| Liberal Unveil Fully Costed Plan to Bring Students Safely Back to Classroom |
| JULY 27, 2020
LIBERALS UNVEIL FULLY COSTED PLAN TO BRING STUDENTS SAFELY BACK TO
CLASSROOMS
TORONTO, ON – Steven Del Duca, leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, today
unveiled a fully-costed plan to get Ontario's students back into classrooms safely
and in classrooms no larger than 15 students. His Students in Schools Action Plan
calls for 14,000 new classroom locations, the hiring of 17,000 additional educators
and 10,000 additional caretakers. These measures enable safe,
physically-distanced learning, which is the first step in getting parents back to
work and reopening the economy.
"Students and their parents have been waiting for far too long to hear what will
happen in September,” said Del Duca. “Living with this uncertainty has caused
unnecessary anxiety during what has already been a stressful time. Getting our
students back to school safely is what kids critically need for their own
development and it’s the only way their Moms and Dads can have peace of mind
to return to work.
“Since the government hasn't unveiled a plan for the fall, I did,”
said Steven Del Duca. “Doug Ford should have made this a priority months
ago by meaningfully consulting with school boards, teachers, education workers,
principals and parents. He has not.”
“We need students in classrooms and we know that while distance learning
obviously needs vast improvement as a complement to future learning, the high
quality and safe in-class experience needs to be front and centre in our plans for
this Fall. It is the responsibility of the Premier to develop a plan to achieve
this safely, including sufficient training and support."
“Reopening the economy without full day school in September puts families in
impossible situations. It forces parents to choose between their children’s
education and their work. We have heard too many stories of parents - working
mothers in particular - who have had to give up their careers because Doug Ford
has yet to share a plan and won’t help them with childcare.”
“Ford’s priorities are beer, bars and booze -- it's time to deliver on a better,
stronger and safer public education for our kids."
“We need to ensure schools are a safe place to learn and a safe place to work.
That’s why my plan dramatically expands the number of classrooms
and educators.”
Del Duca’s Students in Schools Action Plan will cost $3.2 billion* and will fund:
● 15,000 More Elementary Teachers to reduce class size to 15 $1.30 billion
● 10,000 More Caretakers to keep elementary and secondary schools clean
$500 million
● 14,000 New Classrooms in Community Centres, Campuses, Arenas, etc.
$200 million
● 2,000 More Secondary Teachers to address pressures $170 million
● School Transportation (Cleaning, Retrofits, Staggered Starts) $80 million
● Sufficient Cleaning/Hygiene Supplies and Equipment $120 million
● 1,500 Special Education Professionals to Help Close Learning Gaps $120 million
● New equipment for students and educators (approx. 400,000 new devices)
$200 million
● Reverse PC Cuts and hire 1,000 more Mental Health Professionals $75 million
● Provincial Leadership in Centrally Procuring and Purchasing Personal Protective
Equipment for Students and Staff (e.g., face shields, masks, gloves) $110 million
● Support Parental Engagement and Communication $25 million
● Public Health Coordination of Screening, Testing and Contact Tracing N/A
● Contingency (10%) $290 million
*This is a one-time funding plan for the 2020-21 school year, after which,
a vaccine may likely be available. Regardless, the government should begin
planning for 2021-22 as early as possible.
“The choice is between students in schools or the chaos that Doug Ford’s unclear
approach will create. We need to make it safe for students to learn - it is the only
way they will thrive, and it will enable their parents to go back to work,”
concluded Del Duca.
Steven Del Duca, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, is available for interview:
Please email communications@stevendelduca.ca
Lucille Collard, Liberal MPP for Ottawa Vanier, is available for French language
interview: Please email lroche@liberal.ola.org |
| More.. | Posted: Jul 27, 2020 |
 | |
| Homeless Rights & Housing for All |
| Homeless Rights & Housing for All In
Wednesday, July 22nd
Time: 11:00 am
Location: Peter Street Referral Centre, 129 Peter Street
The state of homelessness continues to grow and reach bigger crisis levels in
the City of Toronto.
Speakers: Desmond Cole (journalist, activist, author); John Clarke (OCAP);
Zoe Dodd (Toronto Overdose Prevention Society); Derrick Black (Moss Park
encampment resident); Ashleigh (Parkdale Organize); Selwyn Pieters (council in
encampment lawsuit)
This Speak Out will feature directly affected people, community organizers,
council and front-line workers addressing the housing and homelessness crisis.
With the added problem of COVID-19, the situation is rapidly deteriorating.
The shelter system capacity has been cut in half and has not been replaced
adequately by hotels or housing. Including all of the backup respite sites,
there has still been a loss of over 500 spaces. The Peter St. referral centre
remains closed and there is nowhere to refer people to for safe space
as the shelters are both full and hazardous to people’s health.
The only housing being built in the City remains unaffordable and inaccessible,
while the Province is moving to make thousands more homeless through Bill 184
and by lifting the moratorium on evictions. “We face the biggest housing
and homelessness crisis in a century and the City remains utterly unprepared.
Shelters are full. There is no available low-income housing and there has been
no meaningful effort to build any for decades. It is time for a sea-change.
Poor and homeless people must fight for what is needed,” says OCAP Organizer
John Clarke.
For the well over a thousand people already sleeping on the streets
and in the parks there is nowhere else to go. Still, they face the threat of
displacement and criminalization by the City. Instead of providing basic needs for
people to live like housing, the City continues to invest over $1.1 billion
a year into racist, violent policing. Activist, journalist and author Desmond Cole,
says: “even as the province claims to have stopped evictions due to COVID-19,
city officials and police have been evicting homeless people camping in parks
and underneath bridges. Instead of housing people and protecting them from
the pandemic, governments continue their attempts to push the homeless out of
sight.”
Selwyn Pieters represents Derrick Black and a number of other homeless people
and two community organizations in a lawsuit against the City for encampment
evictions. Black says: “I don’t like how they deal with people in the park.
