...
nationalpost.com
The Tumbler Ridge shooter was a trans female. How rare is that?
Transgender people account for less than a tenth of one per cent of mass shootings, despite making up a larger proportion of the population.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Kudos to ace reporter @hsnorth.bsky.social of the @mtlgazette.bsky.social for his terrific exposé on the connection between a possible ICE detention centre in New Jersey and the company's Montreal business ties. Please support local journalism.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
1) BREAKING: Quebec has gone from being a net importer of physicians from other provinces to a net exporter of them to other parts of Canada because of the provincial government's doctors' pay law. Please see my story below. 👇 montrealgazette.com/news/local-n...
montrealgazette.com
At least seven Quebec doctors have accepted job offers in New Brunswick
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick has issued 24 licenses to Quebec doctors since last October.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
BREAKING: A fake and potentially fatal cough syrup aimed at teens wanting to get high is making a cruel comeback in the Montreal area. Please see my story below.👇 montrealgazette.com/news/local-n...
montrealgazette.com
Montreal public health warns of killer cough syrup aimed at teens
A Laval teen died of an overdose in 2023 after consuming the tainted liquid.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
1) The Douglas Mental Health University Institute, which was founded in 1881, hasn't undergone much renovation since Queen Victoria was alive. On Monday, the ceilings literally caved in. See my story below about Quebec's crumbling medical infrastructure.👇 montrealgazette.com/news/local-n...
montrealgazette.com
Burst pipes cause widespread flooding in research labs at Douglas Institute
"The situation here is appalling, both for the patients but also for the research centre," said researcher Sylvain Williams. "It's really unfortunate because the Douglas is a leader in Canada and the ...
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
1) At a time when some U.S. news organizations have yielded to pressure by Donald Trump, it's heartening to see The New York Times publish this editorial today: How Trump has enriched himself by $1.4 billion in a staggering series of corrupt quid pro quos. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Opinion | How Trump Has Used the Presidency to Make at Least $1.4 Billion
The president took an oath to serve the American people. Instead, he’s focused his second term on enriching himself and his family.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
To whom does your medical file or your children's belong? To yourself? Or to Santé Québec or to Epic Systems in the United States? Please read my story below to gain more insight into the future of digital health care as it rolls out in Quebec this May. montrealgazette.com/news/local-n...
montrealgazette.com
U.S. firm involved in Quebec's digital health records faces major lawsuit in Texas
The lawsuit alleges Wisconsin-based Epic Systems restricts parental access to children's medical files and is maintaining a monopoly.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
1) Great front page in The Gazette today: How the political winds shifted instantly with Premier Françcois Legault's resignation this week, and how this is already shaping next October's momentous provincial election.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
1) Comment mener une vie inspirante et enrichissante. Lisez cette incroyable nécrologie du géographe Henri Dorion, décédé à l'âge de 90 ans. www.ledevoir.com/actualites/9...?
ledevoir.com
Le géographe Henri Dorion est décédé
Les frontières septentrionales du Québec et la toponymie étaient au cœur de ses travaux.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
1) How François Legault's political Achilles' heel was likely his stark record in (mis?)managing health care in Quebec, setting the stage for his resignation on Wednesday. montrealgazette.com/news/local-n...
montrealgazette.com
Analysis: Health care was François Legault's Achilles' heel
"We've never had as many people in the emergency wards than now," said patent-rights advocate Paul Brunet, referring to the premier's record on health care.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
1) Innovative journalism: The Gazette's @hsnorth.bsky.social has compared Uber and Lyft rates and found that — for now at least — Lyft is much cheaper in Montreal. Take note, young Montrealers! montrealgazette.com/news/local-n...
montrealgazette.com
Uber vs. Lyft: I tracked prices for a week and it changed how I book rides
The Gazette's Harry North compared ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft on 100 routes in Montreal to find out which was cheaper.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
1) A must-read exposé by Radio-Canada today that lifts the veil behind the nightclubbing mystique of Boulevard Saint-Laurent: sexual assaults, syringes and evidence of the date-rape drug GHB. Excellent reporting by @mariannedepelteau.bsky.social ici.radio-canada.ca/recit-numeri...
ici.radio-canada.ca
Sous les néons du boulevard Saint-Laurent
Sortir à Montréal en 2026, ça ressemble à quoi? De l’insécurité à l'anglicisation, en passant par les nouveaux anges gardiens de la nuit, Radio-Canada s’est invitée dans les coulisses nocturnes de la ...
