Family

Tuesday February 9, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 9, 2021

Ontario will let more businesses reopen, gradually lift stay-at-home orders

Non-essential retailers in Ontario will be allowed to reopen at limited capacity when stay-at-home orders are lifted, the provincial government said Monday, as three public health units are set to see COVID-19 restrictions loosened.

Premier Doug Ford announced the changes this afternoon as part of his government’s plan to gradually move all of Ontario’s 34 public health units back to a colour-coded reopening framework.

Ontario has been in a provincewide “lockdown” since Dec. 26, and a stay-at-home order was added four weeks ago.

“Today we’re seeing some sunlight break through the clouds,” Ford said. “My friends, the measures are working. Staying home is saving lives.”

November 24, 2020

The following public health units will move into the green category — the least stringent in terms of COVID-19 restrictions — on Wednesday:

• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

• Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health 

• Renfrew County and District Health Unit

The stay-at-home order will be lifted then in those health units as well.

The order will remain in place in the rest of Ontario until Feb. 16, when it could be lifted in 28 more public health units depending upon COVID-19 trends at the time, the government said.

In Toronto and Peel and York regions, however, the order is set to stay in effect until at least Feb. 22.

November 5, 2020

In the coming weeks, the province will progressively move more regions back into the colour-coded system, which includes the green, yellow, orange, red and grey “lockdown” stages.

For now, though, all except the three public health units listed above will stay under the stay-at-home order. As part of today’s announcement, the province detailed some changes to the set of restrictions that apply to areas in lockdown once stay-at-home orders expire.

Chief among them is that non-essential retailers in the grey zones will be allowed to open their doors with a 25 per cent capacity limit. The province said the move is to “support the province’s economic recovery.”

The same applies to some other businesses, including discount and big box retailers, liquor stores, hardware stores and garden centres.

Meanwhile, the 50 per cent capacity limit for in-person shopping at essential retailers, such as supermarkets and other stores that primarily sell groceries, as well as convenience stores and pharmacies, will stay in place. 

June 5, 2020

Personal care services, however, are to remain closed. 

Gatherings at residences are still prohibited, but outdoor events and social gatherings of up to 10 people with two metres of distance are allowed, with masks strongly encouraged.

Funerals, weddings and baptisms are also allowed, with 10 people either indoors or outdoors, with two metres of distance between them.

Religious gatherings are similarly capped at 10 people indoors with two metres between them, and masks are mandatory. Virtual and drive-in religious services are also allowed.

Indoor recreational fitness facilities remain closed, but outdoor recreational amenities like rinks and trails are allowed to open with restrictions. Ski hills were initially listed in the province’s news release as allowed, but a government spokesperson sent out a statement saying that was a mistake, and they would not be permitted to open. (CBC) 

 

Saturday September 26, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 26, 2020

COVID-19 precautions to curtail Thanksgiving gatherings

With a little over two weeks before Thanksgiving on Oct. 12, a growing chorus of public health and political leaders are urging Canadians to scale back any plans for a sprawling dinner party.

April 11, 2020

The pleas started with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s sobering national address Wednesday, and were amplified Thursday by officials in Ontario and Quebec — where the bulk of infections and deaths have occurred.

Health Minister Christian Dube urged Quebecers to avoid parties over the next few weeks — including the Thanksgiving long weekend — while Quebec’s public health director suggested private gatherings are driving infections rather than restaurants, where restrictions are in place.

“Which is very different from a party where … we forget (to maintain) your two metres,” said Dr. Horacio Arruda, referring to social distancing guidance.

Earlier on Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford also acknowledged the temptation to gather with extended friends and family but stressed the importance of maintaining precautions.

“Nothing is more important than family and loved ones getting together,” said Ford.

“But in saying that, we’ve got to keep it under 10.”

Life in a Pandemic

Alberta’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said Thursday that Thanksgiving can still happen as long as people practice caution and stick to gathering within their “cohorts,” which in the province is a bubble of up to 15 people.

“Smaller is safer. This is not the time for large gatherings,” Hinshaw said.

Infectious disease specialists warned any relaxation of the rules could undo months of sacrifice.

Dr. Gerald Evans, chair of the division of infectious diseases at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., advised against travel and merging bubbles that share extended family members, even if it’s for just one night.

“Some families there might be a bubble of them in Toronto, a bubble of them in Ottawa, a bubble of them in Kingston,” notes Evans.

“But if at Thanksgiving they’re sort of saying well you know winter’s coming this is our last chance (so) let’s all get together, then all of a sudden you’ve got a conglomeration of what could be up to 30 people, and whatever other little connections they have.” (CTV)

“Graeme MacKay (Hamilton Spectator) reminds us that Thanksgiving is coming up in less than two weeks, though not perhaps as we remember it. Canadian Thanksgiving is October 12 this year, which is ironic, I suppose, since down here we call that Columbus Day or Indigenous People Day or something, and then we celebrate the mystical love of Pilgrims and Indians next month.”

Wednesday August 5, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 5, 2020

Family Fears

January 16, 2019

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Sunday expanded its recall of onions from the United States linked to 17 salmonella hospitalizations in Canada.

The department said the recall now includes red, yellow, white and sweet yellow onions that are distributed by the company, Thomson International in California. It was initially only red onions.

