Corrections watchdog urges moratorium on doctor-assisted deaths in Canadian prisons


OTTAWA — Canada's prison ombudsman is calling for a moratorium on allowing medically assisted deaths inside federal correctional institutions, part of a sweeping annual report that also took a closer look at the prevalence of sexual violence behind bars.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

There are three known cases of doctor-assisted death in federal corrections — including two carried out in the community — and each one raises questions around consent, choice and dignity, federal correctional investigator Ivan Singer said in his 2019-20 annual report tabled in Parliament Tuesday.

The report said his office found a series of errors and delays and the misapplication of law and policy in the two cases it reviewed.

That included one case involving an individual Zinger described as "a non-violent recidivist" serving a two-year sentence, which is the minimum for a federal sentence.

Zinger said he has "no doubt" the procedure itself was carried out professionally and according to the law. His review focused on whether there were "more humane alternatives" for managing the inmate's terminal illness after he was denied parole.

"The decisions to deny parole and then provide (medical assistance in dying) in a prison setting seem out of step with the gravity, nature and length of this man’s sentence," Zinger wrote.

"With no other alternative available, the decision to deny full and day parole was almost certainly a factor in shaping his decision to seek (medical assistance in dying)."

He said the government should set up an expert committee to consider the ethical and practical concerns in providing medically assisted death in prisons and suggest policy and law changes.

Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner Anne Kelly said in a statement Tuesday the report provides an opportunity to review and act on important issues within the federal correctional system.

She said the agency is committed to reviewing and considering all recommendations from external and internal partners to improve training and education for those in federal correctional facilities.

The report also looked at sexual violence in federal prisons and concluded that it is a pervasive but under-reported problem.

"I was disturbed to find considerable gaps in the Correctional Service of Canada’s approach to detecting, investigating and preventing sexual coercion and violence behind bars," Zinger said.

He said the correctional service should have an open and honest conversation about the scope of sexual assault in prisons.

"Victims do not report their experiences of abuse," Zinger said. "Many are afraid to report, fearing retaliation, retribution or re-victimization by the perpetrators."

Kelly said officers are trained to recognize and deal with all types of criminal behaviour between inmates, including sexual coercion and violence.

"I want to assure you that we take this issue very seriously," she wrote in her statement.

Emilie Coyle, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, said the advocacy organization applauds Zinger for taking a systemic look at the issue of sexual violence.

“This investigation is further evidence that prisons are not — and never will be — safe places," Coyle wrote.

"The persistent and inescapable danger of sexual violence and coercion in federal prisons, emphasized by the (correctional investigator's) report, is appalling. Now that this report reveals what happens behind prison walls, we anticipate public outrage.”

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the investigator's report raises important issues and recommendations regarding education, training and safety in federal correctional institutions.

Zinger called on Ottawa to adopt a law that would require Correctional Service of Canada to publicly report and respond to incidents of sexual violence that take place in prisons, similar to the Prison Rape and Elimination Act introduced in the United States nearly 20 years ago.

Blair said Public Safety Canada will carry out research to inform a strategy to respond to sexual coercion and violence in correctional institutions, adding that an interim report is set to be developed by next spring.

The report from Zinger also examined whether inmates are able to study while in prison.

"There is virtually no opportunity to pursue post-secondary education behind bars," he said. "Apprenticeships are rare, and most prison shops run on obsolete technological platforms."

Work opportunities for prisoners are also limited, Zinger said.

"Inmates describe prison work that is mundane and meaningless, jobs that simply provide an escape from being locked up all day," he said.

Zinger said he is "deeply disappointed" by the responses from the government and the agency, given the issues and investigations predate the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Most recommendations are met with vague and future commitments to review, reassess, or even, in the case of sexual violence in prisons, redo the work that my office has already completed," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2020

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press

Canadian company that owns classic toys Etch A Sketch and Aerobie buys Rubik's Cube for $50M

Pete Evans 

© Stephane Mahe/Reuters Erno Rubik holds up the iconic children's toy he invented in 1974.

Spin Master is adding to its toy chest again.

The Toronto-based company said Tuesday it will pay $50 million for Rubik's Cube, the iconic game that has captivated and confounded millions of people since it was invented nearly 50 years ago.

Hungarian inventor Ernő Rubik created the game of coloured blocks that need to be sorted in 1974 before it launched globally in 1980 and went on to sell hundreds of millions of units.

