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Heather Scoffield: COVID-19 statistics don’t reflect the reality for Indigenous people living in Canadian cities

Oct 7, 2021 , , , , by shlf

By now, we know quite a few things about the relationship between COVID-19 and vulnerable people in our midst.

We know it spreads insidiously in crowded homes, in low-income neighbourhoods and among people with underlying conditions. Poverty, precarious housing, multi-generational households and poor health are the breeding grounds for the virus.

So the quiet back-patting that’s been going on among government officials for the slow spread of COVID-19 to Indigenous communities is jarring to Dr. Janet Smylie.

The — that the percentage of COVID-19 cases on reserves is half the rate of that in the general population, and that the fatality rate is one-fifth of that in the general population — do not reflect her reality.

She is on the front lines of Indigenous health care in Toronto, watching and confronting the spread of COVID-19, and researching contagion and its effects among urban Indigenous populations more generally.

Smylie is a researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital, and research chair in Indigenous health knowledge and information. And she is convinced that the virus is drastically under-reported among Indigenous people living in cities.

According to , well over half of Indigenous people live in Canada’s cities. They are not included in the federal government’s efforts to monitor the spread of coronavirus nor are they included in new initiatives to collect statistics on a disaggregated basis to take into account minorities. And while many of them are healthy and prosperous, as a demographic, they check off every single box for being at high risk of catching and suffering deeply from COVID-19.

From what Smylie can see, they are indeed catching the virus, and spreading it to their tight-knit networks, both in the cities and on reserves, at an alarming pace.

“The reports that we’re hearing underestimate the impacts,” Smylie said in a recent interview. “There is an undercount.”

But there’s no way of knowing that for sure. Indigenous Services Canada and Statistics Canada are both looking at ways to measure COVID-19 contagion off reserves, and the Public Health Agency of Canada did not respond to multiple requests for information.

Instead, the federal authorities point to the provinces, who are responsible for delivering health care to Indigenous people off reserve. And not all provinces separate out that information in a transparent way, experts say. It’s “fragmented,” as Smylie says, and the result of decades of entrenched jurisdictional conflict and passing the buck.

“It’s like ignoring a blazing fire.”

In Manitoba, however, we do have some numbers — and they’re devastating. The virus is far more prevalent among First Nations there than among the province’s population in general, and it’s even worse among off-reserve First Nations people. Hospitalization and intensive-care rates are sky-high for off-reserve populations, and testing is low. Both on and off reserves, .

In other words, COVID-19 is spreading faster among off-reserve Indigenous people in Manitoba — and hitting them harder.

“It’s staggering, and it’s going to start impacting that older group,” says Grand Chief Arlen Dumas.

If those trends hold in other provinces, it’s important to know now — and not just after the fact through studies and research projects. Not just out of respect for basic human rights to health care but also because resources could then be allocated to a fragile segment of the population in a way that is both effective and meaningful.

Jocelyn Formsma is at the forefront of those delivering help to Indigenous people living in cities. As the head of the National Association of Friendship Centres, a network serving about 1.4 million people in towns big and small, Formsma is alarmed — not just about COVID-19 spreading through those communities, but also the toll it’s taking on vulnerable people living in isolation.

As communal kitchens have shut down, some friendship centres have staff cooking and putting together food hampers at home, adding sweetgrass and cedar, and hand-delivering them to people in need. Other centres have set up computer terminals at windows so that people without fixed addresses can come apply for government benefits without coming inside. Staff at the centres are constantly scrambling for extra space, resources and personal protective equipment to handle the safety demands of the virus.

“They’re just exhausted,” Formsma says.

In Manitoba, the grand chief and the province’s leading Indigenous health experts have taken to having weekly direct conversations with anyone at all over Facebook, fielding questions on everything from how to find a shelter space that safe from COVID-19 on short notice to whether there are microchips hidden in upcoming vaccines (No, for the record).

“There is a true desire to keep everyone safe,” says Dumas.

There’s no doubt that desire exists across all levels of government. Imagine what we could do if goodwill could be accompanied by good data.

Heather Scoffield is the Star’s Ottawa bureau chief and an economics columnist. Follow her on Twitter:

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Don’t close gyms, make them safer, says woman who caught COVID at Hamilton’s SpinCo

Oct 6, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Julia Smith has had difficulty breathing, body aches and “unbelievable” sinus pain ever since she caught at two weeks ago.

