2019-13

Thursday April 11, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 11, 2019

Ontario must take steps to hit vaccination targets and debunk measles myths

We’re losing the fight against measles. In this day and age, that’s an amazing statement. Three years ago we talked about them being almost eradicated. Now we’re losing the battle.

April 11, 2019

This week Ottawa reported measles cases. There have been outbreaks in British Columbia, in several U.S. states and in Europe. In New York City, a health emergency has been declared. 

And the worst part is that we know exactly why. A relatively small group of so-called anti-vaxxers is making effective use of — what else — social media to spread misinformation, which is leading to more and more parents not getting their kids vaccinated, and to more adults choosing not to be revaccinated.

A recent report from the Toronto Star shows that nearly 30 per cent of seven-year-old students in the Greater Toronto Area aren’t getting their shots. A vaccination rate of 90 to 95 per cent is needed to afford herd immunity, which is required to prevent outbreaks. Ontario is very far from that target. 

December 22, 2016

Actions are being taken. The Ontario Medical Association has launched a public awareness campaign, using traditional and non-traditional media, specifically taking at aim of some of the most common myths about vaccines. 

Myths that suggest measles and similar diseases aren’t really that dangerous. The fact is that complications happen in about 10 per cent of cases. For every 1,000 cases, one or two victims will die. Then there’s the widely-debunked claim that the measles vaccine causes autism. It doesn’t. There is no scientific evidence to support that claim. Large studies around the world have shown there is no link, and yet the life-threatening myth survives.

April 29, 2016

Or this: The idea that nosodes are a substitute for vaccination. Nosodes, also called homeopathic vaccines, are not a substitute for real vaccines. There is no scientific evidence to show they prevent infectious diseases. Nosodes are made from bacteria, viruses, tissue or other material from someone with a particular disease. They are so diluted there are no active ingredients left by the time they are administered.

Or this one: Breastfeeding protects babies from infection. While it offers some protection against certain types of infections, the protection is incomplete. Breastfeeding is not a substitute for vaccination.

February 6, 2015

And finally, this: We shouldn’t put foreign substances like vaccines into our bodies. It’s hard to believe anyone would fall for this, but they do. The germs that cause communicable diseases like measles are natural, but that doesn’t make them good. Plants and berries are natural things, but they yield some of the most poisonous substances. Vaccines, on the other hand, are made from natural sources, some from safely-altered germs. They stimulate our immune system in the same way the disease would, but without making us sick.

At this point, all the good work being done to educate the public isn’t stopping the new spread of measles. It may be time for tougher medicine.

April 30, 2009

There are two legal exemptions for not vaccinating kids. One is a medical exemption, which obviously must remain available. Another is non-medical exemptions, where parents must sign an affidavit saying vaccines conflict with their “sincerely held convictions.”

U.S. states like California, Mississippi and West Virginia have ended non-medical exemptions. And their vaccination rates have dramatically increased. Perhaps it’s time Ontario and other Canadian provinces did the same thing. (Source: Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

Measles, disease, virus, vaccination, herd, immunization, vaccine, military

Wednesday April 10, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 10, 2019

Foreign interference in 2019 election ‘very likely’: report

The 2019 federal election is “very likely” going to be the target of foreign cyber interference, with voters being the most likely targets of this anticipated meddling, a new report from Canada’s electronic spy agency warns.

April 12, 2018

The report is also putting renewed spotlight on the risks of not having more robust cybersecurity and transparency requirements for social media platforms and political parties in place in advance of this year’s campaign, given these two areas are cited as being potential targets for foreign actors.

“An increasing number of foreign adversaries have the cyber tools, the organizational capacity and a sufficiently advanced understanding of Canada’s political landscape to direct cyber interference during the 2019 federal election, should they have the strategic intent,” the report states.

The report is an update to the 2017 Cyber Threats to Canada’s Democratic Process report published by the Communication Security Establishment (CSE).

September 17, 2015

The 2017 report noted that Canada’s electoral process would not be immune from potential interference by outside actors, and that federal candidates, parties, and voters are all at risk. The update notes that the likelihood of online election meddling has increased as the amount of cyber interference in other countries has increased over the last two years.

Now, CSE says that it is “highly likely” that interference in Canada’s democratic process will be done using similar tools that have been implemented in other countries, such as amplifying polarizing political issues, promoting one party over another or discouraging participating in the election altogether.

The document repeatedly cites Russia as an example of a foreign country that has been proven to be conducting this kind of cyber interference, including during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Though a CSE official speaking to reporters on background said it is not anticipated that interference in the Canadian election will be on the same scale as what Americans experienced.

The intention of cyber interference is to compromise or gain access to information, or to use online means to “covertly manipulate online information” in order to influence voters’ opinions and ultimately the outcome of the election. (Source: CTV News) 

 

Tuesday April 9, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 9, 2019

Trudeau threatens Scheer with lawsuit over SNC-Lavalin comments

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has received a lawsuit threat from the prime minister regarding comments he made about the SNC-Lavalin affair.

October 16, 2015

Scheer says he received a letter from Justin Trudeau’s lawyer on March 31.

The letter from Trudeau’s lawyer Julian Porter took issue with what they term inappropriate comments in a statement made by Scheer on March 29 in response to new documents tabled in the justice committee from former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould.

“The statement contained highly defamatory comments about Prime Minister Trudeau,” it reads.

Trudeau has been under fire for the last two months over allegations that there was pressure on Wilson-Raybould to interfere in criminal proceedings against Quebec construction giant SNC-Lavalin. In an appearance before the House justice committee, she said top government officials asked her to help ensure a special legal deal was extended to the company.