For those who've never seen one, a Rubik's cube is essentially 27 small coloured cubes stacked together into a larger cube form, all of which rotate around a central core.

The cube starts with all one colour on each of its six outer faces, and the challenge is in spinning the cubes around and then trying to get the colours back to their original configuration. It sounds simple enough, but as anyone who has ever tried and failed to solve one can attest to: it is not.

The inventor says the cube has attracted more attention than he ever imagined.

"It is a curious fact — one that surprises me as much as anyone — that for so many decades during a time of an unprecedented technological revolution, fascination with such a simple low-tech object has survived," Rubik wrote in Cubed: The Puzzle of Us All.

Popularity in pandemic not so puzzling

Independent toy analyst Chris Byrne says toys like Rubik's cube are enjoying a resurgence in popularity because of the pandemic that has kept hundreds of millions of people around the world at home, and has parents scrambling to find entertainment options that aren't electronic screens.

"You're seeing all kinds of things out there that are providing learning," he said in an interview. "It's not ABCs and one, two threes it's actually problem solving and dimensional thinking — things that are the building blocks for things later on but that are actually fun," he said

.

© Stephane Mahe/Reuters Canadian participants practice before competing at the World Rubik's Cube Championships in France in 2017.

He said the deal is a savvy move for both sides.

"It is very stable, it's a globally known brand, it's a nice thing to add to their games portfolio — I think they got a great deal," he said. "I's a well known iconic brand that hasn't had a lot of effort behind it [but] they are going to put a lot of marketing muscle behind it," he said.

"A whole new generation of kids are going to find it fascinating."

Founded by three friends in 1994, Spin Master went public on the TSX and quickly began an aggressive strategy of acquiring other toy brands.

The Rubik's Cube purchase comes after takeovers of similarly iconic toys of yore, including Etch A Sketch, plush toy company Gund, and flying disc Aerobie.

In addition to those nostalgic brands, Spin Master also owns modern brands such as Paw Patrol and Hatchimals.

The deal is the 12th acquisition since Spin Master went public five years ago.

 

We’re writing to ask if you can help us by urging the City of Vancouver to act now and decriminalize drug possession at the local level. We cannot wait any longer as our community members and loved ones die from bad drug policy. As a matter of public health and human rights, we’re asking the City of Vancouver to actively apply to the federal government for a City-wide exemption against the offence of drug possession. Will you add your voice to the movement? Take Action Now The City of Vancouver has already called on the federal government to decriminalize drug possession. However, they have yet to take the crucial step of applying for an exemption. Take 45 seconds now and urge the City of Vancouver to decriminalize drug possession. Decriminalization is a public health measure and, once implemented, would reduce stigma, limit harmful interactions with police, and increase safe access to life-saving supports and services for people who use drugs. Join us in urging the City of Vancouver to take leadership today! Caitlin Shane Staff Lawyer - Drug Policy http://www.pivotlegal.org/

© 2020 Pivot Legal Society

Judge rejects youths' lawsuit that asks Canada to develop climate recovery plan

VANCOUVER — A Federal Court judge has rejected claims by 15 young people asking that Ottawa be compelled to develop a climate recovery plan based on science, but their lawyers say the ruling will be appealed to the country's highest court if necessary.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Justice Michael Manson said in a written decision released Tuesday that the claims don't have a reasonable cause of action or prospect of success so the case cannot proceed to trial.

Manson said that while he understands children and youth are disproportionately affected by the effects of climate change, the issue involves a broad network of provincial and federal policies related to greenhouse gas emissions, for example.

"The diffuse nature of the claim that targets all conduct leading to GHG emissions cannot be characterized in a way other than to suggest the plaintiffs are seeking judicial involvement in Canada's overall policy response to climate change," he said

Manson said the courts should not be involved in what is essentially a complex political matter.

Joe Arvay, a lawyer for the youth, said he disagreed.

"This is the opinion of a single judge of the Federal Court, and obviously we respect his role and his right to say what he said. But we don't accept that it's correct and we hope that the highest court will disagree with him."

Arvay outlined during the court hearing in September the negative impact of extreme weather events such as floods and wildfires on his clients' physical and mental health as well as their homes, cultural heritage and hopes for the future.

The youths across Canada claimed greenhouse gas emissions in particular have led to changes in the environment through the federal government's support of fossil fuel exploration and extraction.