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
1) Will Quebec's Dossier santé numérique — already busting its budget by $135 million — turn out to be worse than the SAAQclic fiasco? Here's my interview this afternoon with CJAD's Aaron Rand to discuss why nurses will still use paper when digital health files roll out. omny.fm/shows/montre...
omny.fm
An inside look into Quebec's failed digital health rollout - Montreal Now with Aaron Rand Podcast
Aaron Derfel, Investigative reporter at the Montreal Gazette, joins Aaron Rand to explain what went wrong with Quebec's digital health system, and why the cost keeps climbing
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
1) On this, the last day of the year, I urge you to read a book that's received scant attention in 2025, a short history of arguably the most fascinating newspaper in Canada — in fact, a daily that predates Confederation, and that happens to be my place of work, The Gazette.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
1) BREAKING: Freezing rain that turned sidewalks into sheets of ice have sent scores of Montrealers to hospital emergency rooms with broken limbs and even concussions. My story below, along with some additional observations. 👇 montrealgazette.com/news/local-n...
montrealgazette.com
Icy weather sends Montrealers to ERs with fractures and concussions
Meanwhile, Quebec's wave of flu infections is already higher than last year's peak, driven by a new strain.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
1) Just two days before Christmas, a small Montreal media outlet that I used to support has decided to publish something truly nasty about The Gazette Christmas Fund. Of all the things that this outlet could report on, it chooses this subject. For shame!
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
1) BREAKING: Quebec's flu season is ramping up sharply and much earlier than in previous years, placing a greater burden on pediatric emergency rooms. Those over 65 and between the ages of 5 to 19 are particularly vulnerable. In this thread, I will review the latest trends.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Leaving Quebec's health-care network battered and broken. Below is my analysis of Health Minister Christian Dubé's record following his surprise resignation today which caused shock waves in the province's political world: 👇 montrealgazette.com/news/local-n...
montrealgazette.com
Analysis: Christian Dubé's legacy — leaving a health-care system battered and broken
Still, he did make health stats more transparent and slashed year-long wait times for surgery.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
1) Mardi soir, le Premier ministre s'est vanté des résultats obtenus par son gouvernement en matière d'augmentation de la rémunération hebdomadaire moyenne au Québec. Dans cette enfilade, je vais vérifier les faits. x.com/francoislega...
x.com
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
1) Here's an interview I gave today to @aaronrand of CJAD on the near-total absence of English available on the website of Santé Québec. In this thread, I will examine the Two Solitudes when it comes to access to health care in their mother tongues. www.iheart.com/podcast/962-...
iheart.com
New report raises concerns with lack of English on Quebec health care sites - Montreal Now with Aaron Rand Podcast | iHeart
<p>Aaron Derfel, investigative reporter at the Montreal Gazette</p>
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
1) As some of you know, I teach journalism part-time at Concordia University. In the 25 years I have taught students — something I love to do — I have never referred to my faith. It's simply not relevant to what I do.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
1) « Si tu es prêt à accepter des ordres, à tout écouter ce qu’on te dit de faire, change de métier » — Jacques Nadeau. Sans doute le meilleur photojournaliste du Québec, Nadeau n'est plus parmi nous. www.ledevoir.com/actualites/s...
ledevoir.com
Décès du photographe Jacques Nadeau
La longue marche du photojournaliste vedette du «Devoir» s’est arrêtée mercredi.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
1) In a Bluesky thread I posted on Sunday, I relayed a rumor circulating that Groupe Biron and Telus Health are eager to buy GMF medical clinics in financial distress because of Law 2. Here is the thread below in French, which hopefully Bluesky can translate for you. bsky.app/profile/aaro...
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
1) Dans une enfilade précédente, j'ai mentionné une rumeur selon laquelle Groupe Biron et Telus seraient intéressés par l'acquisition des cliniques GMF en difficulté financière en raison de la Loi 2. bsky.app/profile/aaro...