Despite all that, she says she has no regrets.

It’s important to keep gyms open for people’s mental health, she says.

But with fitness centres already in Toronto, Ottawa and Peel — Ontario’s COVID “hot spots” — and the province reviewing guidelines for gyms, the threat of broader closures looms large.

Some gyms are already taking action, hoping to pre-empt possible outbreaks like the one at SpinCo — which hit — and stay open as long as possible throughout the pandemic’s second wave.

Locally, the YMCA is making such moves.

Come Friday, all members will be required to wear masks at all times in their Hamilton, Flamborough and Burlington facilities — no exceptions allowed, said spokesperson Kyla Kumar.

Instead, Kumar said the facility will point those hoping to exercise without a mask to alternative options including swimming in their pools — where masks aren’t required — or participating in their online YMCA options.

“We know this is a challenging time and it’s really difficult for some people that have diagnosed medical conditions,” she said.

Kumar said the change in policy was spurred by the in cases in both Halton and Hamilton, as well as comments from Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton’s medical officer of health, regarding the SpinCo outbreak.

In the city’s Tuesday COVID-19 update, Richardson suggested wearing masks as for SpinCo once they reopen. The studio was following all existing guidelines, she has said numerous times.

Smith isn’t sure mandating masks is the answer; SpinCo’s classes are so intense people might pass out if fabric is covering their mouth and nose, and she questions if a mask soaked in sweat effectively limits COVID spread.

But she would be in favour of additional safety measures, such as Plexiglas barriers between riders and around the instructor or, really, anything that would help keep the studio open.

Despite falling so ill she’s spent most of the past two weeks in bed, Smith, 53, is a huge proponent of SpinCo. She credits the studio with keeping her physically and mentally fit after a long and difficult two years that included a marital split, a move and, of course, a lockdown and pandemic.

She worries about how people who struggles with mental health will fare if gyms close this winter.

“It’s only going to get worse (for them),” she said.

As of Thursday, there are 196 active cases of COVID-19 in Hamilton and another 233 in Halton, according to the respective health units.

Kumar said the YMCA “landed” on the mask policy as a good next step.

“We came together and said, ‘We have a responsibility as a neighbour given the work we do and our mission at the Y to support healthy communities,’” she said.

“We’re trying to make the most responsible decisions that are really guided by the recommendations of our public health officials. We lean on that expertise,” she said.

When asked about the YMCA’s rule change Thursday, Ontario associate medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said she thinks it’s “probably a good idea,” but facilities may want to consult with the province “on the details.”

Nonetheless, Yaffe echoed that she would support gyms changing their rules ahead of expected to be announced by the province.

“If a gym decides to go ahead on their own, I would support that,” said Yaffe, adding that she hopes to announce the new measures “shortly.”

The YMCA isn’t the only gym with a “no mask, no entry” rule; Crunch Fitness put one in place in on Sept. 1, according to their COVID-19 reopening plan.

If concerns do arise about the mask rules, Kumar said the organization would consider creating schedules that allow folks who cannot wear masks to work out mask-free in their facilities.

Ontario’s mandatory-mask order and Hamilton’s mask bylaw include exemptions for people with certain medical conditions. Both also allow people to strip off masks while working out.

In a statement, Hamilton’s manager of licensing, Monica Ciriello, said businesses can take the bylaw one step further “including refusal that is an establishment policy/practice and beyond the scope of the city’s involvement.”

As for Smith, Wednesday marked a turning point in her COVID-19 battle — she’s finally feeling better, despite a persistent cough.

Would she return to SpinCo?

“In a heartbeat,” she said.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email:

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email:

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A study’s surprising revelation about which students are faring better under the pandemic

Oct 1, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A new study out of the University of Toronto revealed surprising results, researchers say, on how students’ mental health has fared during COVID-19 and under the pandemic-mandated campus shutdown earlier this year.

The study, published in early September in the journal Canadian Psychology, revealed that U of T students with mental health concerns are faring similarly, or better, under the than they were a year ago.

But students who have no history of mental health issues reporting a higher level of depressive symptoms during the pandemic than they had previously.

Chloe Hamza, assistant professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and lead author , said the findings went against her expectation.

