CDN Military investigates officer who is calling on soldiers to fight government's pandemic "tyranny"

David Pugliese,  Ottawa Citizen - Yesterday 

The Canadian military has launched an investigation after an army officer called on police and fellow military personnel to rise up against the federal and provincial governments over pandemic regulations.


© Provided by Ottawa CitizenDemontrators against vaccine mandates block the roadway at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on Feb. 9, 2022.

Maj. Stephen Chledowski, an artillery officer, appears in a nine-minute video in which he accuses federal and provincial politicians of being traitors and suppressing the rights of Canadians. “I am calling on my military and police comrades to now stand up and protect your loved ones against this government-forced medical tyranny,” he said in the video downloaded on various social media outlets.

Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said Friday the Canadian Forces is investigating and will take action. “A hallmark of our democracy is the principle that the military is accountable to our duly elected officials,” he said. “Discipline is another key principle that underpins our effectiveness as a military.”

“Those who disregard these principles undermine the very foundation of our institution,” he added. “We all must be trusted to serve.”

Chledowski, who appears in uniform during the video, says he has been in the military for more than 20 years and has served in Afghanistan. He stated he is unvaccinated and added that he has held several army command positions. Chledowski is an artillery officer based in Oromocto, N.B.

Chledowski claims “liar” politicians and governments have tricked Canadians with regulations and health measures designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “For two years our elected government officials have been using the tactics of fear, intimidation, coercion and financial and physical violence against us to gain compliance for certain repeated medical procedures,” he said.


Artillery officer Maj. Stephen Chledowski appears in a nine-minute video calling on police and military personnel to rise up against the federal and provincial governments.

Chledowski claims the government has manipulated military and police. “You are now a weapon against the very people you love,” he said.

Chledowski did not respond to a request for comment from this newspaper.

But his view in the video is in contrast to what he wrote in 2005 for the Journal of Military and Strategic Studies. Citizens in a democratic society must see its military to be professional and above partisan politics, Chledowski wrote. “A nation’s military must be politically neutral,” he added in his 2005 article. “It is therefore vital that the military be under the firm control of a responsible, popularly elected civilian democracy.”

In 2009, Chledowski registered his own coat of arms with the federal government. That included the Latin phrase, “Bring honour to thy family and thyself.” The swords on the coat of arms represent his membership in the military, noted his application.

The Canadian Forces has been trying to deal with a small number of military personnel who are supporting the ongoing demonstrations in Ottawa or speaking out about health measures aimed at protecting the public from COVID-19.

Some protesters who have occupied downtown Ottawa since Jan. 28 have been criticized for flying Confederate and Nazi flags and dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Members of the public have reported being harassed or threatened by protesters. Others have called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be tried for treason or executed.

The Canadian military is currently looking into the actions of a special forces soldier whose house displayed a large banner supporting convoy protesters. It is also in the midst of another investigation after a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force recently went on Twitter with a video supporting the Ottawa protesters.

In May 2021, a Canadian Forces member who called on fellow military personnel to refuse to help with the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines was charged with an offence related to mutiny. It’s believed to be the first time in decades that the Canadian military has laid such a charge. A court-martial hearing will be held in September for that individual.

Officer Cadet Ladislas Kenderesi was charged with one count of “endeavoring to persuade another person to join in a mutiny,” an offence under the National Defence Act. Kenderesi was also charged with one count of behaving in a scandalous manner unbecoming of an officer.

Kenderesi will face a court martial sometime in September, DND officials have confirmed.

Edmonton police reviewing video of officer expressing support for trucker occupations

Jonny Wakefield - Yesterday


© Provided by Edmonton Journal

In a video posted to social media, Edmonton Police Const. Elena Golysheva expressed support for trucker convoys.

Edmonton police are “reviewing” a video in which a uniformed constable expresses support for trucker convoys and suggests she will not follow certain orders.

This week, video emerged of Edmonton Police Service Const. Elena Golysheva praising the trucker protests which for weeks have paralyzed Ottawa and multiple U.S./Canada border crossings.

City police spokeswoman Cheryl Sheppard said Thursday that the service is aware of the video and contemplating the next steps. She did not reveal the officer’s current duty status or whether she will face disciplinary action for the comments.

In the video — a version of which was posted to a pro-convoy Instagram page — Golysheva addresses police in Ottawa, her own colleagues, and the protesters themselves. She says she is an immigrant to Canada, and while she does not specifically mention the COVID-19 pandemic, she says “my heart has been broken every day when I saw that the very freedom that I moved to Canada for has been taken away.”

