The Windsor, Ont., surgeon at the heart of a controversy over unnecessary mastectomies has asked to have her hospital privileges reinstated.

Dr. Barbara Heartwell voluntarily withdrew from performing surgery at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor in late February after the hospital launched an investigation into Heartwell’s medical case history.

Hospital board chair Egidio Sovran says Heartwell changed her mind a few days later and wanted to continue operating.Dr. Barbara Heartwell, shown here in October 2009, voluntarily withdrew from performing surgery in late February, but hospital officials said she changed her mind a few days later. (CBC)

That led the hospital to suspend Heartwell, effectively barring her from operating.

Board hearing Wednesday

The hospital’s board of directors has scheduled a hearing Wednesday evening to decide whether Heartwell should be allowed back in the operating room.

A panel of seven board members is expected to hear from both Heartwell and the hospital’s medical advisory committee.

‘Since you’re actually grinding a professional’s practice to an immediate halt, the hospital act is set up in a way that there’s a timely response allowed.’—Dr. Art Kidd

Dr. Art Kidd, former chief of staff at Hôtel-Dieu Grace, said the hospital is required by law to deal with Heartwell’s request quickly.

“Since you’re actually grinding a professional’s practice to an immediate halt, the hospital act is set up in a way that there’s a timely response allowed,” said Kidd.

Last week the hospital set up the medical advisory committee, or MAC, and it has come up with a recommendation for Wednesday’s hearing.

“The physician will be there. Both parties will have legal counsel and, as indicated, it will be a legally mandated review of the decision of the MAC by the board,” said Kidd.

“Remember, it’s the board that ultimately grants all privileges to physicians, whether it’s their first application, annual application or a special circumstance.”

The board will decide at the start of the meeting whether members of the public and the media will be allowed to attend.

Case prompts investigations

The controversy surrounding Heartwell began when a former patient, Laurie Johnston, went public with her story of how she had a mastectomy at the hands of Heartwell in 2009, only to find out two weeks later she never had cancer.

Johnston is suing Heartwell, the hospital and Dr. Olive Williams, the pathologist whose report Heartwell misinterpreted, for $2.2 million.

Heartwell also removed the breast of Janice Laporte of Sarnia, Ont., in 2001. A report later revealed the woman did not need the mastectomy, as she did not have cancer.

In addition to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital’s examination of Heartwell’s mastectomy files, the Ontario government and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario are also investigating.

The government probe includes a review of Windsor Regional Hospital and Leamington District Memorial Hospital.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons is also investigating Williams, the pathologist who provided services for all three hospitals. Hôtel-Dieu Grace suspended Williams on Jan. 4 and reported her to the college.

Investigators look over the scene of a shooting that took the life of Ontario Provincial Police officer Vu Pham, 37, near Seaforth, Ont. (Dave Chidley/Canadian Press)

A central Ontario community was in shock after learning a well-respected former local politician was a suspect in the fatal shooting of a police officer who grew up in the same area.

Const. Vu Pham, a 15-year Ontario Provincial Police veteran, was fatally wounded in a shootout near the community of Seaforth in southwestern Ontario on Monday. He died several hours after being airlifted to London Health Sciences Centre, with his wife and children at his side.

Fred Preston, 70, a former reeve in the rural township of Joly, south of North Bay, was shot several times Monday and remains in critical condition in London’s Victoria Hospital, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit said. He has not been charged.

Sources say Preston’s wife left him last fall and moved in with their youngest daughter in southwestern Ontario. Police believe Preston was on his way to see his wife when they say he was pulled over.

Families of 2 men know each other

In a coincidental twist, both Pham and Preston hail from the same area in central Ontario. Pham, who was born in Vietnam, spent his teenage years in the village of Sundridge in Joly Township, where he was raised by his adoptive family.

Members of Pham’s family still live in the area, and his sister Christina Hurrell said they are friends with members of Preston’s family. But she said she did not believe the two men knew each other.