They also said subsidies to the fossil fuel industry and the purchase of the Trans Mountain Pipeline highlight Canada's failure to fulfil its own commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Arvay argued the federal government is violating the youths' right to life, liberty and security of the person under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as their right to equality because they are disproportionately affected by climate change.

However, Manson said that while there was agreement about the serious consequences of climate change by both the plaintiffs and the federal government, he did not accept that the youths' charter rights are being violated.

Sierra Robinson, 18, a plaintiff in the case, said she is disappointed in the decision but it won't stop the youths between the ages of 11 and 20 from fighting for a better future as many of them become old enough to vote.

"I was really hopeful that the court would be able to really listen to our case and really look at our claims because they are very, very important," she said.

Robinson said rising temperatures have led to an increase in disease-carrying ticks on her family's farm in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, where she was bitten at around age 13 and suffered chronic fatigue, severe headaches and muscle pain. She was unable to walk and spent much of the summer in a wheelchair three years ago, she added.

"The government and the courts are saying that they don't have a responsibility to do anything. That brings up the question: What is an adequate way to deal with these issues if you think this isn't a place for the courts or this isn't a place for youth to step up and try to create change. Where are they expecting change to come from?"

The youth are being supported by the David Suzuki Foundation, U.S.-based non-profit group Our Children’s Trust and the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation in Victoria.

Andrea Rodgers, a lawyer with Our Children's Trust, said some of the lawyers, including Arvay, worked for free on the case that is similar to one filed against the United States government and includes 21 plaintiffs awaiting the decision in appeal.

"This is the first Canadian case we are involved with," Rodgers said from Seattle. "Canadian youth, for years, have been really trying to get an action started after just seeing their government continue to miss whatever (greenhouse gas emissions) targets it sets and continuing to make the climate change problem worse."

Rodgers said both the youth-led case in the U.S. and the one in Canada must move forward to higher courts because the issue of climate change will have a big impact on future generations.

"It's pretty clear to us that Manson got it wrong," she said of Tuesday's court decision. "Hopefully, these kids will ultimately get their day in court."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2020.

Camille Bains, The Canadian Press

Blanchet demands apology from Trudeau for War Measures Act, passed 50 years ago

OTTAWA — Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is urging the federal government to apologize for legislation that remains controversial 50 years after its passage during the October Crisis in Quebec.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

In October 1970, the Liberal government under then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau decided to suspend civil liberties by invoking the War Measures Act in response to the kidnapping of a Quebec cabinet minister and a British diplomat by members of the militant FLQ separatist group.

The legislation, passed at the request of the Quebec premier and Montreal's mayor, saw soldiers patrolling the streets as authorities rounded up hundreds of residents under suspicion of involvement in the abductions.

In a motion put forward this week, Blanchet demanded an official apology from the prime minister for his father's deployment of the army to arrest and detain without charge nearly 500 Quebecers.

Blanchet said he has not secured support from any other parties. 

IT WAS NDP LEADER TOMMY DOUGLAS WHO WAS THE ONLY MP TO VOTE AGAINST THE WMA WHEN IT CAME BEFORE PARLIAMENT. THE CPC(ML) PUBLISHED THE FLQ MANIFESTO IN THEIR NEWSPAPER AND MADE AN ISSUE OF SELLING  IT ON THE STREETS ACROSS CANADA, INCLUDING IN EDMONTON 

He criticized the Conservatives for refusing to call for an apology over a law that "attacked the dignity of a whole nation."

Blanchet also invoked former Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield, who backed the Liberal government in invoking the War Measures Act but later expressed regret over it.

"You cannot pretend to be deeply in love with Quebec without respecting the desire of Quebecers to receive some apologies from Her Majesty’s government," Blanchet told reporters Wednesday.

Opposition House leader Gérard Deltell confirmed the Conservatives plan to vote against the motion on Thursday.

"For us the October Crisis is first and foremost the death of the deputy premier of Quebec, Pierre Laporte, a guy who had been elected by the people of Quebec who had been killed by terrorists," Deltell said on his way into the Conservative caucus meeting.

The October Crisis, which culminated in the discovery of Laporte's body in the trunk of a car, marked the first time the War Measures Act had been invoked in peacetime.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2020.

Buffalo Party's strong showing in Saskatchewan vote a warning to Moe: experts

© Provided by The Canadian Press

SASKATOON — Right-wing, pro-independence candidates had a stronger showing in Saskatchewan's election than the Opposition NDP in some rural ridings and experts say that means Premier Scott Moe's Saskatchewan Party can't rest easy in victory.