She later provided emails, a written statement and a taped recording to the committee.

Scheer’s March 29 statement, in part, accused the prime minister of political interference, of lying to Canadians and of corrupt conduct.

Trudeau’s lawyer alleges Scheer made false statements, and refers to the Libel and Slander Act of Ontario, which deals with any publicly published material or comments that defame or disparage an individual or their profession.

February 28, 2019

“The prime minister supports wide-ranging and vigorous political debate on matters of public policy. However, your statement, in its entirety, is beyond the pale of fair debate and is libellous of my client personally and in the way of his occupation as prime minister,” Porter writes. 

Scheer has retained legal counsel as well.

His lawyer Peter Downard responded to the letter on Sunday, calling the complaint “entirely without merit.”

“It is profoundly disappointing that the prime minister is seeking to silence debate on matters of such great public importance. Mr. Scheer will not be intimidated,” he wrote.

The rebuttal also dares the prime minister to proceed with the lawsuit — which Scheer reiterated in his Sunday afternoon news conference — saying the defence will call for evidence, for Trudeau to testify under oath and for members of his government also to testify.

“I will defend myself vigorously on this,” Scheer said. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Saturday April 6, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 6, 2019

Balancing Ontario’s budget about to get painful — literally

Some are suggesting the Ford government is playing a little bait and switch with recent announcements.

April 9, 2019

As in, look over here: we’re dumping the licence plate slogan Yours to Discover for something else — maybe even Open for Business. How outrageous is that? (Based on the social media reaction, the answer is: very.)

And, look, look, we’re scrapping the provincial Trillium logo because it looks like three men in a hot tub. Crazy eh?

These would be the bait parts, intended to obscure the much bigger and altogether not humorous changes, like controversial education reforms that will reduce teacher-student interaction and eventually eliminate about 3,500 teaching positions.

Or this one: the province is studying changes to OHIP that would, among other things, drastically reduce the amount of pain-control medication available to chronic pain sufferers. And funding to remove certain types of polyps found during colonoscopies may be eliminated. Diabetes management, echocardiograms and tonsillectomies are also being examined.

Animated!

And, get this, the government may defund the practice of allowing general anesthetic for people undergoing colonoscopy testing.

The potential OHIP changes, which were revealed in an exclusive story by CityNews Toronto, are part of an effort to cut $460 million from the OHIP budget. A group of doctors and government officials are examining best practices to see where medical tests are overused or unnecessary.

Having a hard look at OHIP services makes sense. Health care, overall, is the top budget item for the province ($60 billion last year), with education not far behind. It makes sense to audit what we’re doing and paying for. But going from there to legislating more uncomfortable colonoscopies is a big leap.

With the government’s first budget coming next week, we should prepare ourselves for more news like this. Even though Doug Ford denied that getting Ontario’s books in order would be a painful process, anyone with common sense knew that wasn’t realistic.

It’s all about money. Those education reforms, which the province says will make kids more resilient? How convenient that they also save a few hundred million. Same with reducing OHIP-funded services.

But keep an eye on those OHIP changes. They may also be Ford opening the door to more private health care. Want more anesthetic with that colonoscopy? We can do that for a small fee. Need more pain management drugs? Sign right here.

What about the hidden costs of cuts like these? How many Ontarians who should get colonoscopies won’t? How many pain medication patients will turn to opiates, legal or illegal? How many people with diabetes will get sicker sooner in the absence of ongoing diabetes management programs? If the government cuts psychotherapy funding to 24 hours a year — another proposal — what will happen to patients?

We know the answer. People will get sicker, faster and more seriously. They will require more expensive, intensive intervention from the health and/or social services system. Sadly, the government is probably not studying that aspect of its budget plan. (Source: Hamilton Spectator Editorial)  

 

Friday April 5, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday April 5, 2019

The world still needs NATO after 70 years

The 70th birthday of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization this week deserved far more attention and celebration than it received.

November 23, 2002

There were no parades, no fireworks, no self-congratulatory gatherings of presidents and prime ministers clinking champagne flutes to recognize an alliance that has done so much for global peace and security.

Instead, and in marked contrast to the three-day extravaganza that saluted NATO’s accomplishments on its 50th anniversary in 1999, there was only a low-key ministerial meeting Thursday for the organization’s members in Washington, D.C.

This was likely because an ambitious, A-list gathering of NATO-nation leaders would have had to include the volatile, NATO-bashing American President Donald Trump. Having no party was preferable to having one he’d ruin.

Yet NATO was worthy of better. Whatever challenges it faces today — and some coming from disaffected members like Turkey are urgent — NATO must be judged a rousing success.

According to the Brookings Institution research group, NATO is one of the most enduring military alliances in the past 500 years. It rose from the wreckage of the Second World War, when European nations so recently freed from the scourge of Nazi Germany were confronted by an aggressively expansionist Soviet Union.

May 29, 2002

Some critics insisted NATO had passed its best-before date. Russian President Vladimir Putin showed how wrong they were. Today, and with support from Canada’s Armed Forces, the 29-member alliance has deployed troops in the Baltic States, Ukraine and Poland to halt Putin’s territorial ambitions. When the Russians annexed Crimea and destabilized eastern Ukraine, an impotent United Nations watched. NATO acted.

Despite Trump’s rants and threats, Congress and the American people are largely supportive of NATO. They know the alliance helped them in Afghanistan and how much the friendship of so many nations counts in a changing, uncertain world just awakening to the rise of a headstrong, authoritarian China.

Today’s world is very different from what it was in 1949. But for seven decades NATO has helped guide it through seas both calm and rough. Change it must and will. But NATO is still needed and we hope it lasts at least seven decades more. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)