(CBC)

Hurrell said the incident wouldn’t effect the friendship between the two families.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Hurrell. “They didn’t have anything to do with it. I don’t even hate him … there’s just no point.”

Other neighbours who knew Preston said he was a friendly, polite man who served in local government from the 1990s until 2003 in Joly Township, which lies on the western edge of Algonquin Park. Residents also said he was an avid hunter and wood carver who used a chainsaw to cut life-size animal carvings from wooden stumps.

Pat Middlebrook, who owns a café in Joly, said she has known Preston for a few years and said he was a calm, happy guy.

“I’m in total shock,” she said.

Funeral planned for Friday

Pham, a 15-year police veteran, had worked out of the Huron County detachment and had previously served in the Cochrane and West Parry Sound detachments.

Const. Vu Pham, 37, of the Ontario Provincial Police was fatally shot Monday. (Ontario Provincial Police/Canadian Press)

He lived in Wingham, Ont., near Seaforth, with his wife, Heather, and three sons and was hailed by neighbours and police as an active member of the community, involved in the local church, youth soccer and minor hockey.

A funeral has been scheduled for Pham in Wingham on Friday afternoon.

No charges laid in case

Monday’s shootout started when police were called at 10:18 a.m. to the North Line in Huron County, OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said. Officers tried to pull over a pickup truck when they were confronted by an armed man.

The province’s Special Investigations Unit said two other officers were on the scene with Pham at the time of the shooting. After Pham was shot, the suspect and officers exchanged gunfire, and witnesses said as many as 20 shots were fired.

The OPP’s criminal investigation branch and the SIU, which probes cases of serious injury or death involving police and civilians, are investigating.

With the latest death, 104 OPP officers have been killed in the line of duty since the force was established in 1909.

Under the Criminal Code, the slaying of a police officer is considered first-degree murder regardless of whether it was planned or deliberate. First-degree murder carries a life sentence on conviction with no chance of parole for 25 years.

With files from The Canadian Press

Police say Corey Haim, seen last year in Hollywood, died of a drug overdose. ((Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Los Angeles police have confirmed Canadian actor Corey Haim died at age 38 early Wednesday, apparently from an accidental drug overdose.

The LAPD said Haim was taken to a Burbank hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:15 a.m. local time, according to the L.A. coroner’s office.

Police said Haim had been living in an apartment in North Hollywood. His mother Judy was said to have been with him in the apartment, and she called 911.

Born in Toronto in 1971, Haim’s mother decided to enrol her son in acting classes as a way for him to get over his shyness.

His first professional job was in the 1984 movie Firstborn. He also had a continuing role in the 1980s CBC-TV series The Edison Twins, which ran from 1982 to 1986.

The actor won acclaim for his role in the 1986 movie Lucas, starring Winona Ryder and Charlie Sheen. He followed that up with a major role with his pal Corey Feldman in the vampire flick The Lost Boys in 1987.

Haim soon became a teen idol and snared parts in films such as License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream.

In recent years, he had admitted to problems with drug abuse, calling himself a “chronic relapser” and was trying to get his life and career on track.

Haim told Britain’s The Sun newspaper in 2004 that he had been in and out of rehab about 15 times.

“I lived in L.A. in the eighties, which was not the best place to be. I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack,” he said in the interview.

He also starred in the reality series The Two Coreys with Feldman from 2007 to 2008. He later said he would never do another reality TV series.

Feldman, who has also struggled with drug abuse and claims to be clean, said in 2008 that he had refused to talk to his buddy until he got sober.

“I don’t feel that he’s a safe person to have around my wife and child at the moment, for a multitude of reasons,” Feldman told People magazine in an August 2008 story.

Haim had begun working again as an actor, with roles in small films such as Shark City and the horror film New Terminal Hotel.

Haim had recently finished a film shot in New Brunswick called American Sunset.

Corey Haim, pictured here last year in Hollywood, reportedly died of an accidental overdose. ((Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles police have confirmed Canadian actor Corey Haim died at age 38 early Wednesday, apparently from an accidental overdose.