“We expected that students with pre-existing mental health concerns would be the ones who are most vulnerable to the psychological impacts of COVID-19,” Hamza said.

Instead, she said it was students who were faring well academically and socially that suffered more when the pandemic hit.

Students who were already struggling, Hamza added, said they were dealing with feelings of loneliness and isolation before the pandemic began. As a result, those students with pre-existing mental health conditions reported lower levels of academic alienation and friendship problems under lockdown.

They also reported slightly decreased perceived stress and feelings of being a burden.

Hamza said this is likely due to the reduction in academic, work or other time commitments under lockdown, which may have made life a little bit more manageable for those who were already having a hard time.

But students without pre-existing mental health conditions reported higher rates of alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms compared to last year as a result of the pandemic, prompting Hamza’s study to conclude there was a link between social isolation and worsening mental health among university students — the study states that “increasing social mistreatment” led to greater psychological distress among students.

Researchers surveyed round 730 second-year University of Toronto students in May. Those students were already surveyed about their mental health a year prior in 2019, and researchers compared the recent findings to those from last year to identify how students’ levels of stress and anxiety have changed overtime.

The University of Toronto, like the majority of universities and colleges across Canada, cancelled in-class sessions since March 13, and students are still learning virtually. Most big social events like Fall Orientation or Thanksgiving dinners have been cancelled and are being held online, redefining what once were pivotal aspects of university and college social life.

Little is still known through research about how students are handling this sudden shift to their daily reality. But Hamza’s study is one of the first looks at how students’ mental health in Canada is changing in light of the pandemic — a young cohort in an age group that has also as major cities in Canada experience a second wave.

Julia Pereira, president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, which represents around 150,000 students in the province, said university students have felt immense pressure since the pandemic began. Academically, Pereira said they’re worried about excelling in this new online learning environment. As for their social life, she said many students profoundly miss the physical campus community.

“Students are used to coming back, starting school and being surrounded by their friends and their peers and meeting with their professors one on one,” Pereira said. “I think that they’re missing that social interaction.”

Pereira, who also serves as vice-president at Wilfrid Laurier University’s student union, said many student leaders and universities across the province have tried to replicate some of these social experiences online.

But “unfortunately,” she added, “these online experiences aren’t going to completely substitute that social aspect of university that students really value.”

Hamza said her study’s findings underscore how important socialization is to post-secondary students, and that they’re a cohort that needs to be further supported by their community. She added the rise in COVID-19 cases among youth could be driven by the need of this young cohort to build connections and hang out with peers.

“Emerging adulthood is this period where there is an increased need for affiliation,” Hamza said. “So how do we find ways to support young adults in their affiliated needs, while also adhering to public health recommendations? I think that’s something we need to think about.”

But she said it’s important to also realize students are more vulnerable to spread of the virus because they also often live in shared housing, and may not have the luxury to safely isolate should they fall ill.

While Hamza’s study offers a glimpse of how students were feeling in May, a few months after lockdown, Marija Padjen, director of the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health, said students are likely still feeling the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health and will be for months to come as the pandemic continues to rage.

It is why she emphasized a message of hope and taking care of oneself as daily life continues to be disrupted: “How do we make sure we’re exercising, we’re getting sleep, that we are reaching out to supports that have been put into place, both within our campuses, but also within our country?” Padjen asked.

Padjen added students who are struggling should reach out to mental health resources like , a 24/7 helpline for post-secondary students in Ontario or Nova Scotia, or , a free online program that is designed to help youth manage a low mood, mild to moderate depression and anxiety, as well as stress or worry.

Even “within the social distancing realm,” Padjen said, “there is still the capability and the capacity for us to reach out and connect to each other.”

Nadine Yousif is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering mental health. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Follow her on Twitter:

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What does body cam pilot project mean for Barrie officers and citizens?

Sep 24, 2021 , , , , by shlf

If you happen to have an interaction with a front-line Barrie police officer, you may be on camera.

The city’s police service rolled out a pilot project Oct. 13, providing 25 officers with body cameras to test how beneficial they are for officer safety and transparency.

An evaluation of the results will take place and a report will be presented to the police services board.

The service is starting the pilot project after studying their use in other jurisdictions.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced funding for RCMP body cameras, and Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders is expediting body cameras for his officers. Calgary police are one the few large municipal police services in Canada to use the Axon body cameras.