The Buffalo party ran candidates in 17 of 61 constituencies and captured nearly three per cent of the votes cast on Monday, excluding mail-in ballots that have yet to be counted.

While they didn't manage to snatch any seats, Buffalo candidates outdid the NDP by considerable margins in the ridings of Estevan, Cannington, Cypress Hills and Kindersley.

"We accomplished more in the last three months than anybody ever gave us credit for and everyone is extremely happy and pleased," said Wade Sira, who was a distant third in his constituency north of Saskatoon.

In July, the Buffalo party changed its name from Wexit Saskatchewan — an apparent play on the U.K. Brexit movement — and chose Sira, a municipal reeve, as leader.

Sira said his party wants a Quebec-like relationship with the federal government that would have Saskatchewan take control of immigration, policing, pensions and firearms.

Many platform ideas echo proposals Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's United Conservative government has been examining to get what it calls a "fair deal" from Confederation.

"As Buffalo, we see ourselves not as separatists. We see ourselves as sovereigntists," Sira said in an interview Tuesday.

"We need to be treated equal in Canada and not like a colony."

Moe's Saskatchewan Party was decisively re-elected in Monday's vote, although some seats are too close to call until mail-in ballots are counted.

Moe acknowledged in his victory speech that some people voted for the Buffalo party to express their frustration with Ottawa.

"And to those voters I want to say: I hear you. And I want to say this government hears you," Moe said.

"We share your frustrations and we share many of your objectives. We are not happy with the federal government either."

A brand of conservative populism fuelled by anger at Ottawa and hatred of big government has been simmering in Saskatchewan and Alberta since Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's re-election last fall.

Lisa Young, a professor at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, said it's a challenge for both Moe and Kenney — the Alberta premier more so because of the strength of Alberta's NDP under Rachel Notley.

"But if the NDP in Saskatchewan is able to recover and be more popular, it will be the same issue for Moe," Young said.

"There's a danger that the votes on the right split, and that's where conservative governments can run into electoral trouble."

Alberta's Freedom Conservative Party and Wexit Alberta combined into the Wildrose Independence Party earlier this year.

Kenney replied with an emphatic no when asked during the UCP's annual general meeting last weekend whether he would support separation.

"We're likely to see Moe take some pages out of Jason Kenney's playbook," said Young, who pointed to the Kenney government's "fair deal" panel as a way to show alienated westerners their provincial government is listening.

Greg Poelzer, a University of Saskatchewan political scientist, said Moe is at a crossroads where he can either chose to be — in Reform Party founder Preston Manning's words — a "little westerner" or a "big westerner."

The former turn inward and protect their own interests, while the latter build bridges and play a constructive role in federation, Poelzer said.

"If the Buffalo party wasn't here, didn't exist at all, I think the premier would have more room to manoeuvre."

Poelzer said Moe would be wise to differentiate his party from Buffalo and not get pulled to the right — both for the public good and as a way to prevent a centrist challenger from rising on the left.

"That takes a lot of courage because it's a lot easier, especially after a massive win and a very decisive win, to go the other route."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 27, 2020.

By Lauren Krugel in Calgary. With files from Stephanie Taylor in Regina

The Canadian Press

'It is heartbreaking': Families, marriages, splinter as Canadians embrace bizarre QAnon 'cult'

© Provided by National Post Peaceful anti-mask demonstrators in Montreal on Sept. 12 included QAnon supporters.

Lily talks almost matter-of-factly now about some of her mother’s beliefs, sounding more fatigued by it all than flabbergasted.

“ ‘Nicole Kidman is a Satanist, Hillary Clinton has children hanging in her basement and Reese Witherspoon is eating children,’ ” the Queen’s University student recounts.

And there is no way to persuade the woman she’s wrong, says Lily. “It’s cognitive dissonance. It’s the most heavy case of cognitive dissonance you could ever imagine.”

Yet the 21-year-old is just one among a surprising new cohort: Canadians whose lives have been turned upside down after a family member or close friend became immersed in QAnon and its outlandish conspiracy theories.

With tie-ins to U.S. politics and adherence to bizarre, unfounded accusations against liberal, Jewish and Hollywood elites, the movement would seem like a quintessentially American phenomenon.

But on a growing Reddit forum for relatives and friends of devotees, called QAnonCasualties, numerous Canadians share tales of how the “cult” has fractured their families or marriages.