The LAPD said Haim was taken to a Burbank hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said Haim had been staying with his mother in North Hollywood, and the death has been called an accidental overdose. His mother was said to be with him in her apartment, and she called 911.

The Toronto native was once a teen idol and starred in films such as The Lost Boys, Lucas and License to Drive.

In recent years, he had admitted to problems with drug abuse and was trying to get his life and career on track.

He also starred in the reality series The Two Coreys with his friend and fellow actor, Corey Feldman, from 2007 to 2008.

Haim had finished a film shot in New Brunswick called American Sunset.

Haim was not originally interested in acting.

His mother, Judy, had urged her son to take up acting to overcome his shyness.

He made his professional debut on the 1980s CBC-TV series The Edison Twins.

More to come

Interest rate increases will drive the Canadian dollar back up to parity with its U.S. counterpart by this summer, according to a report from CIBC World Markets.

The forecast is based on the expectation that the Bank of Canada will hike its key lending rate in July, at least six months ahead of the first hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.The dollar could hit $1.02 US by September, according to a currency forecast from CIBC World Markets. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

“Indeed, we’ve already seen the Canadian dollar gain several cents in recent weeks as the market began to firm up expectations” of a July rate hike in Canada, says CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld.

The loonie was quoted at 97.48 cents US in early Wednesday trading. It’s gained almost 3.5 cents against the greenback in the last two weeks.

CIBC’s currency outlook sees the loonie rising to $1.02 US by September before slipping back to 97 cents US by the end of the year.

While the Bank of Canada’s early rate hike is one of the main catalysts of the dollar’s rise, it isn’t the only one, CIBC says.

Rising commodity prices a factor

The bank also lists rising demand for commodities as a reason. It sees the dollar benefiting from rising oil, mineral and fertilizer prices as Canadian producers “repatriate profits.”

With capital markets bouncing back, the forecast says the loonie also stands to gain because the rest of the world considers Canada to have one of the “friendliest” environments to make foreign acquisitions.

“If the capital markets finally get an appetite for M&A then Canada could be one of the first places to see the benefit of foreign inflows,” says CIBC analyst Zafar Bhatti.

Fears of default by a sovereign nation could also drive the dollar. “Canada is one of the few remaining AAA credits with a healthy outlook and the Canadian dollar could benefit from a switch trade out of weak sovereign names to Canada,” Bhatti says.

The last time the dollar reached parity with the U.S. dollar was in 2007 and 2008, when oil prices surged as high as $147 US a barrel.

Erik Guay celebrates after his run on the Kandahar course in Garmisch on Wednesday. (Giovanni Auletta/Associated Press)

Canadian alpine skier Erik Guay has landed on the World Cup podium for the second time in four days.

The Mont-Tremblant, Que., native finished in a tie for third with Patrick Kueng of Switzerland, crossing in a time of one minute 58.42 seconds at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The race was the first in a series at the season-ending World Cup finals.

Guay won the super-G in Kvitfjell, Norway, on Sunday for his first World Cup victory since taking the Garmisch downhill three years ago.

It continues a strong run that began at the Vancouver Games with a pair of frustrating fifth-place finishes, fractions of a second from an Olympic medal.

It is also the seventh World Cup podium finish for the Canadian alpine team this season, which was shut out of the medals in Vancouver.

Switzerland’s Carlo Janka won his third downhill of the season on Wednesday to move 54 points ahead of Benjamin Raich of Austria in the overall World Cup standings.

Janka was 0.07 seconds faster than Guay on the Kandahar course.

“In the first half of the race it was not perfect surely, but I made no mistakes at the bottom half,” the 23-year-old Janka said after his seventh career World Cup victory.

Janka added that he and the other later competitors in the race benefited from improved visibility.

Mario Scheiber of Austria was 0.02 seconds behind the leader in the final downhill of the season, leaving the Austrian team without a downhill victory for the first season since 1991-92.