The enforcement is too much. I’m not moving until I get housing. I’m tired of
the promises.” His Lawyer, Pieters, says: “The injunction is being sought to
prevent the removal of persons living in parks and encampments is about
the fundamental rights to equity, equality and human dignity. The City of Toronto
has failed despite calls from various quarters to declare homelessness a state of
emergency and to divert funds into affordable housing and support services for
persons on the margins."
Demands:
Social Housing Now: the City do whatever it takes to buy, expropriate,
build social housing now to deal with homelessness (including expropriating
214-230 Sherbourne Ave. immediately).
Defund the Police: the City defund the police 50% now and fund basic needs
and services such as hotels and housing.
No Shelter and Housing Cuts: no cuts to the housing and shelter budget
Encampment Eviction Moratorium: the City reimplement the moratorium on
all encampment relocations and evictions and it is kept in place for the duration of
the pandemic and a minimum of 12 months.
Hotels and Housing for All: End the use of congregate living settings and ensure
everyone has a private room and bathroom. Lift restrictive rules in existing
and future hotel; and, new units need to be opened in the downtown core.
Moratorium on Tenant Evictions: the Mayor to use his emergency powers to
implement a moratorium on tenant evictions.
Stop Bill 184: the City call on the Province of Ontario to stop Bill 184
and the creation of more homelessness.
Contact: John Clarke, OCAP Organizer:
416-721-2301;
A.J. Withers,
OCAP Organizer 416-884-2290
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
157 Carlton St #201
Toronto, ON. M5A 2K3
Phone: 416 925 6939
Fax: 1 855 714 0566 (toll free)
Website: ocap.ca
Twitter: @OCAPtoronto
Facebook: facebook.com/OcapToronto |
| More.. | Posted: Jul 22, 2020 |
| |
| Statement from Family & Supporters of Deceased Migrant Farmworker Juan López Chaparro |
| Statement from Family & Supporters of Deceased Migrant Farmworker
Juan López Chaparro
Toronto, June 28, 2020 -- The family of Juan López Chaparro, a Mexican migrant
farmworker who died from COVID-19, are releasing their first public statement,
calling for privacy and respect from the media and supporters. The Migrant
Workers Alliance for Change continues to urge immediate action, including
compensation for the family, income support for all migrants impacted by
COVID-19 and permanent resident status now for all migrants to protect lives
and livelihoods.
“Our priority remains ensuring that my husband’s body be returned to us
as soon as possible so that as a family we can properly mourn our beloved
husband and father.” says Agustina Galindo, widow of Juan López Chaparro, in
a statement issued through Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
“Government officials have said many solemn words about migrant worker
deaths but we have yet to hear how Juan’s family will be compensated
and when the government will provide permanent residence status for
all migrant
and undocumented people to ensure worker rights and protections,” says
Karen Cocq, Campaigns Coordinator for the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
BACKGROUND
www.MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/UnheededWarnings
Media Contact: Karen Cocq,
647-970-8464
|
| More.. | Posted: Jun 28, 2020 |
| |
| Ontario Responds to Migrant Farmworker Deaths by Eposing More Migrants to COVID-19 |
| Ontario responds to migrant farmworker deaths by exposing more migrants to
COVID-19
Toronto, June 24, 2020 - Migrant Workers Alliance for Change is horrified
and enraged at the announcement by the Ontario Government to force
COVID-19 positive workers to keep working while they are infected.
No other change has been announced. Migrant Workers Alliance for Change calls
for an immediate reversal of this decision, and stop-work orders to be issued in
places with positive cases while guaranteeing full income for workers on the farms
which are closed or have infections through 21 paid sick days.
The Federal Government must stop the province from proceeding
with this directive that jeopardizes public health, and give permanent status to
workers so they can refuse unsafe work. A full list of recommendations is
available here.
“Ontario has responded to three farmworker deaths by signing a death warrant for
more migrant workers. COVID-19 positive workers will be forced to keep working
as they get sicker, keep infecting others, and more will die,” says Syed Hussan,
Executive Director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. “We have all seen
the photos and videos: people working inches away from each other,
workers separated by cardboard partitions, living in trailers without sinks a
nd using porta potties 10 or 20 at a time. Physical distancing is impossible on
these farms and everyone knows it.”
“The Premier himself has said employers are not cooperating with testing,
and now he wants to give them even more power to force migrant workers to
work and get sick. He is prioritizing profit and big business interests over
migrant’s ability to protect themselves from illness and death,” says Kit Andres,
Migrant Workers Alliance - Niagara. “We call on Ontario to reverse the decision
and on the federal government to give workers the power to protect themselves
by giving permanent resident status to all migrants now.”
“Would the Premier force his children to work if they tested positive for
COVID-19? This is anomalous - the government would never order other people to
work after testing positive. This shows a complete disregard of migrant workers’
health and safety and how dehumanized migrants workers are,” says Sonia Aviles,
Migrant Workers Alliance - Niagara.
The provincial government’s announcement includes no other new proposals.
Testing has already been expanded and yet employers have not adequately
responded, while nothing has been done to fix the conditions that produce
the spread of illness on farms and the need for testing in the first place.
Migrant workers are excluded from many basic employment rights in Ontario
and access to income support for positive or sick workers during COVID-19 has
been limited.
Media contacts:
Kit Andres,
905-324-2840,
kit@migrantworkersalliance.org
Syed Hussan,
416 453 3632,
hussan@migrantworkersalliance.org
|
| More.. | Posted: Jun 24, 2020 |
| |
| TeleSense Canada |
| TeleSense Canada Calls for a Healthcare Reform as Neglected Seniors in
Long-Term Care Are Suffering
TeleSense Canada, a leading telemedicine solution provider helping Canadians
benefit from next-generation healthcare technology, is calling for a healthcare
reform in Canada as senior citizens living in long-term care facilities are being
neglected and dying at a shocking rate due staff shortage and lack of medical
attention.
Senior citizens who live in long-term care homes make up 62 percent of
the COVID-19-related deaths in Canada.
Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, attributed about half of
Canada's deaths from coronavirus to long-term care homes.
More than 1,000 residents and several front-line staff members have died amid
more than 200 outbreaks at such homes in Ontario, Canada alone.
