By: Vincenzo Morello
Canada’s minister of infrastructure and communities, Catherine McKenna, announced on Friday a $400 million fund to help build new and expanded networks of pathways, bike lanes, trails and pedestrian bridges.
It’s the first federal fund dedicated to building active transportation throughout the country, and it will be spent over five years.
“Canadians love using safe cycling paths and trails to get around their towns and cities. It’s a great way to stay healthy, enjoy nature, and connect to public transit, and it is good for the environment,” McKenna said in a statement.
“This investment will make it easier for more people to get around on foot, bikes, scooters, wheelchairs and e-bikes.”
The new $400 million fund is part of an eight-year, $14.9 billion public investment outlined by McKenna and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year.
The federal government has already invested more than $130 million in 126 active transportation projects since 2015, including the Grouse Mountain Region Regional Park trails in Vancouver, the Flora Foot Bridge in Ottawa and a bikeway extension in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Vélo Canada Bikes and active transportation supporters across Canada are absolutely thrilled that such a significant investment in active transportation has been made,” said Kate Walker, the vice-chair of the board for Vélo Canada Bikes.
“Today’s federal investment in active transportation infrastructure will lead to significant health, environmental, social, and economic benefits for our country.”
In addition to the new fund, McKenna launched consultations for Canada’s first active transportation strategy. The strategy will help the federal government make investment decisions to support the active transportation networks of the future and promote healthier and walkable communities that are environmentally sustainable.
“With the launch of the fund for active transportation with support for an Active Transportation Strategy, the path is set for more Canadians than ever to choose cycling, rolling or walking as safe and enjoyable alternatives to motorized transport,” Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Andy Fillmore said.
Year: 2021
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Canada unveils $400 million fund dedicated to building active transportation
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Halton communities invited to provide new input on new Director of Education
By: Laura Steiner
Halton District School Board (HDSB) is starting the search for a new Director of Education after Stuart Miller announced his retirement last fall. As part of the search process, they’re inviting community input.
“We are extending an invitation to the community, staff, and families to be part of the consultation process in order to gather feedback on characteristics, competencies and commitments necessary for effective leadership in the context of HDSB’s strengths, challenges and opportunities,” HDSB Chair Andréa Grebenc said. Miller’s retirement is effective August, 2021.
The board has come up with a online survey that should take approximately 15-20 minutes to fill out. Those interested are asked to fill it out by 11:59 p.m. Friday March 19, 2021, and the comments collected will be completely anonymous. -
Replacing the Queen Means Talking about Everything from Electoral Reform to Canadian Identity
By: Laura Steiner
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that now isn’t the time to be talking about getting rid of the monarchy. Arguably, now might be the perfect time. The Governor-General’s position is vacant, parts of it being filled by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. And Trudeau seems in no hurry to name another one.
On some level he is right. Maybe now isn’t the time to talk about it- we’re in a minority government. One of the Governor-General’s constitutional duties is to keep that going. Let’s say the Prime Minister calls a federal election, and wins another minority. But through circumstances he is unable to meet the house. The Governor-General has the option to say “Hi second place leader, Would you like to try and form a government?” This hasn’t happened since the fabled “King-Byng” affair, but it is a legal option.
If not now, then when? There is never a good time to talk about changing the head of the state. In Canada’s case, replacing the Queen could take decades. It requires unanimity of all 10 provinces, and likely the three territories. It would be an easy thing to leave it vacant, and begin the discussions to change.
However, it will mean opening up everything. All provinces have demands and pet topics they would like to see dealt with. The amending formula is 50% of the population or seven provinces. If let’s say Alberta proposed something, and Quebec and Ontario didn’t like it. They could get together and veto the change. If they decide to open it up, and seven provinces don’t want the change, it ends the discussion.
The Canada of 2021-2022 is a different place from 1982 on a social level. In the last 20 years, Gay marriage has been legalized, as has Medically Assisted Death. The country has begun the painfully slow process of recognizing systemic racism and addressing it through the reconciliation commission with First Nations. Wouldn’t it be a big step if Canada symbolically made them a full partner in the country? Set down on paper a promise to do better. Climate change has become a big issue, something could be added on that. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for stable healthcare funding. Electoral reform has been a long time The questions that surrounding the senate’s viability. The reasons to reopen the constitution pile up, and leave the impression that maybe it’s time to again talk constitution.
When you start the conversations about Canadian identity you immediately think of three things. One- the idea of not being American; a negative definition. Two- Canada’s multiculturalism; the notion of acceptance no matter where you come from as a source of pride. And three- the British monarchy. Until 1867 Canada was a colony of Great Britain. Slowly by inches the country has won its independence. Vimy Ridge marked the first time four Canadian divisions fought under one banner. 1911 marked the formation of the Canadian navy. Court decisions could be appealed to Great Britain until 1949. How do we define ourselves if not for the monarchy?