Canada’s Manuel Osborne-Paradis was seventh, 0.15 seconds back. The North Vancouver, B.C., native ended up fourth in the downhill standings this season, behind Swiss skiers Didier Cuche and Janka, along with Werner Heel of Italy.

Heel was sixth while Cuche finished eighth, with thumb and back injuries dogging the end of his season.

Raich opted to skip the downhill. Most of his 35 career World Cup podium finishes have come in the slalom and giant slalom, which are yet to come this week.

The men’s schedule continues with a super-G race on Thursday.

CBCSports.ca is streaming events at the men’s and women’s World Cup finals, with CBC Sports and Bold providing television coverage. Programming schedules can be found at the CBCSports.ca home page.

With files from the Associated Press

An exceptional lack of sea ice on the Gulf of St. Lawrence this winter has left seal mothers with few places to bear their young or to feed their pups.

The conditions have led to numerous sightings of fuzzy, days-old critters wallowing on beaches, where many will die.

But the biggest threat to the seal pups might be well-intentioned landlubbers hoping to lend a hand.

“They [humans] react as if they have found a lost kitten or a lost puppy dog,” said Véronik de la Cheneliere, a spokeswoman for the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network.

“They want to touch the animal, they want to help him, they want to bring it back to the water.

“They are quite adorable little animals, but they are wild animals.”

Some people have even carted the big-eyed creatures, which weigh between 10 and 20 kilograms depending on the species, back home where they try to nurse them to health, de la Cheneliere said Tuesday.

But she said human interaction can add stress to the situation and diseases can be spread to and from the seals.

Her organization has received five direct reports of young harp or hooded seal pups marooned on Quebec’s North Shore, Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the Gaspe Peninsula. They have also heard many second-hand accounts of sightings along the shoreline.

The harp seal pups are known for their big, black eyes and fluffy white coats, while the young hooded seals can be identified by their dark, blue-grey fur and white bellies.

Neither the hooded nor the harp seals found off Quebec’s shores are listed as at-risk species, but both can be hunted seasonally in the province with a permit.

De la Cheneliere said a couple of the would-be rescuers have made inquiries on that very subject.

“Some of them have been asking if they could nurse them to life, [but] then when they understood the implications and why it wasn’t a good idea, they asked if they could get the coat,” she said.

With the unusual shortage of ice on the Gulf this year, de la Cheneliere’s group is predicting higher mortality rates for young seals.

Still, not every beached pup perishes on the shore — some find their way back to the water and survive, she said.

A marine mammal specialist for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans recently told The Canadian Press he also expects the death rate for seal pups to rise this year from its average of 15 per cent.

But Mike Hammill doesn’t believe the added deaths would have a major impact on the Eastern Canada seal populations, which number about seven million in total.

An Environment Canada ice forecaster recently said the sea-ice levels recorded in the Gulf this winter are about as low as any readings since the 1960s.

Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what manufacturers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room.

But because the sets require bulky glasses, and there is for now little to watch in the enhanced format, it will take at least a few years for the technology to become mainstream, if that happens at all.

Samsung Electronics Co. announced Tuesday that it is selling two 3-D sets this week. For $3,000 (all figures US), buyers get a 46-inch set, two pairs of glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player.

Panasonic Corp. has said it will start selling 3-D sets Wednesday.

The sales debut comes as moviegoers have shown considerable enthusiasm for the latest wave of 3-D titles in the theater. Last weekend, Alice in Wonderland grossed an estimated $116.2 million at the box office, beating the first-weekend receipts of Avatar, the winter’s 3-D blockbuster.

Although it’s clear that 3-D sets for the home will appeal to technology and home-theater enthusiasts, it remains to be seen whether other consumers will be enticed to spend at least $500 above the price of a comparably sized standard TV and Blu-ray player.

TV makers hope so, because sets with the last big technological improvement — high definition — have come way down in price, below $500.

One challenge will be that the 3-D effect requires viewers to wear relatively bulky battery-operated glasses that need to be recharged occasionally. They are not like the cheap throwaways that have been used in theaters since the 1950s.