While senior citizens are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19 and long-term
care homes provide an ideal environment for the virus to spread, these
are just two of the contributing factors. Lockdowns have prevented family
members from visiting these facilities and advocating for their loved ones.
Overworked healthcare workers, who lack sufficient protective equipment,
become fearful of contracting the virus and walked out never to return.
Without family members, no one is left to ensure that residents receive
healthcare.
Physicians are only showing up one time per week, and they have no way of
monitoring patients' vitals remotely. Many have stopped showing up at all.
The situation has become so dire, the Canadian Government has deployed its
military. Provincial governments are ignoring the pleas for help issued by senior
citizens and their loved ones.
Making matters worse, Canada's embattled senior-care sector has struggled
with underfunding and neglect for years. The consequences of this situation
include workers who are employed at multiple senior care facilities alternating
between them, greatly increasing the risk of the virus spreading from one facility
to another. Further compounding the problem is the low pay and paltry benefits
given to those who work at long-term care facilities. Anxiety over missing a day of
pay drives some to go to work even when they feel ill, posing a risk of
transmission to residents.
"With the technology available today ready to be deployed, no senior should be
left without the proper medical attention. Our seniors deserve so much more;
we cannot sit and watch the statistics on TV, behind every number a life
and a family. The healthcare system failed them we need to come together
and fix the situation," said Michael Haddad, President & CEO.
TeleSense Canada, a telemedicine platform that allows healthcare providers
to make accurate diagnoses remotely, offers the solution that beleaguered senior
citizens so desperately need. The consumer platform is built with a user-friendly
personal clinic that patients or their caregivers can set up at a long-term facility.
The personal clinic incorporates high-quality medical devices including
a blood pressure unit, thermometer, pulse oximeter (SPO2), glucometer
and scale. At a long-term facility the Professional Telemedicine unit is deployed
as a cart system where it has additional professional instrumentation such
as 3-Lead and 12-Lead ECG, Spirometry, digital stethoscope, multiple high-grade
examination cameras and a portable ultrasound, operated by a local registered
nurse.
Diagnoses made through TeleSense are very accurate due to these devices,
the ability of the provider to integrate the patient's electronic health records
with TeleSense, and the option to consult with a medical specialist.
Patients communicate with their healthcare provider via video conferencing that
uses their own Internet connection or that of the facility. The medical-based
video conferencing is easy to use, with the provider inviting the patient into
the virtual examination room and the patient merely clicking on the invitation
acceptance.
Utilizing video conferencing, top-of-the-line medical devices, electronic health
records and input from specialists, TeleSense acts as the health provider's eyes,
hands and in-office medical instruments to ensure an accurate diagnosis without
requiring the patient to leave their bedside or the provider to enter the long-term
care facility.
"We simply must do better for our senior citizens. They are in great jeopardy of
perishing due to healthcare provider abandonment. The solution is caring for them
with a true telemedicine platform, with instrumentation and real-time vitals.
TeleSense Canada can help save many lives," said Michael Haddad,
President & CEO.
About TeleSense Canada
TeleSense Canada is a leading telemedicine solution provider helping healthcare
organizations, medical professionals and utilities and energy sector organizations
benefit from next-generation technology. TeleSense Canada is committed to
delivering high-quality technology and healthcare services by creating
a digital health platform that can evolve and scale to address ongoing needs
and demands. The company's solutions empower pharmacies, businesses,
medical professionals, and healthcare organizations to take advantage of
state-of-the-art telemedicine/tele-health technology.
Learn more at https://www.telesense.ca/.
Media Contact
Michael Haddad
michael.haddad@telesense.ca
|
| More.. | Posted: Jun 02, 2020 |
| |
| Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Named One of World's Best by Skytrax World Airport Awards |
| Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Named One of World's Best by Skytrax World
Airport Awards
TORONTO, May 13, 2020 /CNW/ - Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport has once again
been ranked among the world's best by the Skytrax World Airport Awards,
a global benchmark of airport excellence voted on by nearly 14 million passengers
worldwide. Ranking seventh in two categories – Best Airports in North America
and World's Best Airports (under five million passengers category) – this is
the seventh consecutive year that Billy Bishop Airport has been recognized
as one of the world's top airports by the prestigious awards.
The 2020 Awards are based on millions of airport survey questionnaires completed
in 2019 by more than 100 different nationalities of air travellers,
covering 550 airports worldwide. In the independent survey, passengers continued
to rank Billy Bishop Airport highly across 39 key performance indicators, including
fast check-in times, ease of access to the terminal, and the courtesy and efficiency
of airport staff.
"As passengers, airlines and airports collectively adapt to the new realities of air
travel in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is incredibly gratifying to
once again be named as one of the world's best by the Skytrax World Airport
Awards," said Geoffrey Wilson, CEO of PortsToronto, owner and operator of
Billy Bishop Airport. "To be recognized for the seventh consecutive year in
the passenger-driven Skytrax awards reinforces that Billy Bishop Airport – one of
the world's only walkable, bike-able airports with an award-winning scenic
approach – is striking a positive chord with passengers. With international
accolades such as these driving us to stay the course and excel despite trying
times, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport will carry on its 80-year history of enabling
business, facilitating tourism and providing a superior travel experience directly
into the heart of Canada's largest city."
Billy Bishop Airport has won a series of passenger-driven awards over the last
several years including being named one of the top airports globally and in
North America by Airports Council International's (ACI) Airport Service Quality
Awards. Billy Bishop Airport has also been ranked as the fourth Best International
Airport by Condé Nast Traveler and has ranked in the top ten on Private Fly's list
for Most Scenic Airport Approaches in the world for five consecutive years.
For more information on Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020 click here.
About the Skytrax World Airport Awards
The World Airport Awards are the most prestigious accolades for the airport
industry, voted by customers in the largest, annual global airport customer
satisfaction survey. The survey and awards process is independent and free of
any airport influence or interference in final results. The World Airport Awards are
a global benchmark of airport excellence, and widely known as the Passengers
Choice Awards.
About Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (https://www.billybishopairport.com)
Offering service to more than 20 cities in Canada and the U.S., with connection
opportunities to more than 80 international destinations via our airlines' networks,
Billy Bishop Airport is an important international gateway and a key driver to
Toronto's economy, generating more than $470 million in Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) each year and supporting 4,740 jobs, including 2,080 directly associated
with the airport operations. Billy Bishop Airport is renowned for its unique travel
experience, efficiency and customer service and has won a series of
passenger-driven awards.
About PortsToronto (https://www.portstoronto.com)
For more than 100 years PortsToronto has worked with its partners at the federal,
provincial and municipal levels to enhance the economic growth of the City of
Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. PortsToronto owns and operates
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which welcomed 2.8 million passengers in 2019;
the Outer Harbour Marina, one of Canada's largest freshwater marinas; and,
Marine Terminal 52, which provides transportation, distribution, storage
and container services to businesses at the Port of Toronto. PortsToronto is
committed to fostering strong, healthy and sustainable communities
and has invested more than $11 million since 2009 in charitable initiatives
and environmental programs that benefit communities along Toronto's waterfront
and beyond. PortsToronto operates in accordance with the Canada Marine Act
and is guided by a nine-member board with representation from all three levels of
government.
SOURCE PortsToronto
For further information:
Media Contact: Jessica Pellerin, Media Relations and Public Affairs Specialist,
PortsToronto,
Cell: (647) 298-0585,
E-mail: jpellerin@portstoronto.com
This information is being distributed to you by CNW Group Ltd. 88 Queens Quay
West, Suite 3000 Toronto ON M5J 0B8
www.newswire.ca
© Bell Canada, 2020.
All rights reserved. |
| More.. | Posted: May 19, 2020 |
| |
| Dog Owners During COVID-19 |
| Dog Trainers’ Association: There’s Still Help for Dog Owners During COVID-19
Trainers offering phone and online services during “Social Distancing”
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, March 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian dog
owners can still find safe training help for their pooches, despite stay-at-home
calls from officials during the COVID-19 crisis.
“The fact that pet dog owners are, appropriately, staying home at this time doesn’t
mean their pet problems will go away or will wait until we return to normal,”
said Helen Prinold, Chair of the Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers
(CAPDT).
“We’ve issued a challenge to our members across the country to find ways to
deliver services by remote – whether interactive online classes and videos or
offering phone consults for some training needs.”
Recommendations and orders from health officials regarding being in public
are changing daily. CAPDT advises pet owners to keep at least three weeks of food
and any prescription medicines on hand for your pet, and to look for ways to
challenge pet brains (such as online training) and enrich their days with fun
activities within “Social Distancing” limitations.
Unless stay-at-home recommendations change, the Association reminds owners of
puppies 8-14 weeks of age that they should NOT keep them at home to avoid
exposure. During this critical socialization time, puppies should get out in
the world and see a variety of people and vehicles and situations, while
maintaining safe social distances.
For dog owners seeking training support or enrichment ideas for their pets,
CAPDT recommends searching online at www.capdt.ca locally for member dog
trainers offering telephone or online services and checking our website under
“education” on the menu.
The CAPDT would also ask governments at all levels need to recognize that most
independent dog training businesses are following public health requests that
all Canadians should stay home. Their businesses are closed and suffering! Efforts
to replace worker incomes in this difficult period are vital. We hope efforts to stay
home will be recognized and our small, independent and local business owners
(who are not employees) can receive stopgap funding for regular monthly salaries
or business draw.
For more information contact Andrew Perkins at (416) 576-5001
or visit www.capdt.ca
– accompanying editorial photo damedeesa/Depositphotos.com
CONTACT: Andrew Perkins, Communications
Canadian Association of Professional
Dog Trainers (CAPDT)
(416) 576-5001
best.friends@sympatico.ca
www.capdt.ca
A photo accompanying this announcement is available
at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/
302ad9a9-2e95-4cbb-b69e-6a3fddc359aa
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On behalf of Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers 14 Dakota Drive,
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This message was sent to peter.tsykov@sympatico.ca.
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| More.. | Posted: Mar 20, 2020 |
| |
| OCAP and SHJN are Calling a News Conference |
| OCAP and SHJN are calling a news conference to call on the City and the Province
to take necessary measures to mitigate deadly impacts of COVID-19 on homeless
people, those on social assistance, and on those whose lives are being saved by
the overdose prevention sites.
News Conference on Monday, March 23 at 10am in front of entrance to Regent
Park Community Centre, 402 Shuter Street.
Toronto: Representatives from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, the Shelter
and Housing Justice Network, Street Nurses Network and the Toronto Overdose
Prevention Society will address the impact of COVID-19 on poor and homeless
people and make a case for the following:
Rapid and dramatic increase in shelter spaces accessible to homeless people to
ease overcrowding in existing emergency centres and allow for social distancing
and physical isolation. The expansion must include new drop-in spaces to
compensate for the closure of lunch programs, coffee shops, and municipal
facilities like libraries and community centres which has near-eliminated
infrastructure homeless people for food, indoor space, and sanitation.
An immediate boost to social assistance rates and easier access to supplementary
benefits (such as the special diet allowance) to compensate for the loss of food
programs, soup kitchens, and the cost of self-quarantining. Hungry people cannot
self-quarantine.
Expanded access to safer opioid prescribing programs, overdose prevention sites
and making witnessed injection and harm reduction support available
at quarantine facilities; ensuring access to personal protective equipment
at overdose prevention sites and working with people who use drugs to prevent
further escalation in overdoses and overdose related deaths during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Media Contact:
Yogi Acharya, Organizer, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty,
647-764-0488
--
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
157 Carlton St #201
Toronto, ON. M5A 2K3
416 925 6939
ocap.ca
Twitter: @OCAPtoronto
Facebook: facebook.com/OcapToronto
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|
| More.. | Posted: Mar 20, 2020 |
| |
| Mohawk Nation Meeting to Discuss Ministers Request to Polish the Chain |
| Mohawk Nation Agrees to meet with Federal Ministers
5:27 PM
MOHAWK NATION MEETING TO DISCUSS MINISTERS REQUEST TO POLISH
THE CHAIN
Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory—Today the Mohawk Nation have been holding
a “People’s Meeting” for Mohawks from Territories in Ontario, Quebec,
and New York State to discuss the ongoing solidarity actions taken by Tyendinaga
Mohawks, in response to the call from Wetsuweten Hereditary Chiefs
to #ShutDownCanada, after the RCMP invaded their Territory out West.
