Halloween

Friday October 28, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 28, 2021

Premier Ford says he understands why some parents won’t want young children vaccinated

July 21, 2021

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he understands parents who are reluctant to have young children vaccinated against COVID-19, as his government reviews plans to immunize kids aged 5 to 11 ahead of Health Canada’s expected approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for this group.

Speaking to reporters at an Ottawa technology-business hub on Tuesday, Mr. Ford said he would leave the decision up to parents. Opposition leaders and health experts have called on the province to add COVID-19 to the existing list of mandatory school vaccinations in Ontario, which includes measles, mumps, polio and chickenpox.

May 27, 2021

“I am going to leave that up to the parents, when it comes to the five- to 11-year-olds. Do we want to get them vaccinated? Yes. But there are some parents that are vaccinated, they’re a little hesitant at the age of five or six. I get it,” Mr. Ford said. “So let’s do our best. … I also understand if they don’t want to get their five-year-old or six-year-old vaccinated. Do I want everyone to? One hundred per cent.”

Mr. Ford’s government has faced criticism for failing to release a plan for the vaccination of the province’s children in advance of Health Canada’s approval, with the Opposition NDP warning of a repeat of the scramble that marred the province’s rollout of shots for adults.

April 1, 2021

Health Minister Christine Elliott told the Legislature on Tuesday that the government is reviewing plans for child vaccinations drawn up by the province’s 34 local public health units.

Vaccine hesitancy around children is expected to be a challenge for public health officials. One recent poll from Angus Reid suggested that only around half of Canadian parents with elementary-school-aged kids would have their children vaccinated immediately. Nearly one in five said they would vaccinate their kids eventually, but not right away.

Mr. Ford also said Tuesday that once Ontario hits a 90-per-cent vaccination rate, it needs to move forward and reopen, but cautiously. (In Ontario, 87.9 per cent of eligible residents older than 12 have at least a first dose, with 83.9 per cent fully vaccinated.) He released a timeline last week that could see rules loosened for nightclubs and other higher-risk businesses in November, with the province’s just-implemented vaccine-certificate requirements phasing out for restaurants as early as mid-January. (The Globe & Mail)

 

Friday October 21, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 21, 2021

The Great Pandemic Supply Chain Crunch

When it comes to holiday shopping, consumers are no strangers to the mantra “the early bird gets the worm.”

March 27, 2021

But, thanks to ongoing global supply chain issues, the 2021 holiday shopping season is expected to have a large impact on the availability and price of many products. In fact, experts warn that the window to get your hands on some of these coveted items before Dec. 24 is already closing.

When it comes to the season’s most sought-after gifts – toys – experts say the problem starts in manufacturing, from a shortage of plastic materials to a lack of chips for computerized toys.

“Almost every toy company is facing challenges, getting goods shipped from a manufacturing point of origin that’s outside of North America,” Andrew Wagar with the Canadian Toy Association told CTVNews.ca by phone Tuesday.

“Obviously, the ones that are manufacturing in Asia and in China in particular are the most affected by this. But there are toy companies that manufacture their goods in North America that are also experiencing challenges because there are ground transportation shortages and increases in gas prices.”

Shipping costs have also dramatically increased for toymakers. According to CNN, storage containers are so scarce and expensive that many companies have turned to small, squishy toys that use less packaging and take up less space to cut down on costs.

April 30, 2021

Similarly, furniture and appliance retailers are grappling with supply and demand issues.

Last week, Ikea, the world’s biggest furniture brand, warned that it anticipates supply disruptions to last well into 2022, despite leasing more ships, buying containers and re-routing goods between warehouses.

Ikea’s stores in North America are the hardest hit by product shortages, followed by Europe. To avoid disappointing shoppers, the company is temporarily removing unavailable products from its websites and store showrooms, instead suggesting similar items.

October 23, 2020

Big-ticket appliances are also hard to come by, with consumers waiting months for products to arrive.

“If you want a chest freezer, you’re looking at December. But if you want a MacBook, you’re looking at the middle of November, so not that bad,” Michelle Wasylyshen, national spokesperson for Retail Council of Canada (RCC). “It really does depend on the product, but certainly consumers should expect delays.”

The price of these types of goods is also rising.

According to Statistics Canada, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, durable goods have been a major contributor to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Furniture costs went up 8.7 per cent and household appliances rose 5.3 per cent in August 2021 compared to July, according to the latest data available – increases that are attributed to supply chain disruptions. (CTV) 

 

Wednesday October 13, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 13, 2021

Canada faces wave of terminations as workplace vaccine mandates take effect

Canada is facing a potential wave of terminations tied to mandatory workplace vaccine policies as a growing number of employers require workers to be fully inoculated against COVID-19 – or risk losing their jobs, legal experts say.

September 15, 2021

Governments, institutions and companies have spent months hammering out vaccine mandates in a bid to curb an unrelenting pandemic fuelled by variants.

As employer deadlines to be fully vaccinated approach, unvaccinated workers could soon be placed on unpaid leave or terminated altogether, lawyers say.