So what does this mean for Barrie officers and citizens?

Will the cameras always be on?

The short answer is no. Officers will engage the cameras when they arrive on a call or are about to engage in an investigation. The officer controls when the camera is off or on.

What happens to the footage?

The footage is uploaded to a secure server to be used for an ongoing investigation or for court evidence. Footage not needed for court will be deleted within one year.

How will you know when you are being recorded?

The camera will have a flashing red circle when it is recording. The flashing red light can be disabled if it compromises officer safety.

What if you don’t want to be recorded?

Officers do not need consent to record in a public place but must ask permission in a private place, unless they have a search warrant to enter the premises.

Can an officer delete or edit the video?

No. Officers have no control over the video once it is recorded. At the end of their shift, video is uploaded to a secure virtual server and is retained for one year unless needed for court.

Can you view the video?

A written request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act is required before a decision can be made to release video or deny its release.

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Ontario Grade 12 students seeking answers about graduation are facing a test of nerves

Sep 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Tristan John “Tjay” Jandles knew that applying to university during a global pandemic would likely be mired in confusion. But for the soon-to-be graduate, the most frustrating thing has been getting timely answers to his questions.

“Being a Grade 12 student in 2020 comes with this feeling of uncertainty,” said Jandles, 17, a student at Huron Heights Secondary School in Kitchener.

When he started school in September, his priority was diving into university and financial-aid applications. The dual citizen is interested in post-secondary schools in Canada and the U.S.

Jandles said he hit a snag when trying to apply for the Ontario Student Assistance Program this year. He called OSAP, but no one called back, and when he contacted his guidance counsellors for help, they said they could help him … next month. He eventually reached someone at an American university who could help. But it meant he had to fill in the financial aid form on paper and send it to OSAP via snail mail.

“It seems the priority is everywhere but the 2020 to 2021 students.”

With forcing school boards to adjust , Ontario’s Grade 12 students are facing a graduating year like no other. Virtual school versus in-person, quadmester versus semestered, exams or no exams, courses with grades vs. pass/fail. As students are looking to line up their post-secondary education, the current school year keeps throwing them curveballs.

Some students are concerned they won’t have requisite classes in time for the application deadlines. Others are concerned that without extracurriculars and sports, they won’t stand out. Some students, especially those online, say it’s been difficult to connect to get timely advice.

Amalia Acharya, a 17-year-old virtual student, was frustrated a few weeks ago, when she couldn’t find the criteria for a certain scholarship online. When she emailed the guidance counsellor at her former school, she didn’t hear back for a week.

“It was pretty stressful,” she said, noting her mom is a guidance counsellor who eventually intervened to help.

Ryan Bird of the Toronto District School Board says schools will be providing students information about the application process. For students learning online, the TDSB Virtual Secondary School will be responsible for connecting students with the university and college applicaton centres, Ontario Universities’ Application Centre and the Ontario College Application Service.

Bird says the board, like most others, has been keeping students up to date with the constantly changing requirements for students to graduate, and how their final year of high school will be assessed.

Last week, the province announced that it would give school boards , allowing them to use exam days for in-class instructional time. They said boards could choose other options for final evaluations that are worth up to 30 per cent of students’ final grades.

The TDSB said it will be cancelling exams and “final marks will be based on coursework and in-class end of quadmester assessment of learning.”

The province has also revised the requirement for 40 hours of community service to graduate, decreasing it to 20 hours and adding flexibility in earning hours, such as by helping siblings at home, or even putting hours of paid employment toward the community service hours.

Sophie Pellar, a Grade 12 student at Ursula Franklin Academy in Toronto, said it’s been tough just to keep up with all the changes — which keep coming.

“We don’t even know if we’ll have school in two weeks!” she said. “No one knows what’s going on. We can’t turn to our guidance counsellors or our teachers because they’re just as confused as we are.”

Richard Long, a math teacher and department head at Bayside Secondary School near Belleville, says this year’s graduating students have it a lot harder than in the pre-COVID years.

Because of the way classes are structured this year, into quadmesters or octomesters, rather than typical semesters, high school students are now immersed in one or two subjects at a time, sometimes for several hours a day.