Unlike in the U.S., QAnon seems to have limited impact on Canadian politics, but relatives say it is exacting a deeply personal toll, throwing once-loving relationships across the country into disarray.

Relatives spend hours watching videos, reading social media posts or talking to other adherents, while angrily rejecting attempts to refute their strange ideas, loved ones say. And though not directly part of the QAnon mythology, believers tend to aggressively reject wearing masks and other precautions against COVID-19, even when it might put family members at risk.

Some say their Canadian family members want to vote in the U.S. presidential election, legally or not, so they can back Donald Trump.

Folk devils and fear: QAnon feeds into a culture of moral panic

U.S. House condemns QAnon conspiracy theory; 17 Republicans vote no

Two Canadians affected by the phenomenon agreed to interviews this week, though they asked that their full names not be published, fearing further family strife, ill effects on a business or abuse from Q followers.

Sarah, 35, a southern Alberta entrepreneur, said her parents are unshakeable in their beliefs, showing more faith in YouTube videos by “some guy sitting in his mom’s basement,” than verifiable facts.

“They look at us like we’re the idiots who believe the message from above without questioning it,” she said. “You can come at them with academic articles and news sources from a variety of different places, and all they’ll say is, ‘That’s the elite’s agenda,’ and they don’t believe it because it’s fake news.”

On the Reddit page, another Canadian woman painfully describes how she tried to get her husband to abandon his obsession with QAnon and work on repairing their relationship, to no avail. A few days days ago, she posted that she was going away for a month and undergoing therapy.

“He’s always ranting on the phone, scrolling on Twitter, YouTube on speaker,” she wrote. “He says he loves me and his family but he can’t give up QAnon. It is the hill he will die on … 7 year relationship destroyed with 2 kids under 3, all for this bullsh–.”

Lily says QAnon appears to have spread in Canada. In addition to her own mother, she cites a former boss and his wife, high school friends and fellow university students who have been drawn into the network.

“You’d be surprised how many people are silently watching this sh– in their basement,” she said. “I know people in my personal life who are university educated, in Queen’s Commerce, who are in this. It’s not all hillbillies and hicks and conservative weirdos … That’s the most astounding thing about it to be honest.”

Criticism of the left by the right, and vice versa, is a natural and healthy part of democracy. QAnon is something else. The loosely connected web of conspiracists is convinced that a “cabal” of Democratic Party politicians and other liberal elites are kidnapping, sexually abusing and even cannibalizing children. They see Donald Trump as a sort of saviour working to defeat the evil. The theories have been traced back to an anonymous poster — Q — on the 4Chan website who claimed to be a senior U.S. government official with top-secret clearance.

About two dozen Republican congressional candidates in the Nov. 3 election have voiced support for QAnon, while Trump himself has refused to disavow the movement.

Yet the FBI has called it a potential domestic terrorism threat, and a bi-partisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives condemned the fantastical ideology.

QAnon has had some peripheral impact on Canadian public life. Before a man was charged with ramming a truck full of guns into the grounds of Rideau Hall, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is living, the company he owned had posted QAnon material on Instagram. In Quebec, conspiracy theorist Alexis Cossette-Trudel espoused QAnon beliefs on popular YouTube videos, which were removed by the site’s owner recently for spreading misinformation about COVID-19.

A September anti-mask protest in Montreal featured a plethora of QAnon signs and T-shirts.

© Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/File An RCMP police officer looks in the cab of a pickup truck on the grounds of Rideau Hall on July 2. A man who had trafficked in QAnon material was charged with ramming the truck into the grounds of the prime minister.

Lily describes a gradual evolution in her mother’s mindset, from being a liberal, feminist single parent as recently as 2015, to believing vaccines are dangerous, developing a hatred for government and, this spring, diving deep into QAnon.

She’d spend eight to 10 hours a day on her smartphone, alienating most of her extended family and friends, the daughter says.

In March, she insisted Lily come home early from university, warning that the military was planning to force people into quarantine.

“I sobbed,” she recalls. “I have to worry about getting sick and dying, I have to worry about my exams. I have to worry about all these real world things, and then I have to worry about my mother who has joined a cult.”

Sarah said her own parents have always been “alternative” and skeptical of government but also liberal, supporters of alternative energy. But as the pandemic lockdown began this spring, they too embraced QAnon, believing that all Democrats — politicians in another country — were evil and that elites were draining the bio-chemical adrenochrome from babies, another peculiar aspect of the theory.

