 Here’s what you need to know to get the day started: | | | He calls himself a doctor and promises to cure cancer. Critics say he's profiting from misinformation | | |  | Darrell Wolfe, a self-described health practitioner, is peddling unproven and harmful treatments to people desperate for a cure. Above, he is using an aggressive massage technique to try and heal a recently broken wrist. (CBC) | | | A self-described health practitioner exposed nearly 30 years ago for selling fake HIV cures in Toronto is now peddling unproven and harmful treatments for everything from chronic pain to cancer, according to a CBC Marketplace investigation.
The Doc of Detox — as Darrell Wolfe calls himself — has built a burgeoning alternative health operation at a resort in Ixtapa, Mexico, where he and his staff use questionable procedures and devices that are not only costly and ineffective, but can often cause egregious physical suffering. He also trains new recruits in his techniques.
"People that are grifting, or trying to take advantage of others, will take every avenue they can," said Jacob Shelley, a health law professor at Western University in London, Ont. "He's not actually providing medical care. He's not helping people. He's selling a story to try to line his own pockets…. It's preying upon people's hope."
Marketplace spoke to 21 people who described their experiences with Wolfe and his program. They said that it was akin to joining a cult; that the physical treatments bordered on "torture"; and the promises that he'd be able to cure diseases, including advanced cancer, left them feeling "foolish" and "deceived."
Undercover CBC Marketplace journalists — attending one of his courses in Mexico this past May — captured some of the suffering described by Wolfe's clients on hidden camera, documenting a woman with a recently broken wrist writhing and screaming in pain as Wolfe performed an unproven physical technique on her to release what he claimed was emotional trauma manifested as scar tissue.
Wolfe refers to himself as a doctor, yet he is not a licensed medical practitioner and is not qualified to treat people with serious medical issues. Still, many people Marketplace spoke to believed he was a medical physician.
CBC requested an on-camera interview with Wolfe while in Mexico, but he declined. Instead he conducted a Facebook Live that lasted more than an hour in response to CBC's request.
"Is everyone satisfied with our work? No," he said on the video. "Go ahead, let them strip me of everything, let them strip me down, let them cut my tongue out.… Maybe I can move onto a higher level like Jesus Christ." | | | | | On the move | | |  | (Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images) | | | | Passengers wait for their trains at Hongqiao railway station in Shanghai, China, on Friday, as the annual migration begins for people heading back to their hometowns for Lunar New Year celebrations. | | | | | | | | | In brief | | | A staffer in Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office sent a series of emails to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, challenging prosecutors' assessment and direction on cases stemming from the Coutts border blockades and protests, CBC News has learned. The emails were sent last fall, according to sources whom CBC has agreed not to identify because they fear they could lose their jobs. Soon after Smith was elected leader of the United Conservative Party and sworn in as premier, her office asked for a briefing on the cases. Subsequent emails critiqued the prosecutors' assessment of the charges and pushed back on the characterizations of the protest. "This is so improper on so many levels — it's pure interference with Crown independence," said one source with knowledge of the correspondence. The revelation comes just days after Smith herself backtracked from comments about two instances when she said she had contacted Crown prosecutors, subsequently clarifying that "at no time" had she communicated directly with prosecutors. Read the full story here.
The federal government is moving forward on repatriating 19 Canadian women and children held in northeastern Syria, says their lawyer. Family members of 23 detained Canadians — six women, four men and 13 children — have asked a Federal Court to order the government to arrange for their return. They've argued that refusing to do so would violate their Charter rights. The Canadians are among many foreign nationals in Syrian detention camps for suspected ISIS members and their families. The camps are run by the Kurdish forces that reclaimed the war-torn region from the extremist group. Lawrence Greenspon, the lawyer for the applicants, told CBC that an agreement has been reached to secure the release and return of the women and children. The case of the four men is still before the court, he said. Read more on this story here.