Tutorials at lunch are a thing of the past. So is casually dropping by a teacher’s office to ask a question. Even collaborating with friends has become more complicated because of social distancing. To ease their path, Long said, he’s giving his students various opportunities to excel. If they don’t do well on one test or assignment, they know they’ll have other chances.

“It’s a difficult year for these kids,” he said. “It’s cognitive overload. Some have tremendous anxiety, and with increased anxiety it’s been difficult to learn. Teachers are sensitive to that.”

Universities also understand the circumstances, says Heather Lane, executive director at the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre, which processes undergraduate and professional applications for admission to Ontario’s universities.

“Universities are very well aware of what is going in schools,” said Lane. “And we have the experience of last spring around some of the challenges and institutions having to make pivots or offer extensions based on what was happening,” she said.

Lane says despite the unconventional year, the university deadline applications have not changed: applications are still due Jan. 15, universities will aim to have offers out to students by the end of May, and students can start accepting offers by June 1.

“Those dates will likely not change, because there is no impact on what’s happening with COVID on those,” said Lane. “The challenge becomes around deadline dates that have to do with the school and school boards submitting grades to OUAC to be passed on to the universities,” she said.

Lane said that last year, when schools shut down in March, “we had to have a lot of conversations with the Ministry of Education and our university partners around grades, deadlines, and there were some extensions for schools to get grades in … and we and the universities did our best to be as flexible as possible.”

She said the challenge this year is that some students are in a quadmester program — where the school year is divided into four blocks and take two subjects at a time — and “in some cases, some students may have not even started a required course at the time they’re making a decision,” she said.

“Each university will have to determine how they will handle that … but I suspect, as they were last year, they will work to be flexible,” she said, including making conditional offers until the courses are completed.

Lane said OUAC is also in the process of sending out registration PINs to students, some may be getting them in the mail directly, while others may be getting them from their school board.

Lane said that for specific program requirements, students should contact the university, or talk to their guidance counsellors. But if they have questions around the application process, they can ask the OUAC.

“York University understands the stress prospective students are under due to the difficulty resulting from the global pandemic,” said Yanni Dagonas, the school’s deputy spokesperson.

“When a student is unable to obtain their final exam results or achieve a pre-requisite due to extenuating circumstances caused by the global pandemic, we encourage them to contact our admissions office so we can provide appropriate guidance,” he said. “Our goal is always to work with prospective students to find a solution for them to pursue their post-secondary goals.”

Others universities like Western have set up a COVID-19 info page to give students more details on how to apply.

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities says it “is engaged in ongoing communication with the Ontario University Application Centre (OUAC) to discuss how to continue to support students as they apply to postsecondary education programs, considering the unique circumstances of this school year.”

They said the Ontario Student Assistance Program application for an upcoming school year was launched in May, and the deadline and eligibility criteria have not changed for the 2020-21 school year.

With files from Kristin Rushowy

Noor Javed is a Toronto-based reporter covering current affairs in the York region for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

Michele Henry is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star, writing health and education stories. Follow her on Twitter:

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Rosie DiManno: Donald Trump, the liar-in-chief, unmasked: No one can take comfort from his assurances now

Sep 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Deus ex machina.

Literally: god from the machine.

An unexpected event saving a seemingly hopeless situation. For the Greeks who coined it, in a theatrical context, a contrived plot twist.

President , by testing positive for — the global plague that he mocked, lied through his teeth to diminish, issued absurdist advice to counteract (ingesting bleach) — has not saved himself from the hopelessness of his re-election chances, as projected by every poll out there. But the republic may have been saved, at least temporarily, from the exhausting madness of his berserk election campaign.

America was still trying to recover from Tuesday’s jaw-dropping debate between Trump and Democratic nominee — essentially a primal scream from the president, every facet of his unfitness for office on full public display — when the country learned both Trump and his wife, Melania, had tested positive and were entering isolation in the White House.

Indeed, the president had ridiculed his rival for following the government’s own protocols for limiting infection, beating that nag again in the debate. “I don’t wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet from him, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.’’

Then Trump attended fundraisers in Minneapolis and New Jersey, the latter apparently after his adviser and close confidante, Hope Hicks, had already tested positive for the coronavirus. Hicks was part of the entourage that had travelled to the Cleveland debate with the president, aboard Air Force One. Trump’s adult children and senior aides were also on that flight — none of them wearing masks or physically distancing. If Bloomberg hadn’t broken the news about Hicks on Thursday, would the White House have tried to sit on that information, prevent it from getting out?