The Governor General has an actual role. They sign legislation into law. They’re commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. They keep an eye on parliament in the case of a minority. If not a Governor General then what? Is it a President, voted directly by the public to the role every four years? Do we breakdown the responsibilities of that role, and assign them to different offices? What would be the checks and balances of that?
When Canada talks about replacing the Governor-General everything else is on the table. -
Halton Requiring Amazon Brampton Employees to self-isolate
By: Laura Steiner
Halton Region is asking all employees living or present in the area impacted by the COVID19 outbreak at Amazon’s Brampton facility.
“If you are an Amazon employee subject to the Peel Region class order, you must self-isolate for 14 days to prevent the spread of the virus,” Halton Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) Dr. Hamdiah Meghani said. The order is effective for 14 days beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday March 13, 2021.
The order follows the investigation of an outbreak at the facility located at 8050 Heritage Road in Brampton. It applies all Halton residents, and those present in the area. Halton Region includes Halton Hills, Milton, Oakville, and Burlington.
Employees are required to follow these self-isolation measures:- Stay home and isolate from others in the home.
- Do not go to work or visit any other job/workplace.
- Do not use public transportation, taxis or rideshares.
- Do not go to school or other public places.
There has been 240 positive cases of COVID19 in recent weeks, with 10 of those designated as “variants of concern.” Amazon has said it will appeal the decision according to 680News. “We do not believe the data supports this closure and we will appeal this decision.” The company believes the two-week closure may have a short-term impact on Canadian customers.
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Halton Region to partner with Halton Environmental Network on Climate Change
By: Laura Steiner
The Region of Halton is looking at partnering with the Halton Environmental Network on climate change. Halton Regional Council has directed staff to prepare a memorandum of understanding (MOU) defining climate change mitigation, and adaptation activities the group would undertake to support the Halton Region.
“Through this MOU with the Halton Environmental Network, we can enhance our ability to address climate change across Halton and develop a collaborative approach to support the sustainability of the region for generations to come,” Regional Chair Gary Carr said.
The partnership will cover four different topics:- prepare a community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory;
- work with partners to form a Community Climate Action Plan;
- develop a Community Engagement and Outreach Plan in collaboration with the Halton Climate Collective; and
- explore positioning the Halton Climate Collective to coordinate climate action in the region.
The Halton Environmental Network was established in 2004, and operates a not-for-profit organization. For more information visit their website.
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Employment rebounded in Canada in February 2021
By: Lynn Desjardins
Economists had predicted that Canada would gain 75,000 jobs in February 2021, but instead it gained 259,000, according to the government’s statistics agency. Many of those were low-paying jobs. Statistics Canada reports the unemployment rate dropped to 8.2 per cent and that is the lowest number since March 2020. The figures indicate that Canada had less than 600,000 jobs fewer than it did in just before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020.
What likely made the difference is that public health restrictions that were in place in Canada in late December 2020 were easing in many jurisdictions. Each provincial and territorial government is responsible for deciding which restrictions it sets. Each has its own medical health officer and is responsible for managing health services.
Many jurisdictions re-opened non-essential businesses, cultural and recreational facilities and some allowed in-person dining where they previously had only sanctioned take out and deliveries. However, many required limits on the number of people allowed in establishments and there were other public health requirements which varied dramatically across the country, often depending on the different rates of infection in each jurisdiction. There were big differences in the rates of infection with numbers low in the easternmost Atlantic provinces and high rates in the heavily-populated provinces of Ontario and Quebec.More work for youth, particularly part-time jobs
Jobs for young people aged 15 to 24 rose by 100,000 in February 2021, with increases in full time jobs (+36,000) lower than in part-time work (+64,000).
In February 2021, there was an increase in both part-time and full-time work. Among those working fewer than 30 hours per week, 23.8 per cent wanted a full-time job. That was up from 18.5 per cent the year before. There was no change in the number of self-employed workers from the month before. There were 213,000 fewer people self-employed from 12 months before.
Of those people who worked at least half their usual hours, an additional 600,000 worked at places other than their homes, as schools and other places reopened in several jurisdictions.
Employment rebounded in industries such as retail trade, accommodation and food services. Jobs in the information, culture and recreation sector were little changed in February after having fallen steadily from September 2020 to January 2021. Job increases in February were concentrated in jobs that only paid $17.50 per hour or less, reflecting growth in industries with a high proportion of low-paying jobs. The minimum hourly wage varies across Canada from $11.45 in the western province of Saskatchewan to $16 in the northern territory of Nunavut. -
Krantz Reflects on one year of COVID19
By: Laura Steiner
It’s been on year since COVID-19 hit the Town of Milton. Mayor Gord Krantz released a statement on what he called 12 challenging months.