Farming is a challenging profession at the best of times, made more so in recent years by climate change. But a new national centre aims to fill the gaps in mental health support for farmers across the country. The Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing (CCAW) is a collaboration between researchers and mental health professionals looking to expand access to counselling and develop new resources for people in agriculture. "With their unique stressors and unique schedules, we need something that's going to be able to be offered when [farmers] can get it, where they can get it," said Deborah Vanberkel, chief programming officer of the CCAW, in an interview with What On Earth host Laura Lynch. Research shows that farmers are at higher risk for mental health concerns than the general population, due in part to the unpredictable, uncontrollable nature of the profession. Read more here.
It may be a new year, but many employers are still relying on an old tool for evaluating productivity. That would be the clock — against which so much of work is measured, despite ongoing changes in how, where and when work gets done. Employers and employees can sometimes butt heads over what happens on company time, but in severe cases, an employee could be accused of time theft. And this issue is growing more contentious as employers monitor what remote workers are doing outside of the confines of traditional offices. "Time theft is arguably an even bigger issue for employers at this time than it has been before," said Nadia Zaman, an employment lawyer with Rudner Law in Markham, Ont. Read the story here.
David Crosby, whose soaring harmonies with two different iconic bands elevated him to musical stardom in the 1960s even as his famously volatile temper often fractured relations with his bandmates, has died at the age of 81, his family said. A statement from Crosby's wife released to Variety magazine confirmed the musician's death "after a long illness" and said that he had died "lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django." In a career extending six decades, Crosby first spent three years with the Roger McGuinn-led Byrds, who scored No. 1 hits in the mid-60s with Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn, Turn, Turn. Soon after he joined up with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and, on occasion, Neil Young. Both configurations yielded mellow hits like Teach Your Children, as well as impassioned protest fare such as Wooden Ships and Ohio. Crosby also released eight solo albums, beginning with the acclaimed If I Could Only Remember My Name in 1971. Read more about the musician here.
Now here's some good news to start your Friday: When Queeny the Dalmatian went into labour on Dec. 27, her owner, Isabelle Chouinard, expected half a dozen puppies — or maybe 10 at most. But hours in, the puppies kept coming at the family's home in Saint-Paul-d'Abbotsford, Que., 50 kilometres east of Montreal. Even after the birth of eight puppies, Queeny's belly still looked huge. Six hours later, a total of 16 squealing pups had emerged, all of them healthy to date. With Queeny doing well and in recovery, the family has gained attention across the province with the litter being likened to the Disney classic 101 Dalmatians. Read more about Queeny and her large litter. | | | OPINION | UFC president's Power Slap League latest example of celebrity blurring line between marketing, dishonesty | | | Slap fighting wants to bill itself as a home run derby for combat sports, but it looks like more of a beanball contest, writes CBC Sports senior contributor Morgan Campbell. Read the column here. | | | | | Your weekly look at what’s happening in the worlds of economics, business and finance. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong untangles what it means for you, in your inbox Monday mornings. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter. | | |  | How much booze is too much booze? | New Canadian health guidelines recommend limiting alcohol consumption to just two drinks per week to avoid certain cancers and other health issues. A look at the science behind the guidelines.
Listen to today's episode | | | Today in history: January 20 | | | 1892: The first game of basketball is played in Springfield, Mass. It was invented by Canadian-born physical education teacher James Naismith.
1904: The federal government disallows a British Columbia act that restricted immigration to the province.
1981: The American hostage crisis in Iran comes to an end. The release came moments after the U.S. presidency passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. The 52 Americans had been held for 444 days after Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, demanding the U.S. extradite the deposed shah to stand trial in Iran.
1994: A solar storm knocks out Telesat Canada’s Anik E1 and E2 communications satellites. It forced newspapers, and radio and television broadcasters to scramble to jerry-rig systems to get their material out. E1 was recovered within hours, but E2 remained out of action until June 1994. | | | (With files from CBC News, The Canadian Press, The Associated Press and Reuters) | | | | |  | CBC NEWS APP | The most convenient way to get your news
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