The state of the president’s health is not a private issue.

So now Trump is the same boat as 7.31 million Americans who’ve contracted COVID-19, an unknown number likely because they were following their president’s indefensible lead when he could have and should have promoted safety measures. Upwards of 208,000 have died.

It’s unclear when Trump contracted the virus. It usually presents within five to 10 days after exposure. So maybe not Hicks; maybe the rally held at the White House lawn last Saturday, 200 people present for Trump’s announcement of his Supreme Court pick, Amy Coney Barrett. Or the rally he attended that night at Harrisburg International Airport in Middletown, Pa. Either occasion may turn out to be a super-spreader.

Every single person who was in close proximity with Trump needs to self-isolate, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who’s on the Senate judicial committee, was at the White House lawn event, unmasked. Lee revealed Friday that he’d tested positive. That could throw a wrench into advancing Barrett’s nomination from the judicial panel to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Pshaw, countered McConnell: full speed ahead.

The president is 74 years old and, at 244 pounds, officially obese. Both are factors placing him at high risk for the worst portents of the disease, although the White House said Friday that Trump was experiencing only mild symptoms. “He continues to be, not only in good spirits, but very energetic,’’ White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters.

But, as we now know about COVID-19, symptoms are usually mild in the first few days after infection, even in cases that subsequently rise to the level of requiring ventilation. By late afternoon, there were reports Trump had a fever and was receiving experimental therapies. He was taken by helicopter to the Walter Reed military hospital Friday evening, and tweeted a short video saying he thinks he’s doing well.

Tell me one good reason why anybody should believe anything coming out of this White House, anyway.

For nearly four years, the administration has obfuscated, prevaricated, falsified and outright deceived the country, on matters large and matters picayune. The Washington Post fact-checker blog had tracked 20,000 lies that came out of Trump’s mouth, as of mid-July. Even his supporters concede Trump is a bald-faced liar. An ABC-IPSOS poll last month showed seven in 10 Americans (69 per cent) didn’t trust the president on the pandemic specifically.

He may be the liar-in-chief but that duplicity cascades through his administration. Nobody can take any comfort from their assurances now, especially given the opaque bulletins provided about the president’s condition. They have no history of giving straight answers.

Which leaves the election campaign — the , only a month away — in utter chaos. All of Trump’s scheduled events for the next week have been postponed or will, according to the White House, be conducted virtually.

It Trump’s condition deteriorates, that could trigger the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, his powers transferred to Vice-President Mike Pence, who said Friday that he has tested negative. But of course that doesn’t mean he might not test positive tomorrow or the next day, given the COVID-19 incubation period.

This campaign, from the Trump camp, has been all about sidestepping the pandemic. Earlier this week, he maintained happy days again were “just around the corner,’’ the coronavirus crisis almost laid to rest. Wasn’t true then, certainly isn’t true now, probably won’t be true for months and months to come. The only consolation is that Trump, recovered or convalescing or seriously ailing — as so many victims who’ve “recovered’’ complain about ongoing fatigue and aches and breathing issues — will, fingers crossed, not be occupying the White House for much longer.

The country was already bracing for potential mayhem on Nov. 3, in no small part because Trump has steadily undermined the legitimacy of the election, casting thoroughly discounted imputations against mail-in ballots. He hasn’t explicitly agreed to accept the results; indeed, tacitly invoking an army of brownshirts to stand by. Such is the spectre of violence hanging over the election that the Justice Department is planning to station officials in a command centre at FBI headquarters to co-ordinate a federal response to disturbances that may arise across the country.

Trump has bickered endlessly and publicly with his own health experts, with the scientists, over the seriousness of and treatment for the pandemic. He’s shown reckless and wanton disregard for the lives of Americans. Now here he is, a symbol of his own folly, surrounded by the erosion of truth and facts.

The White House has provided a case study in how not to handle a highly contagious illness in the workplace. They didn’t even inform the Biden camp about Trump’s positive result. Trump has rejected the clear risk of COVID-19 from the start, doubling down on its harmlessness to most people, even as his generic fabrications and sophistries — on everything — reached breakneck speed.