And they insist COVID-19 is nothing to fear, refusing to wear masks or social distance, even though their daughter is now pregnant and therefore immune-compromised. Sarah says she, her husband and toddler may boycott family Christmas as a result.

The situation is “heartbreaking,” but she said she had one hope for a better future with her parents — Trump’s defeat next Tuesday.

“If he does not … continue to be president I hope it will be a quick fizzle,” she says about the movement. “Because QAnon will have less fuel to add to its fire.”

Coronavirus shone a ‘spotlight’ on inequalities in Canada’s health system, Tam says
Rachael D'Amore 

Canada's top doctor is calling for sweeping structural changes in the wake of COVID-19 and in time for a successful recovery from the pandemic

Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam listens to a question during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday October 28, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

In the chief public health officer's annual report, titled "From Risk to Resilience: An Equity Approach to COVID-19," Dr. Theresa Tam describes the broader consequences of the pandemic and how a "health equity approach" is crucial for recovery and response to future health crises.

"COVID-19 has shone a real spotlight on equalities in health and systemic gaps resulting in inequities," Tam said during a news conference on Wednesday.

"I do see COVID-19 as a catalyst for collaboration from health, social and economic sectors, and I have observed at the federal level, but also from local levels, and provincial levels."

Read more: Over 10,000 people in Canada have died from coronavirus

Overall, Tam is calling for a "more sustained approach." She singled out three areas where action should be taken to improve the country’s pandemic preparedness, response, and recovery.

The first acknowledges that leadership and governance "at all levels" needs to be sustained for structural change to occur.

In many ways, governments across the board have been able to collaborate to tackle the pandemic, according to Tam. She believes that this progress needs to not only continue, but become "measured and adjusted" to eliminate inequities. She said the best way forward on this is through the collection of ample data, to "understand the multiple needs of people."

The second is social cohesion.

"We need to make sure the population is continuing to observe public health measures," said Tam.

The third is to strengthen public health capacity. Tam said the pandemic has highlighted the need for a "robust and agile" public health system that has the resources and abilities to tackle emergencies, as well as inequities.

Tam said "every level of government" could benefit from strengthening its capacity.

"It's shone a spotlight on the importance of public health," she said.

Read more: Coronavirus will change cities but offers chance to fix chronic inequities, expert says

"A crisis helps us understand.

"We understand often racialized, often women, working in precarious situations, maybe single parents, are trying to essentially look after our elderly and our most vulnerable populations. So the question, really, in this report is calling for this to be a more sustained approach. Why can't we have those government structures beyond crisis and into recovery?"

The report outlines in detail how COVID-19 has only inflamed existing inequities among seniors, women, racialized Canadians and essential workers. Tam said these groups were disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

"These findings are more than just uncomfortable facts about our country during this pandemic," Tam said. "They're the lived realities of countless Canadians."

Employment conditions and security, stable housing, access to health, education and social services systems like child care, and mental health supports were cited as areas of improvement to make the elimination of stigma and discrimination "tangible" in Canada.

Long-term care homes were hit hard in Canada during the first wave of the pandemic. According to the findings, residents of long-term care homes accounted for 80 per cent of the COVID-19-related deaths in Canada as of August.

It's cited as a major factor in why Canada ranks 79th out of 210 countries when it comes to coronavirus-related deaths.
Communication 'a challenge'

The report identifies that "active, timely and clear" communication has been a challenge over the last nine months.

She detailed a number of issues, including communicating with the public about the ever-evolving science around the disease and current actions to take. The "deluge" of information Canadians have been exposed to only "underscores the need for public health officials to regularly confirm the state of the pandemic and outline priority actions," the report reads.

Read more: Halloween on or off? Dance studios but no gyms? Inconsistencies fill coronavirus messaging

"Information needs to be tailored and locally contextualized," she said, "while at the same time balanced with consistent key messaging being shared across the country."

Tam noted that this is crucial to maintaining public trust, and that that trust is "key to vaccine uptake."

She urged for proper risk communication, to enable people to make informed decisions to protect themselves and others. In turn, she said, this type of communication can help identify and dispel rumours and misinformation, which she said can not only hinder public health efforts to fight the pandemic, but also "exacerbate racism and fear" and sometimes result in "dangerous behaviour."