The CN Rail stoppage is in its 9th day since Mohawks demanded that no trains
cross their Territory at Tyendinaga until the RCMP leave Wetsuweten Territory,
where the government is using the militarized police force to escort Coastal
Gas Link employees who are building a new fracked gas pipeline.
Federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller has requested to “Polish
the Silver Covenant Chain,” one of the original agreements between Mohawks
and the Crown, to address the issues that both Canada and the Mohawks have.
Tomorrow, he will be arriving at the Wyman Rd CN Rail crossing at 10am.
The Mohawks have agreed to meet with him.
Indigenous and non-Indigenous supporters alike are welcome to travel to
Tyendinaga tomorrow to witness the historic event.
For more information see www.realpeoples.media.
MEDIA ADVISORY
WHO: Representatives of the Mohawk Nation
WHAT: Polishing the Silver Covenant Chain
WHEN: 10 am, Saturday February 15, 2010
WHERE: Wyman Rd. CN Rail Crossing, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
CONTACT: RealPeoplesMedia@gmail.com
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|
| More.. | Posted: Feb 14, 2020 |
| |
| Misinformation Spread by Health Officials Reveals Their Bias Against Vaping Once Again |
| Misinformation spread by health officials reveals their bias against vaping once
again
Hamilton, ON, Jan. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The members of
the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) have been at the forefront of harm
reduction for over a decade, supporting adult Canadian smokers transitioning from
deadly combustible tobacco. The vaping industry continues to call on health
authorities and members of the medical field to report evidence based facts to
Canadians regarding vaping and the unprecedented harm reduction opportunity
we have as a country, to save the lives of 45,000 Canadian smokers per year.
Last week Ottawa hosted its 12th annual conference on Smoking Cessation
Through State-of-the-art Clinical Approaches. While vaping industry experts were
not invited to participate, the conference did highlight a series of presenters,
including Dr. Stanton Glantz as the keynote speaker. The Ottawa Sun reported
that Dr. Glantz made a series of statements including:
It is a myth that e-cigarettes are helping people quit smoking. Dr. Glantz stated
that there is evidence that vaping products are helpful as part of smoking cessation
programs, but research looking at people outside of supervised programs suggests
these products can make it harder to quit smoking.
Although advocates tout vaping as a solution to smoking, Dr. Glantz said research
showed that, for every adult who quit smoking using e-cigarettes, 80 kids started
vaping.
“These are exactly the types of statements that need to be addressed in these
forums and with facts and not personal bias or agendas. It is essential we look to
Action on Smoking and Health, which has been researching evidence-based data
on vaping since 2012. They reported the number of vapers in the UK has
increased from 700,000 in 2012 to 3.6 million in 2019 and, of these, 54% had
given up smoking” says Darryl Tempest, Executive Director of the CVA. “There are
an estimated 900,000 adult
vapours in Canada, thus based on the 54% success rate for those that have quit
smoking using these products, Dr. Glantz is suggesting that 38,880,000 children
are vaping in a nation that
has under 37,000,000 people?” Tempest goes on to say “Even if we apply
the more conservative findings in the New England Journal of Medicine,
which state that vaping has an 18% success rate compared to the 10% success
rate for those who quit smoking with other NRT products, the statement made by
Dr. Glantz would still suggest that there are 12,960,000 youth vaping meanwhile
there are only 4,146,397 children aged 10 – 19 in Canada. No matter how you
look at this, the fact is that vaping is at a minimum twice as effective in assisting
smokers to quit than any other NRT product and that the bias and misinformation
spread by health advocates and the medical community puts public health at risk.
The more horrifying fact is that on Monday while conference chair, Dr. Pipe, made
jokes on his Twitter feed as people were debunking these ridiculous statements,
100 people died in Canada due to smoking related illness.”
Vaping plays such a critical role in the reduction of harm from smoking, specifically
in reducing the negative health impacts to Canadian smokers, the costs of smoking
related disease to the health care system and the social impact of smoking on
all Canadians. The vaping industry experts need to have a voice and we call
on Government to engage in real conversations to build awareness surrounding
vaping products and to regulate them in an effective way to promote harm
reduction, which has been so effective in the United Kingdom.
Know the Facts:
Are the lung illnesses in the United States related to nicotine e-liquid?
No – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed THC vape
devices laced with vitamin E acetate as the culprit behind the EVALI outbreak.
Is vaping nicotine e-liquid less harmful than smoking?
Yes – The best available research is based on the findings of the Royal College of
Physicians that have concluded that vaping nicotine e-liquid is at least 95% less
harmful than combustible tobacco.
Are flavours the driver of youth uptake?
No - The 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), released by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA, shows that flavors are
definitely not the main reason that youth try vaping; rather curiosity has been
found to be the leading driver. Among the teens who were surveyed, 56.1% listed
curiosity as a reason they tried vaping products, which is more than double
the next most popular reason, “friend or family member used them” (23.9%).
What is attracting youth to these products?
Nicotine levels - Between 2017 and 2018 current youth vapers (reported to have
vaped in the last 30 days) increased by 74% in Canada and 46% in the US,
compared to 2% in the UK where nicotine levels are capped at 20 mg/ml
(vs. the 66 mg/ml nicotine cap in Canada). Note that in the UK, where youth
vaping rates are much lower, there are no restrictions whatsoever on flavours.
This is direct evidence that the high nicotine levels, not flavours, are responsible
for attracting youth.
How do we address youth uptake while allowing adult smokers to make informed
decisions and protect themselves from black market products?
CVA Policy Recommendations:
All vaping product sales, including flavoured e-liquids, limited to adult only access
retail environments.
