vaccination

Wednesday March 2, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday March 2, 2022

Hamilton-area businesses, hospitals and city facilities are dropping proof-of-vaccination today

Businesses, hospitals and city facilities in the Hamilton area are dropping their proof of vaccination policies Tuesday, as Ontario ends most of its major COVID-19 public health measures.

February 1, 2022

It is no longer required to show evidence of receiving two shots at most restaurants, gyms and movie theaters and nightclubs, while sports arenas and concert venues can also scrap capacity limits, along with other changes.

However, Premier Doug Ford has said masks will likely continue to be required for at least a few more weeks.

Hamilton’s medical officer of health previously said she’s “cautiously optimistic” about Ontario’s plan to ease some COVID-19 restrictions.

But Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said individual employers should still consider how immunization fits in their health and safety approach for staff and patrons.

The City of Hamilton will no longer require visitors to its recreational facilities, museums and the Gage Park tropical greenhouse to show proof of vaccination.

Masks and face coverings are still required, says the city, and businesses are required to post signs near their entrances explaining how customers can screen themselves for symptoms.

Friday February 4, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 4, 2022

A recipe for hope: How to vaccinate the world and end the pandemic

January 7, 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Olympic Winter Games open on Friday, during a subdued opening ceremony that is following less than six months after the end of the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Summer Games.

Athletes from more than 90 countries are settled into Beijing’s National Stadium, a.k.a. the “Bird’s Nest,” for the opening ceremony of these Games — a familiar scene as the city is the first to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics, with many venues repurposed for winter use after the 2008 Summer Games. (CBC) 

Meanwhile, there is new reason for hope in ending unequal vaccine access and finding a global resolution for the pandemic.  Researchers at Baylor College in Texas have developed a vaccine  based on established technology and common handling and refrigeration techniques. Best of all, they have no intention of filing a patent but have concrete plans for large-scale manufacturing in the Global South.

Friday January 28, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 28, 2022

Erin O’Toole has to unhitch Conservatives from the ‘Freedom Convoy,’ or get run over

August 17, 2021

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has been putting down internal rebellions ever since last fall’s general election. This week, he is facing his greatest challenge yet: a new variant of concern running wild in his party.

Three high-profile MPs have openly defied Mr. O’Toole by coming out in support of the convoy of don’t-vax-me truckers snaking its way eastward on the Trans-Canada Highway as a protest against Ottawa’s newly imposed cross-border vaccine mandates for drivers.

One of the three, Pierre Poilievre, was named as the best choice to lead the Conservatives into the next election in a recent Nanos Research poll conducted for The Globe and Mail. Another, Candice Bergen, is the deputy leader of the party. The third rebel is Andrew Scheer, the previous leader.

Wednesday January 26, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 26, 2022

Organizer behind anti-vaccine mandate convoy says it won’t tolerate extremists as online rhetoric heats up

A key player behind the convoy travelling to Ottawa to protest a vaccine mandate for truckers is distancing her movement from the increasingly extremist rhetoric online being associated with the protest and asking members of the convoy to report any extreme behaviour to police.

February 21, 2019

Addressing her Facebook followers in a video posted on the Freedom Convoy 2022 Facebook page, Tamara Lich said the convoy is expected to arrive at Parliament Hill in Ottawa over the weekend to protest what she calls infringements of personal liberty caused by public health orders.

“If you see participants along the way that are misbehaving, acting aggressively in any way or inciting any type of violence or hatred, please take down the truck number and their licence plate number so that we can forward that to the police,” she said.

Since the convoy of trucks and other vehicles left B.C. and began snaking its way to Ottawa, extremists and fringe groups have taken to social media to encourage their followers to descend on the capital when the convoy arrives, calling on them to destroy property and threaten elected officials.

Friday January 21, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 21, 2022

Trudeau must keep this vaccine pledge

October 13, 2021

It’s time to jog Justin Trudeau’s memory about a major election promise he seems to have stuffed into a desk drawer and forgotten. Last Sept. 1, at the height of the federal election campaign and while the pandemic was high on every voter’s mind, the prime minister vowed to pass a law that would protect employers from being sued if they fired unvaccinated employees. That commitment, which figured prominently in the Liberal platform Trudeau unveiled the same day, signalled to voters that unlike the Conservatives, the Liberals meant business when it comes to getting as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as possible.

Whether or not it helped the Liberals at the ballot box, they did win the election. But nearly five months after Trudeau made that promise, he has still not kept it. The government can identify no concrete action it has taken to make good on the pledge. In fact, Trudeau’s mandate letters to his new cabinet last fall made no mention of any such new legislation.