It was patently clear from Trump’s conduct during the debate — the childish insults, the overwrought bullying — that he knows he’s headed for defeat on Nov. 3 and that the balance of his campaign would be scorched-earth bedlam.

There is one way out of this mess. Trump can withdraw. Deus ex machina.

There’s no precedent for it but there was no precedent for a president of such buffoonery and malice either. It would be a gracious retreat.

But what knows Donald Trump about grace and integrity and honour?

Proud Boy that he is.

Rosie DiManno is a Toronto-based columnist covering sports and current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Affordable housing coming to Bradford after Simcoe County approves land transfer

Sep 21, 2021 , , , , by shlf

More affordable housing is coming to Bradford West Gwillimbury after a decision at the county level.

Simcoe County has approved the transfer of land from Bradford West Gwillimbury to the county and directed staff to move forward with the design of an affordable housing development.

The affordable housing project is a part of a larger redevelopment strategy for 7.2 hectares of town-owned property bounded by Simcoe Road to the west, Edward Street to the north and Marshview Boulevard to the south and east. 

The four-storey apartment building and parking lot will be built on nearly 1 hectare of land at the northeast corner of Simcoe Road and Marshview Boulevard.

The apartment building will contain about 50 units with one, two and three-bedroom rental apartments for families and seniors. It will be owned and managed by the Simcoe County Housing Corporation.

“I am very pleased that this project has come together because affordable housing is badly needed in BWG, where housing prices have continued to rise and rental units are scarce,” says Mayor Rob Keffer. “It’s an ideal location, close to downtown and to the GO Train station, as well as to our future civic campus where residents will be able to access a wide variety of services.”

Simcoe County council adopted its “Our Community 10-year Affordable Housing and Homelessness Prevention Strategy” in 2014. The strategy set a target of delivering at least 2,685 new affordable housing units throughout the region by 2024, which includes 202 units in Bradford.

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DID YOU KNOW? A raging fire in 1891 wiped out much of downtown Alliston

Sep 17, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Almost every small town has a great fire story, and Alliston is no different.

The great fire that happened May 8, 1891, decimated many of the stores and buildings that once lined Victoria Street.

A historical newspaper clipping that described the aftermath said the blaze consumed upwards of 30 acres of land and destroyed “two thirds of the prettiest and most lively main streets of any town in the province.”

According to historical records, the fire is believed to have started in the horse stables outside the Queen’s Hotel, which was located in the heart of downtown.

Historian Ralph Braden, who wrote about the fire in one of his books, said the blaze was able to spread quickly due to strong warm breezes and the cedar plank sidewalks that lined the streets.

He called it “an inferno waiting to happen.”

He said volunteers worked desperately to douse the flames with buckets of water, and the town had to call for help from neighbouring communities.

The Collingwood Fire Department answered the call and it brought its pumper to town on the train, but it didn’t arrive until late in the afternoon.

It took years for the town to rebuild, but a new downtown eventually rose from the ashes.

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These Ontario school boards are blending in-class and online. Will others follow suit?

Sep 16, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The York Catholic and Dufferin-Peel Catholic school boards will soon be moving into a blended model of online and in-person learning – news that has sparked a new set of worries for many parents and educators across the regions.

This new model combines in-person and remote learners into the same class under the direction of the home school classroom teacher.

— Katie Taylor (@sinksships)

Both school board notices cite concerns over operational challenges as a primary reason for the switch. 

“This hybrid model has numerous benefits including keeping remote learners in their home school with their friends, maintaining physical distancing in classrooms, and offering a seamless transition from in-class learning to remote learning or vice-versa,” York Catholic District School Board’s (YCDSB) interim director Mary Battista wrote, Oct. 7. 

“We recognize this is a change in learning modes,” Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board’s (DPCDSB) director of education Marianne Mazzorato said in the board’s release on Oct. 8. “This change is necessary to ensure all students have access to the programs offered in DPCDSB and to provide flexibility regarding learning modes in this time of uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The YCDSB will begin implementing the new model on Oct. 14, followed by DPCDSB on Nov. 2. 

Upper Canada District School Board already rolled out a , through which classroom teachers use specific technologies approved by the board, to facilitate a more collaborative experience between students learning face-to-face, and those learning remotely.

Stephen Sliwa, Director of Education at Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB), said this model “provides students with the ability to connect with someone from their school that they may already know and stay connected with their peers during the school day.”