-- with files from the Canadian Press

Opioid deaths skyrocket, mental health suffers due to pandemic restrictions, new federal report says

John Paul Tasker 

© Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam looks on during a press conference during the COVID pandemic in Ottawa.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on Canadians suffering from mental illness, opioid addiction and other substance abuse problems, says a new study released today by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) which confirms anecdotal reports warning that the pandemic's health consequences extend well beyond the novel coronavirus itself.

Efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing and shutdowns have kept the Canadian caseload relatively low compared to other jurisdictions globally. But the overall health of the population has deteriorated over the last eight months, with more people turning to drugs, alcohol, tobacco and screen time over physical exercise to cope with the stress.

"This year's annual report describes the heavy toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Canadian society, both directly and indirectly," Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Wednesday as she released her agency's annual report.

"These findings are more than just uncomfortable facts about our country during this pandemic. They're the lived realities of countless Canadians."
One pandemic, different levels of risk

Confirming what has been well-documented already, PHAC found that long-term care (LTC) homes have been the epicentre of COVID-19-related deaths because "pandemic preparedness did not extend into these settings." The report said LTC facilities' limited supplies of personal protective equipment, old infrastructure, poor ventilation and chronic understaffing led to more infections.

People of colour in Canada also have been far more likely to contract the virus, PHAC found. The report says Arab, Black, Middle Eastern, Latin American, South Asian and Southeast Asian Canadians accounted for more than 80 per cent of the cases in Toronto, despite collectively making up slightly more than half of the city's population

.

© Evan Mitsui/CBC Friends and family members of residents meet at Extendicare Guildwood, in Toronto, on June 12.

While the reasons for this minority/majority split in the caseload numbers are unclear, PHAC suggested that pre-existing health disparities, the stress of racism and the preponderance of low-wage work in high-risk places could be to blame.

Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada is still in the grips of an opioid crisis — a crisis that is now much worse than it was just a year ago. With travel and border restrictions in place, the local opioid supply has grown more toxic and dangerous, PHAC said.

While Canada made meaningful progress in reducing the rate of overdoses in 2018-19, the number of deaths has increased significantly since the start of this year.
A surge in opioid deaths

In B.C., there were more than 100 "illicit drug toxicity" deaths per month for six consecutive months from March to August 2020, and more than 175 such deaths each month in May, June and July, according to data compiled by PHAC.

B.C.'s highest monthly opioid death toll, in June 2020, was 181, up from 76 in June 2019. First Nations people account for a disproportionate number of these deaths — they were nearly six times more likely to die from an overdose than other B.C. residents.

In July, B.C. paramedics responded to a record high number of overdose calls — a 75 per cent spike in calls compared to the same month last year. Paramedics in B.C. also responded that month to an average of 87 overdose calls a day, or 2,706 calls in total.

Last week, the B.C. Coroners Service said 1,202 people have died of fatal overdoses so far this year, compared to just 983 deaths in all of 2019. The death toll in B.C. in September was more than double the 60 fatalities recorded in the same month last year.

Preliminary data from Ontario also show that the number of confirmed and probable deaths from opioid-related causes has increased by almost 50 per cent, from 148 deaths in January to 220 deaths in May.

© Tina Lovgreen/CBC A drug user at a safe injection site in Vancouver on March 27, 2018.

Alberta also experienced a dramatic increase in opioid-related deaths in the three-month period from April to June 2020 — 302 deaths, up from the previously recorded high of 211 deaths in a three-month period in 2018.

PHAC heard from frontline workers who said that, because of social restrictions, many more people have been using opioids alone, "decreasing the chance of intervention if they overdose and contributing to the increase in overdose-related fatalities."

Physical distancing measures at safe-consumption sites designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 also resulted in more opioid-related deaths.

At least one supervised consumption site in Ottawa did away with physical distancing measures after several clients overdosed while waiting in line to get in.
We're drinking and smoking more, moving less

Meanwhile, many Canadians have increased their use of alcohol, cannabis and tobacco during this pandemic.

By early summer, based on surveys by Statistics Canada, alcohol consumption was up 19 per cent, cannabis use jumped 8.3 per cent and tobacco smoking rates were up by 3.9 per cent over pre-pandemic levels.

CBC North has documented a surge in alcohol and substance abuse in Canada's northern territories thanks in part to more bootlegging and access to cash through the Canadian emergency relief benefit (CERB) and other relief supports.

The pandemic and its resulting restrictions on social and economic life have had a lasting impact on mental health.

PHAC found that, due to shelter-in-place restrictions, more women have had to stay with abusive partners and LGBTQ kids have been confined to homes with homophobic and transphobic parents and caregivers.