When you’re wearing these 3-D TV glasses, room lights and computer screens may look like they’re flickering, making it difficult to combine 3-D viewing with other household activities. Anyone who’s not wearing the glasses when the set is in 3-D mode will see a blurry screen. (The sets can be used in 2-D mode as well, with no glasses required.)

To give buyers something to watch, Samsung is including a 3-D copy of Monsters vs. Aliens on Blu-ray disc with its packages, in a deal with the studio, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Its CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, said it will convert its Shrek movies to 3-D for Samsung TV buyers later this year.

“We continue to see this amazing level of enthusiasm and excitement for 3-D. The rate of adoption for this into the cinema has been a rocket ship these last couple of months,” Katzenberg said in an interview.

Move to address shortage of 3-D content

Sets with 3-D-capability have been available for a few years from Mitsubishi Corp. But 3-D for the home is now coming together as a complete package with the arrival of more 3-D television models, as well as 3-D video players and 3-D movies.

But there’s still a notable lack of 3-D material to watch.

Eventually, sports and other programming that will benefit from a more enhanced viewing experience will be offered in 3-D. ESPN has said it will start a channel that will broadcast live events using the technology, starting with FIFA World Cup soccer in June. The sets could also be used for 3-D video games, when game consoles catch up to the new technology.

Samsung, the world’s largest maker of TVs, has high hopes for 3-D. Tim Baxter, head of the company’s U.S. electronics division, said he expects 3-D systems to be in three million to four million of the 35 million TV sets sold in the U.S. this year by all manufacturers.

Research firm iSuppli Corp. puts the figure at 4.2 million units globally this year. It expects the numbers to ramp quickly, to 12.9 million next year and 27 million in 2012. For comparison, there were more than 210 million TVs sold worldwide year.

Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling 3-D televisions in June. U.S. prices were not revealed, but the sets will cost $3,200 and up in Japan. The company hopes that 10 per cent of the TVs it sells in the next fiscal year will be 3-D units.

Sony also plans to issue software upgrades for its PlayStation 3 game consoles and some of its Blu-ray players so they will be able to play 3-D discs.

Panasonic has not revealed what its sets will cost. It’s taking a slightly different tack than Samsung, by introducing 3-D only on plasma screens, for maximum image quality. And rather than selling 3-D sets broadly, it’s going only through Best Buy Inc.’s Magnolia Home Theater stores.

Samsung’s two new sets will be followed by another 13 3-D-capable models in the next two months. Soon, 3-D packages with plasma sets will be available for about $2,000, Baxter said.

ISuppli analyst Randy Lawson said it’s a fairly simple, inexpensive move for manufacturers to modify their high-end sets to be 3-D-capable. That’s part of the reason iSuppli expects a quick increase in sales of such 3-D TVs. Whether people will use the feature is another matter, he said.

Consumers should be more interested in the ability to connect the TV to the Internet, Lawson said. That feature, which started showing up last year, is more immediately useful, because it gives access to a vast array of online movies and TV shows.

“I don’t believe that everyone will be watching 3-D all the time in two to three years,” he said. “I don’t think it will be a predominant” concern among average consumers.

A 35-year-old Canadian who uses a wheelchair was beaten violently in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday and is hospitalized in serious condition, according to police reports.

The man, whose name has not been released, was waiting to catch a train at a city train station at about 11 p.m. local time when he was approached and verbally assaulted by two teenage boys, the New South Wales police said on their website.

A still from video footage captured at the Mt. Druitt train station shows the Canadian man with one of his alleged assailants, right. (CCTV/City Rail)

The man tried to leave the station via an elevator, but was punched in the face by one of the boys and knocked from his wheelchair, police said.

The teenagers allegedly then stomped on the man, and hit him on the head and body with metal bars including one from his wheelchair. They ran away with the man’s belongings and wheelchair, police said, but returned later — and repeatedly — to continue beating him.

Charges laid

Police have charged a 16-year-old boy with intent to cause bodily harm and armed robbery. He was denied bail and remains in custody pending a second court date on April 8. A second teenager turned himself in to police on Wednesday at about 7 p.m. local time.

