Morning Brief: ID'ing Skin Cancer, Where To Buy A Winter Coat & More

Welcome back — Andrew from Narcity here. ☕

Off The Top: Halloween 2022 might be in the rearview but some celebrants wound up marking the occasion far longer than they anticipated — like this British mum who was unable to remove the ghoulish "temporary" tattoo off her face. Here's how this contemporary Mike Tyson finally got the markings off.

In Case You Missed It

1. The Federal Government Hopes To Speed Up Canada Workers Benefit Payments

The federal government announced its 2022 Fall Economic Statement late last week and it looks like we could be seeing changes to the Canada Workers Benefit quite soon. Specifically, one of the proposals is to begin sending the CWB payments in advance rather than delivering them as a refundable tax credit — the default for most. Additionally, Helena Hanson reports that millions of Canadians will be eligible for the updated benefit terms.

• What's Next? The government is waiting on Royal Assent — the go-ahead to move forward with the updates, which would be effective as of July 2023.
• READ THE FULL STORY HERE

2. POV: I Was Diagnosed With Skin Cancer; Here's What I Wish I Knew Sooner

"I thought it was just a stubborn pimple that would eventually go away so I dismissed it," writes our own Asymina Kantorowicz. But after a few years of temporary fixes, a biopsy confirmed what no young person ever expects to hear: skin cancer, specifically basal cell carcinoma. Flash forward to today and my colleague isn't entirely out of the woods yet; she's currently waiting to see a specialist to determine next steps. However, she is hoping that her story can help others protect themselves and get the help they need.

• Go Deeper: As Asymina explains, her type of skin cancer is actually considered the "friendliest," especially compared to fast-spreading melanoma. They grow slow and it's easily curable if caught and treated early.
• My Take: I think this might be the most important story we've featured in this space. I encourage you to read this if you have time.
• READ THE FULL STORY HERE

3. The Feds Have Maximum Interest In Making Student Loans Interest-Free — Forever

Another big change floated by the feds last week: the government plans to permanently eliminate interest on Canada student loans and apprentice loans. According to MTL Blog's Charlotte Hoareau, the new framework doesn't take the federal Repayment Assistance Plan off the table, which means borrowers can still pause loan repayments until they make at least $40K a year. Remember, the feds have basically already piloted this concept over the past several years; with the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupting labour markets, interest on student loans have been waived for the two years leading up to March 31, 2023.

• By The Numbers: The proposal is projected to cost $2.7 billion over five years and then $556.3 million annually after that initial period. The average student with a loan would save $410 each year.
• My Take: Yeah, it would've been nice if this was around when I paid off my own student loans, but I can't begrudge today's recent grads — the same way I won't lament that future generations might cure cancer.
• READ THE FULL STORY HERE

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What Else You Need To Know Today

🧥 WINTER IS COMING
At just about the halfway mark of autumn, temperatures will soon begin to dip toward and then (gulp) below zero — so you're going to want to get your wardrobe in order. Janice Rodrigues polled Canadians on where to find a good winter coat and came up with a pretty comprehensive breakdown of different styles at both low, medium and high price points.

🎄 HOLIDAY SPIRIT
Speaking of wintertime in Canada, it's time to start planning out your November/December festive schedule. Ontarians can check out the Simcoe Christmas Panorama starting December 3. Our Madeline Forsyth details what you'll discover at the annual light extravaganza.

👶 NAME GAME
Thanks to the help of a professor of cognitive linguistics, a study out of the U.K. has purportedly determined America's most beautiful-sounding names of 2022, Asymina Kantorowicz reports. The winners? Sophia and Matthew. The losers (by omission)? Any name that isn't fairly Anglophone, which might, uh, say something about the methodology being applied here.

📌 JOB BOARD
Graduating in spring 2023 and starting to explore how you're going to pay back all those (hopefully interest-free) student loans? In addition to a post-secondary recruitment campaign, Lisa Belmonte notes that the Government of Canada has a bunch of job listings — especially if you have a background in data science and epidemiology.

🎂 BIRTHDAYS
Let her live that fantasy: beguiling Kiwi pop star Lorde turns 26 years old today. French DJ David Guetta hits the double-nickel — 55 years old. Blue Jays colour commentator Buck Martinez is 74. The exceptional Joni Mitchell turns 79. The late American evangelist Billy Graham was born on this day in 1918. The extremely late Captain James Cook was born on this day in 1728.

Thanks for reading Narcity's Canada Morning Brief — and thank you to the old stoves, coffee makers and microwaves for leading the fight against twice-annual time changes.

Have a question or comment about today's edition? Let me know at andrew.potter@narcity.com or hit me up on Twitter if you'd prefer at @andrewjoepotter.

Have a great day and I will see you back here tomorrow!