COVID19 has killed over 7,000 Ontarians, including 36 Miltonians. “All of us have felt their loss. All of us have seen our lives altered,” Krantz said. The first case in Milton was confirmed on March 11, 2020.
He credits Miltonians for helping each other through. “We have seen our business community pivot to address modernizing aspects of their business, or altering service delivery channels, all to meet the public health guidelines and sustain business.” Local businesses have taken advantage of a digital main street initiative that saw business owners partnered with experts on how to modernize websites, and learn about online tools.
Krantz’s statement moves onto emphasize the public health measures are working “There is another important number we should keep in mind, especially as we confront the coming months of the pandemic and its variant strains: 3,002. That is approximately the number of lives you have saved by wearing a mask, limiting in-person gatherings and maintaining social distance,” he said.
The province is looking at a potential third wave because of the variants. “With gratitude and respect for all the lifesaving sacrifices you have made so far, myself and members of Town Council are asking Miltonians to: Keep wearing masks, limit your social get-togethers and maintain physical distance. Until we know more, we need to keep our guards up. Choose to be vaccinated when you are eligible,” he said.
Halton Region has organized five vaccine clinics throughout all four municipalities. Milton’s clinic will be at the Milton Centre for the Arts: 1010 Main St. East. They are currently taking appointments for those residents 80 years of age and older through their website. Recent guidelines include the following five groups:- Residents in long-term care and retirement homes
- Staff and essential caregivers in these locations that have not yet received a first dose
- Adults 80 years of age or older
- Healthcare workers identified in the highest or very high priority
- Adults receiving chronic home care (through a Local Health Integration Network or Home Care Agency).
“Thank you for the lives you have saved so far and the lives we can all save in the months to come,” Krantz ended the statement.
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Canadians join others around the world to remember
By: Terry Haig
Canadians joined others around the world today to mark the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic–a pandemic that has now taken over 2.6 million lives.
It began in Canada a year ago in January and has never really let up, though there have been ebbs and flows as Canadians tried to cope with the heartbreak of losing loved ones separated and isolated behind institutional walls–at hospitals and long-term care homes–walls that families were not permitted to breach to share love and to offer comfort, lest the pandemic gain more strength.
As of Thursday morning, 896,739 COVID-19 cases had been confirmed in Canada, including 30,442 that are currently active and 843,962 that have been resolved.
Those numbers include 22,335 people who died.
Earlier this week Prime Minister Justin Trudeau designated today, March 11, a national day of observance to commemorate those who have died, as well as the health-care and other essential workers who have been on the front lines.
Speaking in the House of Commons this morning, Trudeau praised the health-care workers, military personnel and others who he said have stepped up over the past year to help Canadians through the pandemic.
The prime minister described the past 12 months as “a tough year, a heartbreaking year, but it is a year we have faced together.
Canada’s first “presumptive” case of COVID-19 was reported Jan. 25, 2020, a few weeks after Chinese health officials identified a new strain of coronavirus in Wuhan, China.
The patient was a man in his 50s who had just days earlier returned to Toronto from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak at the time. He fell ill almost immediately on his return and was admitted to Sunnybrook Hospital where he stayed for about a week before being discharged.
Canada’s first fatality was reported a year ago, on March 9, when British Columbia’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said that a man in his 80s with underlying health conditions had died the previous night after becoming infected with the illness at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver.
As Canadians remembered, the fight to return to some semblance of sanity continued.
Health Canada has approved four COVID-19 vaccines, and 1.5 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
“More and more people are getting vaccinated every day,” Trudeau said at a news conference on Tuesday.
“That means more grandparents, health-care workers, and vulnerable people are now safe.
“Our top priority is to get you your shot as soon as possible. No one will be left behind.” -
Peel officer Cleared of wrongdoing in shooting of carjacking suspect
By: Jason Miller, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Toronto Star
Ontario’s police watchdog has concluded that a Peel Regional Police officer acted lawfully when he shot and injured a 24-year-old man suspected of a series of violent carjackings in neighbouring Halton region.
Special Investigations Unit director Joseph Martino concluded that the officer used reasonable force to subdue the accused during an alleged attempt to evade arrest at a Brampton gas station on June 30, 2020.
Martino concluded that the Peel officer acted lawfully when he shot at a black Ford Mustang that police say the accused used to carry out the alleged carjackings. “I am satisfied that the officer reasonably believed that shooting at the driver and incapacitating the Mustang’s operating mind was necessary if he was going to preserve himself from death,” Martino wrote. Peel regional police robbery investigators had informed the officer and his tactical team of an alleged carjacking and attempted carjackings involving the Mustang and the complainant, earlier that day.