Sophisticated age verification technology mandatory in all adult only vape shops
for in-store and online purchases.
Nicotine levels capped at 20 mg/ml to combat youth uptake.
Mandate that e-commerce and online sales be delivered via a dual age verification
platform.
Display and promotion in retail environments restricted to age of majority stores.
National and brand specific advertising prohibited.
Close Canadian borders to unregulated black-market vaping products
and ingredients.
Together these policy recommendations are designed to effectively
and significantly reduce both youth uptake of vaping and smoking rates for
the betterment of all Canadians.
About the Canadian Vaping Association
The Canadian Vaping Association (canadianvapingassociation.org) is a registered
national, not-for-profit organization, established as the voice for the burgeoning
Canadian vaping industry. Founded in 2014, the CVA represents
over 300 manufacturing, retail and online vaping businesses in Canada
and has no tobacco companies, nor their affiliates, as part of their membership.
The association is the primary liaison with the federal and provincial governments
on all legislative and regulatory issues related to the industry. The primary goal of
the CVA is to ensure that government regulation is reasonable and practical,
through the strategy of professional proactive communication and education
supplied bilingually to health officers, media, and elected officials.
Darryl Tempest
Canadian Vaping Association (CVA)
647-274-1867
dtempest@thecva.org |
| More.. | Posted: Feb 07, 2020 |
| |
| Immigration Detention |
| CONCERNED TORONTONIANS DELIVER DEMANDS ON IMMIGRATION
DETENTION TO CHRYSTIA FREELAND, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Event July 12th calls to condemn separation of families, “migrant detention
centres”, inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and scrap Safe Third Country Act
Toronto, Ontario: On Friday July 12th, Torontonians concerned about the unjust
and inhumane treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in both Canada
and the United States will deliver demands to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia
Freeland. The group will be led by a coalition of Toronto-based racial and migrant
justice organizations that includes No One Is Illegal - Toronto, Showing Up for
Racial Justice - Toronto, No More Silence, IfNotNow and the Syria Solidarity
Collective.
During the event, the groups will collectively express their concern and outrage
over the unjust practice of immigration detention in the United States,
as well as in Canada where detainees can face detention in maximum security
facilities without charges or a trial, sometimes indefinitely. They will also voice
their opposition to an outdated law called the “Safe Third Country Agreement”
and it’s expansion to all i5 countries that include the UK, Australia
and New Zealand, that prevents most people fleeing violence or persecution from
seeking refuge in Canada if they. have applied and been denied elsewhere, first.
“We refute settler colonial government's authority to determine who comes
and goes on Indigenous lands - no one is illegal on our territories. We say
refugees and their families are welcome here! Let them all in!” says Audrey
Huntley of No More Silence.
“When we speak about the Holocaust, about the Nazi concentration camps,
about industrial-scale dehumanization of minorities, we say Never Again.
The time to turn that belief into action is today,” says Daniel Karasik of IfNotNow.
“The facilities where migrants are imprisoned in the United States
are concentration camps, their conditions tantamount to torture, while Canada
continues to build new immigration prisons and lock up migrants indefinitely
without charge. At IfNowNow, we call on our own Jewish community in particular
to say, loudly, that this is unacceptable. Not long ago, we were the refugees
Canada turned away.”
"We condemn the concentration camp style detention of migrants and migrant
children in the US while pointing out that detentions of migrants (including
children) continue and are on the increase in Canada. Canadian authorities are
quietly expanding migrant detention facilities coast to coast as we speak.
We have a horrendous and internationally condemned record of human rights
violations regarding our detention of migrants. As the climate crisis looms,
and Canada’s involvement in global political destabilization comes more and more
to the forefront - we must fight for those on the move. No one should be jailed for
exercising their human right to migrate. We demand an end to all detentions
and deportations. We continue to fight for the freedom to move, freedom to stay,
freedom to return." - Maya Menezes, No One Is Illegal Toronto.
The group will call on Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland to demand that
the Government of Canada:
Condemn President Donald Trump’s separation of families and inhumane
treatment of asylum seekers, and publicly call for the closure of the United States’
concentration camps;
Scrap the Safe Third Country Agreement, which refuses refugee claimants
who enter Canada via the United States, and allow people who have made
an asylum claims in the United States to make a refugee claim in Canada; and
End the unjust practice of immigration detention.
The event will begin at 11:30 AM at Matt Cohen Park. It will feature a series of
speakers from the organizing coalition. The group will then bring their demands to
the office of Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, at 510 - 344 Bloor
Street West.
Media contacts:
Audrey Huntley, No More Silence
(647) 981-2918
Maya Menezes, No One Is Illegal Toronto
(647) 832-3963
About No One Is Illegal Toronto: No One Is Illegal is a migrant justice movement
rooted in anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, ecological justice, Indigenous
self-determination, anti-occupation & anti-oppressive communities.
https://toronto.nooneisillegal.org
About Showing Up For Racial Justice Toronto: SURJ Toronto is a local chapter of
an international network organizing white people to support racial justice
and decolonization movements. https://surjtoronto.com
About No More Silence: No More Silence aims to develop an inter/national
network to support the work being done by activists, academics, researchers,
agencies and communities to stop the murders and disappearances of Indigenous
women.
http://itstartswithus-mmiw.com/no-more-silence-blog/
About Syria Solidarity Collective: The Syria Solidarity Collective is a Toronto based
anti-oppression group which strives for social justice for people in Syria.
https://m.facebook.com/SSCToronto/
About IfNotNow Toronto: A movement in Toronto to end the North American
Jewish community's support for the occupation in Israel/Palestine, and to win
freedom and dignity for all Israelis and Palestinians.
https://m.facebook.com/IfNotNowToronto/
© Bell Canada, 2019. All rights reserved. |
| More.. | Posted: Jul 12, 2019 |
| |
| The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) |
| Architects, academics and activists to announce a detailed development proposal
to build hundreds of rent-geared-to-income public housing units
at 214-230 Sherbourne St., a series 7 vacant properties steps from
Dundas & Sherbourne
Media Conference & Report Launch: Tomorrow, Wed, July 3, 9am, outside
committee room 1. Copies of the final report detailing the proposal will be
distributed, and a hand-scaled model of the proposed development will be
displayed.