The man remains in a hospital northeast of Sydney, where he was being prepared for surgery on Thursday morning to treat severe cuts to his head and a depression to his skull.

He was “awake and lucid and doing quite well under the circumstances,” his girlfriend, Kristin Sharrock, told CBC News.

But he’s “distraught, obviously, and very upset, and just can’t believe that it’s happened,” Sharrock said.

Sharrock said her boyfriend had gone to a pub to listen to a Canadian band and was on his way home when the beating happened.

“He’s a kind, generous, strong individual,” Sharrock told reporters on Wednesday, fighting back tears. “He doesn’t deserve what’s happened to him.”

Motive unknown

The incident “appears to be a random act” and police have not determined a motive, police spokeswoman Joanne Elliott told CBC News.

“[I've] never heard of an assault like this ever in [20 years],” Elliott said. “And I know that very, very experienced police who have worked in Sydney’s western suburbs for 20 years … were absolutely appalled by what happened.”

But according to freelance reporter Tim Stackpool, many in the community say this type of beating “was destined to happen.”

“The crime rate there has been going up and up and up and up,” Stackpool told CBC News. The police have been doing their utmost to keep it under control, but this is a place in Sydney where perhaps there is not a lot for the youth of the streets to … do.”

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, is followed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after giving a joint press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday. (Musadeq Sadeq/Associated Press)Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a top U.S. official accused each other’s countries of having ulterior motives in Afghanistan during separate meetings with Afghan officials on Wednesday.

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates, meeting earlier in the day with Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, accused Iran of “playing a double game” in offering aid to Afghanistan while undermining NATO efforts in the country by aiding Taliban-led insurgents.

“It’s certainly bothersome,” he said. “We think Afghanistan should have good relations with all of its neighbours, but we also want all of Afghanistan’s neighbours to play an up-front game in dealing with the government of Afghanistan.”

Ahmadinejad fired back, saying during a meeting with Afghan president Hamid Karzai in Kabul that it was the U.S. that was playing a double game.

“They themselves created terrorists and now they’re saying that they are fighting terrorists,” Ahmadinejad said, a reference to the U.S. funding of Afghan rebels in their fight against the Soviet Union.

“Your country is located on the other side of the world, so what are you doing here?” he asked.

Ahmadinejad says it makes no sense that his country’s Shiite-led government would help the fundamentalist Sunni movement of the Taliban.

Iran to assist with reconstruction

The decision to host two diplomatic antagonists on the same day highlights the Afghan government’s desire to seek allies wherever it can to strengthen its tenuous hold over the country, where it has been waging a near-constant battle with insurgents.

Karzai said Iran was assisting Afghanistan with reconstruction projects, improving education and helping provide electricity.

“We are very hopeful that our brother nation of Iran will work with us in bringing peace and security to Afghanistan so that both our countries will be secure,” Karzai said, adding that Afghanistan has a very good relationship with Tehran.

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates left Afghanistan on Wednesday after a three-day visit to check on the U.S. expansion of its military presence in the country. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press)

Yet Karzai’s government is also heavily reliant on NATO forces in fighting the Taliban, who were swept from power in 2001 but have remained a presence in both Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan.

Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said in his meeting with Gates that his country is eager to take over primary responsibility of security in the country, and spoke repeatedly of the goal to expand the army and police forces to a combined 300,000 by the fall of 2011.

Afghan security remains fragile even as NATO forces prepare for a major offensive in Kandahar province later this year.

Attack in Khost province kills 2

NATO reported on Wednesday that an explosion at a police compound late Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border killed two NATO service members.

Initial reports from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force say a suicide bomber entered the joint Afghan border police-ISAF compound and detonated himself, killing two and injuring several others.

The Chergotah compound where the attack occurred is about 40 kilometres east of Khost city, the capital of the province of Khost.

The Taliban on Wednesday claimed responsibility for the attack.

The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks targeting military or police compounds.

With fiels from The Associated Press