Child welfare agencies are reporting a drop in abuse or neglect reports — but they fear it's because fewer cases are being reported now that more school-age children are stuck at home without access to school or sports.

"This may be the result of fewer detection opportunities, as children are likely to be isolated at home and without community involvement," PHAC said.

But it's not just the vulnerable and marginalized among us who have seen notable drops in mental wellness.

Canada has gone from one of the happiest countries in the world — ninth out of 156 countries according to a 2019 UN report — to one that is noticeably less so.

Less happy, more anxious

In 2018, 68 per cent of Canadians age 15 years and older reported excellent or very good self-perceived mental health. This figure dropped to 54 per cent in late March and early April 2020 before going lower still to 48 per cent in early May, according to Statistics Canada data.

Indigenous people, the disabled and low-income Canadians also have reported experiencing more suicidal thoughts since the outbreak, PHAC found.

With strict social distancing measures and limits on social gatherings in place, many Canadians feel isolated and are worried about the state of their friendships and familial relationships.

70 per cent of Canadians who responded to a recent Statistics Canada survey said they were concerned about maintaining social ties.

54 per cent of respondents with kids said they were very or extremely concerned about their children's loneliness or social isolation.

While thousands of Canadians have died from COVID-19 — nearly 80 per cent of them in long-term care homes, as of August — there were also more deaths in general this year than last.

"Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec all showed increased numbers of deaths compared to the same time period over the past five years. Some of these additional deaths are directly related to COVID-19, however contributions from other causes not directly linked to COVID-19 cannot be excluded," PHAC concluded.

Hospitals have seen a drop in walk-in patients for other maladies in emergency rooms. Surgeries have been cancelled or postponed due to capacity restraints, and health professionals fear that people may be avoiding necessary medical care because of pandemic-related worries.

With gyms closed in many jurisdictions and recreational sports leagues on pause, some Canadians are less active. Those who weren't particularly active before March 2020 lockdown reported being even less so in the months that followed.

More than 60 per cent of Canadians reported spending more time using the internet and watching TV during the pandemic in early April.

"Limited physical activity as a result of public health measures to physically isolate may also have an impact on mental health. Research has demonstrated that people who were able to engage in physical activity outdoors were more likely to report excellent or very good mental health," PHAC said.

Canadians support professor's use of offensive language, in context: poll

OTTAWA — A new survey suggests Canadians are broadly supportive of freedom of speech on university campuses, at all costs.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The poll comes as debate continues over a case at the University of Ottawa involving a professor who used one of the most notorious racist terms for Black people as part of a class discussion on how some communities have reclaimed terms over time.

The survey from Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies found 75 per cent of respondents agreed that freedom of expression at universities must be protected to allow for the exchange of ideas, including the use of certain culturally insensitive words if meant to stimulate discussion.

Fifty-seven per cent of those surveyed supported a professor using those words in the appropriate context, while 26 per cent were supportive of the students who had protested the fact the word was used.

A student complained last month that part-time professor Verushka Lieutenant-Duval used the word during a discussion in an art and gender class.

After the complaint, the professor had apologized and invited her students to have a followup discussion. The university suspended her for two weeks.

The move was polarizing, with some faculty coming out swiftly and strongly in support of Lieutenant-Duval and academic freedoms, while student groups and anti-racism advocates supported her suspension.

The professor later told Radio-Canada had she realized the harm it would cause, she would have found another way to have the discussion in an academic context.

Another group of academics suggested Tuesday finding that path forward is essential, as they added their voices to a chorus of professors who have denounced Lieutenant-Duval's suspension.

Several law professors at the University of Ottawa published an open letter saying a climate is being created where "we can harass, intimidate and ostracize colleagues who have done nothing" but speak reasonably in their courses, and it is placing a chill on academia.

Sixty-four per cent of those surveyed by Leger agreed with the statement "the political correctness movement has gone too far and the recent events on our campuses are the reflection of a movement gone astray."

The survey of 1,523 Canadians was carried out online between Oct. 23 and Oct. 25 and cannot be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not totally random.

Politicians have also been pressed on their response to the issue, both as a question of freedom of expression on campus but also as one element of the ongoing debate over how to eradicate systemic racism in Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked again about the issue Tuesday and said Canadians must be willing to listen to those hurt by the use of the word, even if it is used with good intentions. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 27, 2020.

Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press