“Thank you truckers, thank you farmers, thank you people with open hearts and clear minds for standing up (for) police officers when we could not stand up for you,” she says tearfully.

“It’s clear in my mind what decision I will make when I’m asked to follow an unlawful order,” she adds. “I’m for freedom — of choice, for freedom of conscious, for freedom of speech, for freedom of expression, for freedom of communication, and I’m to serve, protect and help out, you people in Canada.”

Postmedia reached out Thursday to both Golysheva and the Edmonton Police Association but did not hear back.

David Cassels, a former Winnipeg police chief who policed in Edmonton for 30 years, called the video “completely inappropriate” and said Golysheva deserves to be suspended for the remarks pending further investigation.

Based on the video, “she believes that the freedom of the truck drivers is more important than the freedom of the people that she’s sworn to protect,” he said.

Cassels is president of the Coalition for Canadian Police Reform, a group seeking to “professionalize” policing through national training standards enforced by a college similar to the colleges that regulate medical professions.

He said police officers who publicly support causes — especially when those causes involve illegal activity — undermine public confidence that police will behave impartially.

Police officers have some discretion in applying the law, Cassels said. But he rejected the idea that police officers may not have to obey orders from their senior officers.

“They must obey an order from their senior officers, as long as it’s a lawful order,” Cassels said, adding that there is nothing unlawful about preventing blockades and enforcing traffic and noise bylaws.


© Greg SouthamPeople gather near the Alberta legislature on Feb. 5, 2022, in Edmonton to support the trucker convoy that is protesting vaccine mandates as well as measures taken by the provincial and federal governments to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Another convoy planned Saturday

On Friday, Edmonton police issued a statement about another convoy expected to descend on the legislature Saturday.

Sheppard urged citizens concerned about the disruptions not to call 911 except in emergency situations.

Police issued eight tickets for traffic offences during the previous week’s demonstration.

Workers in Michigan could lose up to $51 million in wages this week because of trucker protest, group estimates

By Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Business - Yesterday 

Workers in the Michigan auto industry could lose up to $51 million in wages this week, due to the trucker protest at the US-Canada border, according to Anderson Economic Group.

The lost wages are a result of the shutdowns of the Blue Water and Ambassador bridges coupled with shutdowns at identified plants in Delta, Michigan and Ingersoll, Brampton, Windsor, Oakville, Cambridge and Woodstock Ontario. The shutdowns on the Canadian side affect the operation of part plants in Michigan. The calculation of lost wages also takes into account the impact on suppliers and transit workers -- many who work on hourly wages.

"This is a serious disruption with significant human impacts," said Patrick Anderson, CEO of Anderson Economic Group. "With the industry already short-handed and production lines awaiting parts, any further interruption is very costly."

Canada does not have its own auto industry. Instead, US automakers like GM, Ford, and Stellantis run the plants there. Anderson Economic Group, which specializes in auto industry analysis, also factored in affected workers from Honda and Toyota and warned that if the border crossing remains blocked for longer than this week, the $51 million in direct lost wages would, "climb at an accelerating pace."

Ford announced it was running its factories at reduced capacity in Oakville and Windsor, Ontario, while General Motors canceled shifts at its Lansing assembly plant. Stellantis also reported cutting shifts short this week. But both GM and Stellantis said all plants opened normally Friday.

US automakers have been plagued by supply chain shortages -- in particular the elusive semiconductor computer chip -- which is needed in all cars. Therefore, fewer new cars have come to market, driving up costs. This disruption could only exacerbate that issue.

'The consequences are becoming more and more severe,' Freedom convoy warned
Ryan Tumilty - Yesterday 
National Post

Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in Ontario Friday and pledged more resources for police and new penalties for protesters blocking streets in Ottawa and the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor.

At a morning press conference, the Ontario premier said he understands people are tired of the pandemic and ready to move on, but the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge was costing the economy millions of dollars a day and leading to job losses at manufacturing plants.

“While I appreciate the right to protest, that right can not, it must not, extend to cutting off that lifeline,” Ford said.

He said the ongoing protest in Ottawa had made its point, but it was time for protestors to go home.

“We are now two weeks into the siege of the city of Ottawa. I call it a siege because that is what it is. It’s an illegal occupation,” he said. “Your right to make a political statement does not outweigh the rights of one million people in Ottawa to live peacefully, free of harassment and chaos in their own homes.”