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
1) Yann Langlais Plante, directeur des relations avec les médias chez Santé Québec, m'a répondu plus tôt aujourd'hui sur X (Twitter). Il semble qu'il ait rapidement supprimé son message public. Mais je vais le partager avec vous.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
1) Je pense pouvoir affirmer avec une certaine assurance que je suis désormais sur la liste noire de Santé Québec pour avoir demandé à interviewer la présidente et cheffe de la direction, Geneviève Biron.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
1) Le directeur des relations avec les médias de Santé Québec nie que Santé Québec dispose d'une liste noire de certains journalistes. Dans cette enfilade, je vais partager mon échange de courriels avec M. Yann Langlais Plante, et je vous laisserai tirer vos propres conclusions.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
1) En tant que journaliste spécialisé dans le domaine de la santé à la Gazette, avec 27 ans d'expérience dans ce domaine, suis-je désormais sur la liste noire de Santé Québec ? Permettez-moi de vous expliquer dans cette enfilade.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
1) Here is my latest fact-check concerning Quebec Premier François Legault's claims about Law 2, which regulates doctors' remuneration and which sets performance targets for them. This fact-check may surprise you. Please see below.👇 montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/...
montrealgazette.com
Fact-checking Premier François Legault on doctors' pay law
The premier is correct in both of his latest claims: Quebec has more doctors per capita than in Ontario, and access to general practitioners is worse here.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
1) How Quebec is playing musical chairs on the deck of the Titanic. Here is my interview earlier today with CJAD's Aaron Rand on the government's latest proposal to transfer heavily backlogged surgeries from the public system to the private-for-profit sector. omny.fm/shows/montre...
omny.fm
Quebec wants to hand over backlogged surgeries in the public sector to the private system - Montreal Now with Aaron Rand Podcast
Aaron Derfel, investigative health reporter at the Montreal Gazette
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
1) The New York Times today has published a devastating and heartbreaking profile of a 20-year-old man who died after being sent home with the wrong diagnosis from a busy ER. Sound familiar? www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/w...
nytimes.com
It’s Just a Virus, the E.R. Told Him. Days Later, He Was Dead.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
BREAKING: File this under bizarre and morbid: Montreal police found a detached human head along the shoreline of the Rivière des Prairies on Sunday. Pending the outcome of the police investigation, here is something I wrote about this rare phenomenon: 👇 www.montrealgazette.com/news/article...
montrealgazette.com
Macabre discovery in Montreal is rare, but not unheard of
Police are investigating after a detached human head was found on the shore in Rivière des Prairies.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
What a tragic story: An 18-year-old Innu man who was attending Dawson College — his whole life ahead of him — died because Urgences-santé paramedics took too long to drive him to a hospital that was only 700 metres away. www.montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
Urgences-santé ordered to pay $450,000 to family of Innu man who died from severe peanut allergy
Judge Jeffrey Edwards ruled that the paramedics acted negligently, but he did not conclude Nutin McFarland was the victim of discrimination.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Will an A.I. Big Brother be coming to the Montreal General Hospital? Click on my story below to read more about efforts to reduce deadly superbug outbreaks by deploying "nodes" — but not cameras — in the ceilings of the rooms of patients and in hallways. www.montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
New ceiling sensors at Montreal General to prevent deadly outbreaks
The overhead nodes will be installed to encourage better handwashing by patients, staff and visitors, thus reducing the potential for germs to spread unchecked.
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
1) EXCLUSIF: Les étudiants en médecine et les parents sont furieux qu'un étudiant qui a fait l'objet de plaintes pour propos racistes, sexistes et antisémites ait été admis à l'Université de Sherbrooke. Voici mon texte ci-dessous. 👇 www.montrealgazette.com/news/article...
montrealgazette.com
Exclusive: Université de Sherbrooke med student at centre of Discord storm denies making antisemitic slurs
“The environment is so bad and everybody is talking about it,” says a concerned parent
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
1) BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: The Quebec medical student at the centre of a social media storm — against whom allegations have been made that he has fomented hatred against Jews and other minority groups — finally speaks out. Below is my story on the subject. www.montrealgazette.com/news/article...
montrealgazette.com
Exclusive: Université de Sherbrooke med student at centre of Discord controversy denies making antisemitic slurs
“The environment is so bad and everybody is talking about it,” says concerned parent
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
1) BREAKING: A first case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever has been identified in Quebec. In this thread, I draw attention to how human-induced climate change contributes to the spread of tick-borne diseases like RMSF, as well as other harms to our health. www.montrealgazette.com/news/health/...
montrealgazette.com
First case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever discovered in Quebec
Patient in Eastern Townships recovering after antibiotics
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Aaron Derfel @aaronderfel.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
1) Il y a vingt ans, j'ai écrit une série de six articles sur la privatisation croissante des soins de santé au Québec. L'un des textes traitait de 90 médecins qui ne participaient plus au système public. Comme j'étais naïf à l'époque ! 👇
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