Attachments: One of the perspective images of the final design,a hand-scaled
model photo, and a photo from the June 13, 2019 action demanding
expropriation.
Toronto: Following months of work, a collaboration between the Ontario Coalition
Against Poverty (OCAP), the Open Architecture Collaborative Toronto (OACTo),
and allied academics and activists has achieved its goal: creating a development
proposal with the potential to radically transform Dundas and Sherbourne for
the benefit of its most vulnerable residents, rather than at their expense.
The proposal lays out plans for building between 150 to over 260 units of
publicly-owned rent-geared-to-income units to house poor and homeless people
at 214-230 Sherbourne Street, a series of seven vacant properties steps from
the southwest intersection of Dundas and Sherbourne. The final design for
the site was informed by community consultations in the Regent Park
and the Dundas and Sherbourne area, with nearly 100 people offering feedback
on four aspects of the development proposal: overall building form, ground floor
programs, public space qualities, and domestic space qualities.
“This development proposal presents one of the many possibilities for designing
housing that is pragmatic and responsive to the needs of the local community.
The City has the opportunity to build a vibrant inclusive community at Dundas
and Sherbourne, and it must do so, starting with the expropriation of 214-230
Sherbourne Street,” says Mona Dai, one of the project leads and member of
OACTo.
The proposal responds to the loss of housing options for poor people in
the downtown east because of encroaching gentrification, which is resulting in
their displacement amid a deadly housing crisis, with nearly 9,000 people
homeless in the city. Unable to find a bed in the City’s overburdened
and under-resourced shelter system, hundreds are forced to sleep outside.
Under stressful conditions, an average of two homeless people die each week
according to City records, to say nothing of the deaths that go unnoticed.
With a sizable plot of land up for sale just steps from Dundas and Sherbourne,
the threat of homes for the wealthy being built in a neighbourhood
overwhelmingly populated by the poor is very real.
“The dominance of market-driven condominium development over all other
modes of housing provision has resulted in architects increasingly serving only
the wealthy. But we feel a duty to serve the public interest and our development
proposal does so by demonstrating how social housing can be built in
the downtown core,” says Adrian Blackwell, another project lead and Associate
Professor of Architecture at the University of Waterloo.
The owners of 214-230 Sherbourne Street, Bhushan and Rekha Taneja,
also own a series of other rental properties in the city and are fighting to
repeal even the grossly insufficient provisions of amendment 82 to the City’s
official plan, which mandates that any new developments in the DTE set aside
10 percent of total housing as “affordable” defined as “at or below average city of
Toronto rent.” They publicly advertised the properties for sale in March 2018,
but took them off the market after city council considered purchasing them in
response to a community mobilization, making it evident that they prefer to sell
to condo developers. Council has not moved on expropriating the properties since.
“Toronto has more towers under construction than any other North American
city yet the housing crisis is worsening every year. The housing market is not only
saddling people with stifling debts and obscene rents, it is critically gutting
the few housing options available to Toronto’s poor. 214-230 Sherbourne have
been a historic part of Toronto’s poor and working class people living and dying
at Dundas and Sherbourne. We will fight to make sure these properties will also
be part of their future, says Yogi Acharya, organizer with the Ontario Coalition
Against Poverty
Media Spokespersons:
Yogi Acharya,
647-764-0488
Adrian Blackwell,
416-709-1471
Mona Dai,
519-729-9360
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
157 Carlton St #201
Toronto, ON. M5A 2K3
Phone: 416 925 6939
Fax: 1 855 714 0566 (toll free)
Website: ocap.ca
Twitter: @OCAPtoronto
Facebook: facebook.com/OcapToronto
© Bell Canada, 2019. All rights reserved. |
| More.. | Posted: Jul 04, 2019 |
| |
| MLSE Statement Regarding Toronto Raptors Parade and Rally |
| City of Toronto, Toronto Police Service, MLSE statement regarding Toronto
Raptors parade and rally
TORONTO, June 27, 2019 /CNW/ - A news story today is reporting that an infant
tragically died days after attending the parade to celebrate the Toronto
Raptors 2019 NBA Championship title. The death of a child is always tragic
and the City of Toronto, its agencies and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
(MLSE) express their deepest condolences to the baby's parents and family for
their loss.
Here is what is currently known by the City and the Toronto Police Service about
this tragic event. On June 17, a mother attended the parade and was on University
Avenue at York Street, just north of Front Street with her infant.
At approximately 1:30 p.m., the mother noticed her child was suddenly
unresponsive and called out for help. Paramedics began attending to the infant.
A radio call went out for a medical distress and a nearby Toronto Police SUV with
two Toronto Police Service employees including an officer and a civilian arrived
and rushed the paramedics and the infant to hospital, arriving in 6 minutes.
According to those involved, the baby was initially vital signs absent however,
regained vital signs that afternoon. Sadly, the infant passed away on June 19.
Reports that neither medics nor police could get to the baby are unfounded.
The infant arrived at hospital in 6 minutes from the police arriving at the scene.
On June 17, a parade and rally was held for Toronto Raptors fans – and Raptors
players – to come together to celebrate Canada's first-ever NBA Championship
where approximately two million people gathered to see the players, coaches
and team management make their way from Exhibition Place to Nathan Phillips
Square (NPS), with 100,000 people attending the rally on and near NPS.
Staff from MLSE, City Transportation, Police, Fire, Paramedics, Special Events,
Solid Waste Management, Communications, the Office of Emergency Management,
TTC, GO Transit, Exhibition Place and the Toronto Parking Authority met days later
to discuss the need for a more proactive celebration plan in future, including
parade logistics, improved public safety measures, and improved
information-sharing for those in attendance, especially for those who attended
the rally on NPS.
An organizing committee will be struck to plan future celebrations, in addition to
an events and security consultant with experience in staging similar civic events of
this nature being engaged.