The state of emergency would include new orders to make clear that blocking critical infrastructure like airports, highways, ports and bridges was illegal and that blocking municipal roadways, preventing ambulances of public transport was also illegal.

Ford said fines would be severe with penalties up to $100,000 per day or up to a year’s jail time and the possibility of suspending commercial and personal drivers licences.

City officials in Windsor were successful in securing a court injunction to clear protesters who have been blocking the Ambassador Bridge for days. The bridge closure shuts down hundreds of millions in cross-border trade every day and has already forced at least six auto plants to close or eliminate shifts.

It went into force at 7 p.m. on Friday evening, but it was unclear when it would be enforced. The city of Ottawa also announced it would be seeking a court injunction against the protesters there.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden Friday as concerns grow that the trade disruptions caused by the bridge closure would spread. Trudeau said the U.S. president spoke about American influence on the protest including with funding through crowdfunding sites.

“President Biden and I both agree that for the security of people and the economy, these blockades cannot continue,” Trudeau said.

A senior government official, speaking on background because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the call, said Trudeau assured Biden the protests would come to an end soon.

Biden also acknowledged it was a shared problem, pointing to the possibility of similar protests in the U.S. soon and the U.S. financial support the protest had received. The U.S. has offered tow truck help if needed to clear the streets in Windsor.

Trudeau also added to Ford’s warnings at a press conference of his own Friday afternoon.

“If you’re still participating in illegal blockades it’s time to go home. Especially if you have kids with you,” he said. “If you joined the protests because you’re tired of COVID you need to understand you’re breaking the law. The consequences are becoming more and more severe.”

The protests have been seeking an end to all vaccine mandates, lockdowns, mask requirements and other restrictions. Some provinces have started to reduce their restrictions and Trudeau said the government would have news on some easing of travel restrictions next week.

He stressed, however, that rules requiring people to be vaccinated to travel, to cross borders, or to work for the federal public service would not be changing anytime soon.

“We know this pandemic doesn’t end because we cross our arms and decide that it’s over. This pandemic will end by following science, by supporting each other, by being there for each other as Canadians have done throughout these past two years,” he said.

In a letter sent to both Trudeau and Ford earlier this week, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson asked for 1,800 more people, mostly police officers, to help end the occupation of the downtown core.

Trudeau insisted his government was helping provide those resources, but declined to provide specific numbers of RCMP officers that have been provided. Earlier this week the RCMP said 275 officers had been loaned to Ottawa Police and an unspecified additional number of officers had been provided since.

“We have been supporting the Ottawa police force and the province of Ontario with any resources they need to keep public order to ensure that they’re able to move forward on any of these blockades,” he said.

He rejected the idea Ottawa Police had not been provided with enough help to end the blockades.

“I don’t accept the contention that the City of Ottawa has exhausted its tools and its resources. The Ottawa police force has been given resources from both the OPP and the RCMP.”

Coun. Dianne Deans, who chairs the Ottawa Police Board, said she was disappointed in those comments. She said the city had been clear it needed more resources than it had to end the disruptions.

“I thought his comments this afternoon, we’re a little unfair. I just think that when our chief of police has been saying quite clearly we need more resources, if he believes we have enough you should point to how that is in fact, the case.”

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly has said repeatedly that he needs more resources to clear the entrenched protest. He said he welcomed the new provincial powers, but also needed more cops.

“Our team is on standby and as soon as the new provincial orders are in effect, we will brief our officers and begin enforcing the new laws to the fullest extent that our resources allow.”

– with additional reporting by Bryan Passifiume

'I'm proud of the truckers,' says Poilievre in lambasting Justin Trudeau's response to protests

Canada close to removing mandatory COVID testing for fully vaxxed travellers: sources

Twitter: RyanTumilty

Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com

THEY ARE THE DISGRUNTLED RIGHT WING

The Canadian protesters aren't just truckers. Here's who has been showing up and what they want

By Paula Newton,
CNN  - Yesterday 3.

A massive protest by Canadian truckers and others against Covid-19 mandates has been growing for weeks, crippling three US border crossings and downtown Ottawa -- with no end in sight.

So, why are the demonstrations happening now? What exactly are they about? And what's being done to address them? Here are some key questions and answers about Canada's Covid-19 protests.
What are truckers protesting in Canada?

Thousands of truckers are participating in the so-called "Freedom Convoy," fighting a vaccine mandate that is forcing all Canadian truckers crossing the US-Canadian border to be fully vaccinated or face quarantine in their homes for two weeks when they return.