He added that the model also ensures flexibility for families who can move from one mode to another, when needed.

Liz Stuart, provincial president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, said the amount and frequency of school reorganizations they have observed this year is unprecedented.

“This is a direct result of the Ford government’s lack of planning and funding for a safe school reopening,” she said, adding that many parents are uncomfortable with the current safety precautions.

“As a result … school boards are implementing impractical plans that do not meet anyone’s needs.”

Caitlin Clark, spokesperson for education minister Stephen Lecce, said the Ontario government believes in providing and supporting parental choice to decide what type of learning is best for their children.

“School Boards decide how they deliver quality learning for students in class and online,” Clark added. “We have set the highest standards in Canada for remote learning. For example, students will learn at least 75 per cent of the instructional day in a live synchronous setting, as well as being provided with a daily schedule or timetable.”

She said the Ontario government has dedicated approximately $24 million to YCDSB, $33 million to DPCDSB and $13 million to UCDSB to reopen their schools.

Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), said ETFO has also expressed opposition to this blended learning model. 

“On so many levels this approach is wrong and it will no doubt compromise the high quality instruction that students need and deserve,” he said, adding that teacher-student interaction is a critical part of learning.

“Teachers cannot simply be in two places at once; it’s unmanageable,” Hammond said. “Where does a teacher devote their attention? Is it the classroom students or the online students? Because they certainly can’t do both at the same time effectively.”

Annie Kidder, executive director of the advocacy and research organization, People For Education, said there’s no way to determine how many schools will end up adopting this new model, but she thinks “boards are frantically trying to solve problems as best they can.”

“Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention and I don’t think any board would have chosen this if they didn’t feel it was necessary,” she added. 

However, she said, the province, school boards and parents need to acknowledge that these are not usual times and that there should be some leniency with regards to what teachers are expected to accomplish given the current circumstances.

“From a system perspective, there has to be flexibility about not assuming that teachers are going to implement new math curriculum at the same time for example, or meet all of the outcomes that are normally supposed to be met in curriculum by (a certain) date.”

Kidder said other factors that should be considered are hiring more support staff to help with both in-class and online learning, as well as affording teachers the opportunity to speak about what’s working and what isn’t. 

“I think what’s important is that we are immediately building in a method of learning about how this works so that we’re not just leaving teachers on their own to try and figure it out,” she said.

With files from Laura Broadley 

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Ontario announces $13.6 million in pandemic funding for schools in 4 regions

Sep 15, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Ontario will provide $13.6 million to be split between schools in four regions of the province recently designated COVID-19 red zones, Premier Doug Ford announced on Nov. 26.

“We know schools in red control zones or higher need extra support to keep students and staff safe,” Ford said during a media event at St. Marcellinus Secondary School, in Mississauga. “This is funding to hire even more teachers, to allow for physical distancing, to hire more custodians, to enhance cleaning in schools and increase remote learning supports for students.”

Here’s what you need to know about the additional funding.

Who will receive funds?

The funds will be made available to schools in Durham, Halton, Hamilton and Waterloo, since those regions were recently designated COVID-19 red zones. 

How far will this money go?

Ford said the $13.6 million is enough to hire 135-175 additional teachers or 240 custodians, or to purchase around 27,000 tablets and laptops for remote learning.

Where is the money coming from? 

This funding is part of the government’s existing $1.3-billion plan to reopen classrooms across the province.

In addition to the new funding for schools in Ontario’s four red zones, Ford also announced the province will launch voluntary COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic students in regions with high numbers of active cases, including in Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa. 

“This will build on our work with school boards and local public health units to ensure testing is made available to the schools and communities where they need it most,” Ford said.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce, who joined Ford for the announcement, said boards across the province will also receive additional funding stabilization to offset some of the impacts of enrolment declines caused by the pandemic. The funds are intended to respond to budget shortfalls and prevent boards from being forced to make staffing reductions. 

“We’re taking further action to keep schools open and keep them safe,” Lecce said, adding that, on the first day back from the holiday break in January, all students in Ontario will undergo a refresher on the fundamentals of COVID-19 safety, including proper mask use, hand hygiene, distancing and mental health.

The province will also launch two new interactive learning portals in partnership with TVO and its French-language counterpart, TFO.