Since the initial recall on July 30, there have been six additional reported illnesses of salmonella linked to the onions, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said in a statement. The cases were in Saskatchewan and Quebec.

There are a total of 120 cases of salmonella in Canada linked to the onions, the agency said. The impacted provinces are British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.

The agency warned Canadians not to eat, use, sell or serve any red, white, yellow and sweet yellow onions from Thomson International, or any products made with these onions.

There have been no reported deaths. (Global) 

April 13, 2018

Meanwhile, Tens of millions of American users will wake up today, Saturday, to the news that U.S. President Trump will ban TikTok as threatened—the details are not yet clear, but the intent could not be more so. The president told reporters on Air Force One late Friday that he intended to act as soon as Saturday (August 1), telling them, “as far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”

As another week of speculation around TikTok’s future came to an end, all the talk hadbeen around a rushed sale of the app by parent ByteDance, with the likely suitor being Microsoft, according to reports, instead of the platform’s U.S. investors. A trade acquirer was apparently seen as better able to absorb the platform and its management. (Forbes) 

Saturday July 11, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday July 11, 2020

PM’s mother Margaret and brother Alexandre were both paid to speak at WE Charity events

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mother Margaret and his brother Alexandre have both been paid tens of thousands of dollars to appear at WE Charity events.

In a response to an inquiry from CBC News, WE Charity has provided details of the speaking fees paid to both individuals for their participation at events between 2016 and 2020.

Both Margaret and Alexandre are registered with the Speakers’ Spotlight Bureau, which arranges appearances for clients in exchange for negotiated fees.

Margaret spoke at approximately 28 events and received honoraria amounting to $250,000. Alexandre spoke at eight events and received approximately $32,000.

May 20, 2016

Prime Minister Trudeau and his government have been under fire since announcing on June 25 they were awarding a $19.5 million sole-source contract to WE Charity to administer the Canada Student Service Grant, a $912 million program offering grants of between $1,000 and $5,000 to post-secondary students in return for supervised volunteer hours.

WE Charity said last week it was pulling out of administering CSSG, citing the ongoing controversy surrounding it and the government’s decision to give the sole-source contract to WE. Prime Minister Trudeau said the federal government would take over the program.

September 22, 2017

News of the payments to two members of Trudeau’s family seems to contradict WE Charity’s earlier claim that it had “never paid an honorarium” to Margaret Trudeau.

The federal ethics commissioner is investigating the WE contract to administer the volunteer grant, after Conservative and NDP MPs contacted the office raising concerns about the relationship between the charity and the prime minister’s family.

This evening, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that — as CTV News first reported — the prime minister’s spouse, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, “received $1,500” for participating in a WE event in 2012, before Trudeau became leader of the Liberal Party.

August 20, 2019

“The prime minister has never received payment for any events with WE,” the PMO said.

Trudeau admitted to reporters earlier this week that he did not recuse himself from cabinet discussions that led to the decision to award the contract to WE Charity.

December 3, 2015

CBC News contacted WE Charity to clarify the terms under which the prime minister and members of his family had appeared at past WE Day events.

“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Madame Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Madame Margaret Trudeau have participated in WE Charity events and programs over the years,” a WE spokesperson told CBC News late in the evening on June 25.

“The charity has never paid an honorarium to these individuals for their involvement in these programs and events.”

The charity said Sophie Grégoire Trudeau’s involvement as an “ambassador and ally” has been “entirely on a volunteer basis and travel expenses related to this involvement were paid for by WE Charity.”

On Thursday, WE Charity emailed CBC News, saying the organization wanted to reach out “proactively” to “provide you with some updated information.”

Less than an hour after the WE statement went out Thursday, Canadaland reported on its website that it had records showing Speakers’ Spotlight had invoiced Free the Children (the not-for-profit arm of WE, now called WE Charity) directly for some of Margaret Trudeau’s speaker’s fees — and had asked WE about the discrepancy. (CBC) 

 

Saturday April 11, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 11, 2020

Families celebrating Easter and Passover must get ‘creative’ amid pandemic

Coronavirus cartoons

Eating in front of a computer isn’t quite the same as feasting with family, but that is likely the reality for most celebrating Easter, Passover and other faith-based holidays as the COVID-19 pandemic has robbed people of the chance to gather.

Gatherings of more than five people are illegal.

Organizers of groups of more than five may be charged under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, which carries a fine starting at $750.

But the law won’t apply to households that have more than five residents.

It will force families to get creative.

April 19, 2003

“Many pastors have been able to provide streaming and online Masses and other adapted forms of prayer to support people’s personal prayers,” Monsignor Murray Kroetsch of Hamilton’s Roman Catholic Diocese said in a statement from the city.

Families can also have a virtual family dinner with others through programs like Skype or Zoom or host an online Easter egg hunt for children.

(Remember, Doug Ford did deem the Easter Bunny as an essential worker.)

“While the doors to our houses of worship may be closed, the gateways to both Heaven and our soul remain open. During these holidays, let our spirt soar with genuine connection,” Rabbi Daniel Green from the Adas Israel Congregation and Dean of the Hamilton Hebrew Academy, added. (CBC)