Police were told the suspects had allegedly used guns and knives to intimidate and assault victims. Once the vehicle was spotted at the gas station, near Torbram Road and Williams Parkway, the subject officer pointed his gun at the suspect and shouted at him to stop.
According to the SIU account, the suspect accelerated backward and struck a vehicle behind him, almost hitting a man who was at the pump. The driver then accelerated toward the officer, the SIU report continues. The officer dodged to his right to avoid being hit, then fired three shots at close range, believing it was necessary to protect himself from being run over, Martino wrote. “The complainant had given every indication that he was not about to surrender peacefully,” Martino wrote in his analysis.
An air gun was recovered from the Mustang after the accused and another person in the vehicle were arrested. “I am satisfied for the foregoing reasons that the subject officer and the other officers who participated in the operation that resulted in the complainant’s arrest conducted themselves lawfully throughout the incident, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case,” Martino wrote. -
It doesn’t make any sense’: Concerns grow over retirement facility excluded from COVID-19 vaccines
By: Maria Iqbal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator
Concerns are growing around Hamilton seniors in a retirement facility who have not yet received COVID vaccines, despite the city vaccinating seniors in the community.
Residents at The Court at Rushdale, a retirement and assisted living facility on Upper Sherman Avenue, are still waiting for COVID-19 vaccines after The Spectator reported last week that the home was not included in the initial rollout for long-term-care and retirement homes. The home’s provider says it’s because the home isn’t licensed.
Sue Moulton, whose 87-year-old mother lives at The Court at Rushdale, says licensing shouldn’t make a difference as long as the home’s residents are at risk.
“That’s just stupid,” said the Hamilton teacher.
Atria Retirement Canada, which operates the Hamilton home and other facilities across Canada, said last week that The Court at Rushdale is “an unlicensed, independent living community” which doesn’t yet fall in public health’s vaccine rollout.
Similar concerns were raised about an Atria facility in Whitby. It’s not clear how many other facilities in Hamilton are in the same boat.
“We are advocating for our residents to receive the vaccine as soon as possible,” said a statement attributed to Atria president Kristy Grange, adding the provider is prepared to work with public health “on a quick and efficient way” to vaccinate residents and staff.
While Grange praised the province for “prioritizing seniors” in the “massive effort” to deliver vaccines, she said, “at this time, it is not clear to our residents or staff when they will receive their vaccinations.”
Moulton decided to phone in to book her mom’s appointment, but worries about other residents who don’t have advocates.
On Monday, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said the province defines congregate settings. Public Health Ontario says “congregate living settings” are places where individuals — all or most of whom are not related — “live or stay overnight and use shared spaces” such as sleeping areas, bathrooms and kitchens.
“It’s essentially a place where there is shared dining … (or) shared time that is spent together,” said the medical officer of health. She noted that seniors’ apartments where residents choose to spend time together, like in a lounge, don’t count.
Richardson said she’s “mindful” of other sites which are considered congregate care, such as supportive housing for people with disabilities, but didn’t say when those settings would receive vaccines.
For places not considered “official” congregate settings, Richardson said it’s more about helping residents “access the vaccine.” She advised residents to book online once the provincial portal opens on March 15, or use the city’s hotline, which reopens the same day.
But Atria says The Court at Rushdale does have shared dining in normal circumstances, which is now limited during COVID. Moulton added that her mother’s room doesn’t have a stove.
After booking her mom’s appointment, Moulton said other residents asked how they could do the same, since few of them use the internet. Moulton offered to give them the city’s number, but learned Tuesday night that the hotline had closed.
“Now these (residents) are going to be so confused, they’re going to try to call and it’s shut down,” she said.
Carolyn Thornton was also surprised when she learned The Court at Rushdale, where her parents in their 90s live, wasn’t expected to have a mobile clinic. “It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever,” she said. “These people are living together, they’re vulnerable … they’re all elderly.”
Thornton also booked their appointments by phone, and she and her sister accompanied their parents, who both use walkers.
“There was no way for me to do it on my own,” Thornton said.
“My biggest concern is for all these residents who are not in the mix of receiving the vaccine,” she said. “It’s left up to family members because a lot of these people can’t get out on their own.”
Joan Annibale from Stoney Creek said her father, an 89-year-old Rushdale resident, received a call from St. Joe’s on March 6 because he’d received care in the last six months.
“He said he was in a retirement home, and they told him he’d probably be done at the home,” said Annibale. But after she learned the home wasn’t part of the initial rollout, she realized her dad wasn’t about to get one. He still doesn’t have an appointment.
“It is ridiculous that they should … have to go out,” she said. “I would like The Court at Rushdale to have mobile vaccinations.”