“We’ve been contacted by thousands of people from across Canada who all have these ultimatums in front of them saying they have to be vaccinated by a certain date or risk losing their jobs,” employment lawyer Lior Samfiru, a partner with Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, said in an interview.

“We’re going to see the biggest wave of terminations we’ve seen since the pandemic started,” he said, noting that his firm has been contacted by workers in a range of industries including health care, education, banks, construction and restaurants.

“It will be significant.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled Canada’s new mandatory vaccine policy on Wednesday. It requires the core public service, air travel and rail employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October.

The federal vaccine mandate mirrors provincial policies, such as in Nova Scotia where all school and health-care workers are required to have two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of November.

Private companies have also developed corporate vaccine mandates, with looming deadlines for staff to be fully vaccinated.

The situation has left legal experts grappling with the tension between protecting the rights of individual workers and ensuring employers meet their health and safety obligations toward staff, clients and the public. (CTV) 

 

Friday October 30, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 30, 2020

Far-right militias heed Trump’s call for poll watchers, and law enforcement is worried

Far-right militia promoter Josh Ellis can reach more than 20,000 members across the country in a matter of keystrokes. Many followers believe, like him, that the presidential election could be hijacked by leftists, a Trump defeat would plunge the nation into tyrannical rule, and the United States is lurching toward a violent civil war.

October 10, 2014

Ellis, who operates MyMilitia.com and goes by “AR2,” for “American Revolution 2.0,” has advised like-minded citizens to stand guard at voting stations Tuesday as part of President Trump’s “army” of poll watchers — and, if necessary, to use force.

“They are to be out there as patriots, not militias,” Ellis, of suburban Chicago, said in a phone interview before he addressed an “American Patriot Rally” last Saturday in Florida.

“But if they see immediate danger of physical harm to someone,” he said, “they need to intercede and stop it.”

The country is on high alert in the countdown to Election Day. In a hair-trigger time of guns and grievances, anarchists and vigilantes, COVID-19 restrictions and conspiracy theories, the nation’s law enforcement agencies, election protection specialists, and watchdog groups are closely monitoring militant extremists on the right and left while bracing for rogue acts of violence.

Pandemic Times

“There is a serious threat that militias and armed vigilantes will be at polling places and will pose a danger to voters,” said Cassie Miller, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremists and hate groups.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a report Oct. 6 warning that violent domestic extremists “might target events related to the 2020 presidential campaigns, the election itself, election results, or the post-election period.”

Two days later, the danger was crystalized when the FBI foiled an alleged plot by 14 suspects tied to the paramilitary Wolverine Watchmen militia to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat sharply criticized by Trump, and try her for treason over her pandemic-driven shutdowns. (Boston Globe) 

 

Saturday October 23, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 23, 2020

Health unit offers tips to reduce COVID risks at Halloween

The Brant County Health Unit has developed guidelines to make Halloween safe and fun for everyone.

Pandemic Thanksgiving

“Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses, like COVID-19,” said Dr. Elizabeth Urbantke, Brant’s acting medical officer of health. “We’d ask that all residents refrain completely from attending costume parties held indoors or outdoors, and going to indoor haunted houses where people may be crowded together and screaming.”

She said that handing out treats from the trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots – often called trunk-or-treat events – is also considered a high-risk activity.

“We recommend staying within your own neighbourhood and avoiding areas where there would be large gatherings,”

The health unit has posted a Halloween and COVID-19 fact sheet on its website, outlining steps to be taken if families decide to opt for modified door-to-door trick-or-treating.

While considered a moderate risk, if going door-to-door, the health unit recommends wearing a non-medical face mask or face covering as part of a costume. A costume mask with two or more layers of breathable fabric covering the nose and mouth can be suitable, but should not be worn in addition to non-medical masks as the combination may cause breathing difficulty, says the health unit.

Pandemic Times

Here are some other tips from the health unit:

• Trick-or-treating should only be done outdoors in your own neighbourhood, avoiding homes that have their lights turned off.

• Travel only with people from your household, and observe physical distancing on crowded sidewalks and doorsteps.

• Wash your hands before going to trick-or-treat and when you return home, and use hand sanitizer frequently while out.

• While treats collected don’t need to be cleaned, they shouldn’t be eaten until you get home. Hand washing and avoiding touching your face is important after handling treats.

• For people who will be handing out treats at their homes, the health unit suggests standing outside your door so children won’t have to touch the doorbell or door.

• Only pre-packaged treats should be given out, and the use of tongs, a baking sheet or making a candy slide will allow for better physical distancing.

• If you are unable to remain outside to shell out treats, don’t leave a large bowl for children to help themselves. Frequently touched surfaces such as railings, doorbells and knobs should be disinfected regularly.

• The use of smoke machines as part of a decorative display is discouraged as they may cause visitors to cough.

If you decide not to go trick-or-treating door-to-door, the health unit has a number of suggestions for lower risk activities. (Continued: Brantford Expositor)