Wrecking ball

Wednesday January 13, 2021

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

With new stay-at-home order, Ontario admits previous COVID-19 lockdown was too weak

The Ontario government is ordering everyone in the province to stay at home except for essential reasons, while also allowing non-essential businesses to keep operating.

2020 Gallery – Ontario

For anyone struggling to reconcile this, Premier Doug Ford has a blunt message. 

“There’s no confusion. It’s very simple,” Ford said Wednesday. “Stay. Home. Stay home. If you’re questioning, ‘Should I go out,’ you got the answer: stay home.” 

And then, in case Ontario’s hundreds of thousands of francophones failed to comprehend, Ford glanced down at his notes and said: “Restez à la maison.”

Since the second wave of COVID-19 began building in Ontario in September, this is the clearest Ford has been in telling people what they must do to rein in the pandemic. 

It makes you wonder: if he’d said this a month or more ago and imposed a stay-at-home order and new state of emergency then, how different would things be now? 

November 12, 2020

The wording of the order was published Wednesday evening, more than five days after the news conference in which Ford promised that new restrictions were on the way. 

During that news conference last Friday, Ford said the latest modelling for the pandemic was so grim “you’ll fall off your chair.”

Many health experts are questioning why Ford needed that modelling to see the tsunami of COVID-19 cases hitting Ontario, threatening to fill intensive care units beyond capacity. 

The government can’t say it wasn’t warned — repeatedly — about what was coming unless tougher restrictions kicked in. 

Modelling in late November from the province’s COVID-19 science advisory table projected the province would see an average of 2,000 cases per day sometime in December. Ontario crossed that threshold Dec. 17. 

November 5, 2020

Modelling made public on Dec. 10 warned the province would surpass 300 COVID-19 patients in intensive care later in the month and approach 400 in early January. ICU occupancy passed the 300 mark just after Christmas and hit 400 on Jan. 9, according to the official daily reports by Critical Care Services Ontario.  

The real kick-in-the-teeth modelling was published on Dec. 19. It presented evidence that “soft lockdowns” were failing to slow the pandemic in many jurisdictions, including Ontario. 

The government’s own scientific advisers said by imposing what they called a “hard lockdown” immediately, Ontario could start to bend the pandemic curve within a week and prevent many thousands of new cases. 

At the same time, Ontario’s hospitals were calling for stronger lockdowns in all public health units with high rates of transmissions. 

October 3, 2020

Instead, even as the province was reporting more than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 every day, the Ford government delayed imposing any new measures until Boxing Day. 

The advance notice of the lockdown softened the sense of urgency, undermined the government’s message that things were getting serious, and implicitly told Ontarians it was perfectly okay to go finish their Christmas shopping. Little wonder that Google data showed a sharp spike in movement by Ontarians in the pre-Christmas week.  (CBC)

 

Saturday April 26, 2014

Saturday April 26, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 26, 2014

Supreme Court rejects Harper government proposals for Senate reform

Ottawa cannot act alone to reform the Senate, limit terms or appoint only elected senators, and must have the consent of seven provinces with half the country’s population, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday.

Abolition of the Senate altogether can only be done with the unanimous consent of the federal Parliament and all provinces, the country’s top court concluded.

In a landmark defeat for Prime Minister Stephen Harper that could yet set the stage for a referendum by a government frustrated at its failure to unilaterally legislate Senate reform, the high court dismissed nearly every single argument brought before it by federal lawyers.

A referendum is seen by some within the Conservative government as a potential political hammer to pressure reluctant provinces to go along with Senate reform. Maxime Bernier, a Conservative cabinet minister from Quebec, said Friday the court decision means a referendum is the only way to go.

The high court decision was a unanimous 8-0 judgment. In a clear sign of the strong judicial consensus, the 52-page ruling was signed by “The Court” as a whole, not penned by any one judge.

Hours after the ruling Prime Minister Stephen Harper in brief comments at Kitchener said the result is no change to the Senate will happen anytime soon.

“The Supreme Court of Canada essentially said today that for any important Senate reform of any kind, as well as abolition, these are only decisions the provinces can take.

“We know that there is no consensus among the provinces on reform, no consensus on abolition, and no desire of anyone to reopen the constitution and have a bunch of constitutional negotiations. So essentially this is a decision for the status quo, a status quo that is supported by virtually no Canadian.”

“So look, I think that given that the Supreme Court has said we’re essentially stuck with the status quo for the time being and that significant reform and abolition are off the table I think it’s a decision I’m disappointed with but I think it’s a decision that the vast majority of Canadians will be very disappointed with, but obviously we will respect that decision.” (Source: Toronto Star)