judging

Wednesday January 19, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 19, 2022

Athletes to face rigorous tests at Beijing Games with COVID-19 and freedom of expression

August 12, 2021

The Beijing Olympic Committee is using stricter than usual testing for COVID-19, making it harder for Canadian athletes, especially those who have recently recovered from the virus, to pass tests upon arriving in China, CBC Sports has learned.

The cycle threshold (CT) value being used in China to detect an infection is 40, Dr. Mike Wilkinson, chief medical officer for the Canadian Olympic Committee, confirmed Monday. 

The higher the CT value, the less infectious a person with COVID-19 is.

Many places in Canada use a CT value of 35.

The NBA and NHL use 30. The NFL has set its threshold at 35.

“I think what Beijing is doing is that they’re doing everything they can to ensure they don’t have positives coming in,” Wilkinson said. (CBC News) 

Meanwhile, competitors at the Beijing Winter Olympics will face an “Orwellian surveillance state” in China and could put themselves in danger if they speak out in support of the Uyghur Muslims, human rights and athlete advocacy groups have said.

Saturday February 18, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 18, 2017

Ontario’s auditor general is not satisfied after an expert panel sided with the Liberal government in a $10.7-billion accounting dispute.

The auditor and the government disagree over whether a $10.7-billion surplus in two jointly sponsored pension plans should appear as an asset on the government’s books.

December 11, 2014

Auditor general Bonnie Lysyk says that because the government doesn’t have the right to unilaterally access that surplus, it shouldn’t count as an asset.

But an expert panel this week said that it is an asset because it has a future economic benefit, since the government could reduce contributions and would therefore have additional funds to spend elsewhere.

But Lysyk says in order for her to issue a clean audit opinion, she wants to see a letter from the unions representing workers covered by the plans saying the province can use that money.

The government says joint pension agreements already spell out how surpluses are to be handled and no additional letter is needed. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Saturday, February 15, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, February 15, 2014

Wynne, Horwath downplay election talk following Tory, NDP byelection wins

Premier Kathleen Wynne is in no hurry for a spring election after the Liberals lost big in byelections in Niagara Falls and Thornhill on Thursday.

Wynne says she doesn’t know when there will be a general election, and insists the Liberals will stick with the plan to introduce a budget this spring and keep the minority government alive.

She also says people cannot extrapolate the byelection results to determine what will happen in a general election.

Despite the NDP’s big win in Niagara Falls, leader Andrea Horwath still won’t say if she’ll stop supporting the minority government and trigger a spring election.

Horwath says the byelections results sent a clear message that people are not happy with the Liberals, but adds she is not focused on a possible election.

Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak blames “union elites” for his party’s loss to the New Democrats in Niagara Falls, which had been Liberal for a decade.

Hudak says the Tories were in a “David and Goliath” battle against hundreds of paid union activists who flooded Niagara Falls in support of the NDP.

He says the Conservatives would have taken the riding if it had been a level playing field. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4369020-wynne-horwath-downplay-election-talk-following-tory-ndp-byelection-wins/