SOURCE City of Toronto
For further information:
Media contacts: City of Toronto – Brad Ross,
416-919-6500;
Toronto Police Service – Allison Sparkes,
416-808-7100;
MLSE – Dave Haggith,
416-450-1681
This information is being distributed to you by CNW Group Ltd. 88 Queens Quay
West, Suite 3000 Toronto ON M5J 0B8 www.newswire.ca
2019 CNW Group Ltd, all rights reserved
|
| More.. | Posted: Jun 27, 2019 |
| |
| Health Providers and Lawyers Rally to Stop Ford’s Cuts to Legal Aid |
| Health Providers and Lawyers Rally to Stop Ford’s Cuts to Legal
Aid
Toronto – On May 7, 2019, a group of lawyers and health-care workers filled
the public gallery
of Queen’s Park, disrupting the legislature and making their voices heard:
the cuts are not
acceptable, and they must be reversed!
During the legislative disruption, hundreds of lawyers in robes, doctors in white
coats, and
community allies stood on the lawn of Queen’s Park, hearing from those impacted
by the cuts.
In unison, they demanded the saving of Legal Aid.
“As a physician working with refugees and migrants with precarious immigration
status, I am
shocked at this government’s cruelty. Health providers will not stand idly by
as refugee
claimants are stripped of their rights,” said Dr. Ritika Goel, a family physician in
Toronto.
Refugee lawyer Nastaran Roushan said, “the Ford government is denying refugees
and
migrants their legal right to representation. Lawyers and health providers
are holding this
government to account for its heartless attack on the most marginalized amongst
us.”
On April 11, 2019, the Ontario government made drastic cuts to Legal Aid Ontario
(LAO)
funding, with an overall cut of 30% to the LAO budget, and a 100% cut to
immigration and
refugee services. This will have a severe impact on the most vulnerable
individuals
in our
communities.
As a result of the cuts, refugees will no longer have LAO funding for any services
beyond filling
out their forms to initiate their claims. This form represents less than half of
the previous
services provided to refugees in the course of their refugee claim.
There is no longer LAO coverage for other immigration and refugee services,
including appeals
when refugee claims are denied (even though approximately thirty percent of
appeals are
successful). LAO services will not be provided for humanitarian applications
(for those who
have established themselves in Canada), or representation at detention
proceedings.
For further details about the event, see:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2386183191421537/
For media comment:
stopLAOcuts@gmail.com
Michaela Beder, MD, Psychiatrist,
mbeder@gmail.com
Macdonald Scott, Carranza LLP,
647-761-3860
|
| More.. | Posted: May 07, 2019 |
| |
| Ryerson's Chang School of Continuing Education Will Offer Business of Cannabis Course in Brampton This Spring |
| Ryerson's Chang School of Continuing Education Will Offer Business of
Cannabis Course in Brampton This Spring
TORONTO, April 18, 2019 /CNW/ - Ryerson University's Raymond G. Chang School
of Continuing Education announced today that it will be offering its course on
The Business of Cannabis (CZEN 420) in Brampton. Classes will run from
May 8 to July 31 on Wednesdays, from 6:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.
Offering this cannabis course in Brampton is a natural progression, given that
the City of Brampton was one of the first Ontario cities to open a cannabis retail
store earlier this month.
"The legalization of recreational cannabis has presented an exciting array of
employment and business opportunities throughout the Canadian market," said
Marie Bountrogianni, Dean of The Chang School. "We look forward to bringing
the Business of Cannabis to the Brampton community to help adult learners build
their capacity to contribute to this dynamic and growing industry."
Building on Ryerson's expertise in entrepreneurship education, The Business of
Cannabis explores a range of topics including financing for cannabis businesses
and the complex regulations pertaining to the cultivation, processing,
and distribution, marketing and selling of cannabis. Students learn how to apply
entrepreneurship principles such as opportunity identification and evaluation,
lean methods and bootstrapping. They will also have the opportunity to create
a business plan and get in-person access to key cannabis industry leaders during
planned panel discussions.
"Our programming is shaped by a diverse group of advisors who lead the way in
the industry. Their expertise in business strategy and development, branding,
science, health, as well as law and regulation has allowed Ryerson to offer this
one-of-a-kind program. This is extremely important for an area that is complex
and continues to change at a breakneck speed," said Linda Koechli, Program
Director, Business.
The Chang School of Continuing Education recognizes the societal need for
education and awareness about cannabis in order to support this growing
and changing industry. The objective of the course is to give Canadian
entrepreneurs a competitive edge in seizing the opportunities available in what
has become a billion dollar business in Canada. The course will increase
employability for those seeking entry- or intermediate-level functional positions in
the cannabis industry.
The Business of Cannabis is just one of many innovative and forward-thinking
courses offered by The Chang School in Brampton. The institution has been
offering courses on cybersecurity since January 2019. For spring, The Chang
School will once again be offering courses in in this timely subject area: Digital
Forensics Systems (CKDF 130) and Continuity and Risk Management (CSCI 243)
will be available to help meet the demand for skills needed in the field.
Visit this website for more information about The Chang School's The Business of
Cannabis course.
Ryerson University's G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is
Canada's foremost provider of university-based adult education, facilitating access
to the university's renowned, professionally relevant courses and programs.
Our mission is to provide accessible lifelong learning through innovative
programming that empowers adults to reach their life and career goals.
We offer 81 certificate programs (31 of which can be completed entirely online),
12 part-time degree programs, and 65 course series. Our Experiential Learning
Exchange (ELX) offers self-driven instruction that emphasizes hands-on,
project-based learning and connects students with experienced industry leaders
through coaching, master classes, and professional networking.
SOURCE Ryerson University
For further information:
MEDIA INQUIRIES: Jessica Leach, Media Relations Officer, Ryerson University,
Cell: 416-704-2166,
jleach@ryerson.ca
This information is being distributed to you by CNW Group Ltd. 88 Queens Quay
West, Suite 3000 Toronto ON M5J 0B8
www.newswire.ca
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| More.. | Posted: Apr 21, 2019 |
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