The rule went into effect in mid-January in Canada and January 22 in the United States. The US Department of Homeland Security now requires noncitizens entering the United States via border crossings or ferry terminals along the US northern and southern borders be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.


© Olga Samotoy/SPTNK/AP

People protest Covid-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa on February 5.

Before this mandate, truckers were exempted from the vaccine requirement and permitted to cross the border, at times testing for Covid-19, even during the 18-month period that the border was closed to nonessential traffic. Truckers were considered vital to keeping supply chains functioning normally.


© Adrian Wyld/AP

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listens to a question from the media availability on January 31.

Nearly 90% of Canada's truckers are fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border, according to the Canadian government. So, the protesting truckers represent a "small, fringe minority," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, adding early on that his government did not expect the vaccine mandate to significantly affect supply chains.
How have the protests evolved?

The Freedom Convoy of truckers began its protest in January in Canada's western provinces, with the goal of reaching the nation's capital, Ottawa, and continuing to protest until the vaccine mandate was lifted.

On its cross-country journey, the protest has attracted support from thousands more Canadians, even some who are fully vaccinated, who say they want all Covid-19 preventative measures dropped, including mask mandates, lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings.

A large, noisy convoy, including hundreds of trucks and other vehicles, descended January 29 on Ottawa. Since then, they have snarled traffic and honked often and loudly. Protesters in more than 60 vehicles also disrupted traffic at Ottawa International Airport on Thursday, circling the arrivals and departure terminals, airport officials said.


© Justin Tang/The Canadian Press/AP

People hold signs and wave flags along Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill on February 5 as part of the Freedom Convoy protest.

In several other large Canadian cities and towns, protest crowds emerged over the first weekend of February with hundreds of trucks and thousands of protesters. Rallies also took place in Toronto, Quebec City, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

Meantime, Friday marked the fifth day protesters impeded access to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, Ontario -- the busiest international crossing in North America.

In addition, a mix of semi-trailers and farm equipment shut down the border crossing connecting Emerson, Manitoba, and Pembina, North Dakota, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Manitoba. The Coutts access point between Alberta and Montana has also been blocked.

Similar protests soon could erupt in the United States, including around Sunday's Super Bowl in Southern California, American officials warn. Right-wing media outlets have raised the prospect of like-minded rallies in the US and offered positive coverage of those in Canada.

What do the protesters want?

Protesters will remain in Ottawa "for as long as it takes for governments across Canada to end all mandates" associated with Covid-19, Freedom Convoy organizers said last week in a statement.

Some want Trudeau to speak with them and hear their opposition to the mandates and restrictions, those protesters told CNN. Trudeau has no intention of meeting with protesters, who hold views "unacceptable" to most Canadians, he has said.
What has the impact been on Canadians?

The blockades have slowed the movement of goods and caused production problems at car manufacturing plants along the border. Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have all announced auto production issues in Canada.

The Ambassador Bridge "is too essential to both of our national economies, and ... puts a lot of bread on the table for our families on both sides of the border," Windsor, Ontario, Mayor Drew Dilkens told CNN this week.

In Ottawa, residents and service providers in the downtown core feel like hostages in a city under siege, they've told CNN. Most businesses in the area have been forced to close; they include a large mall next to the protest site.

Dozens of trucks remain in Ottawa's downtown core in what local officials have described as an "occupation." The police chief calls it "unlawful," as property damage, thefts and mischief have been reported, along with hundreds of alleged hate crimes. Some 1,000 calls related to the demonstration have been received, plus 25 arrests made and more than 1,500 traffic and other tickets issued, police said Thursday.

A judge this week signed a temporary injunction that prevents protesters in Ottawa from using horns during their demonstrations, court documents show.

In Windsor, Dilkens secured a court injunction Friday to help put an end to the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge. The injunction, which will give police more power to end the ongoing protest takes effect this evening after giving protesters an opportunity to clear the area, Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz said.

At one point during the hearing, when responding to counsel representing the protesters, Chief Justice Morawetz said the protesters demands for freedom are resulting in the direct denial of freedom for many others in society. "We're dealing with millions of dollars of damage each and every day," he said.

"If they refuse to leave, then police will have operational plans identified, we have resources that have come here from across the province of Ontario and from across Canada with support from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and one by one we'll start towing the cars if required," Dilkens said.

What has PM Justin Trudeau said about all this?

Trudeau, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, has said the protesters do not represent the vast majority of Canadians, about 80% of whom have opted to get fully vaccinated. Most believe public health restrictions save lives, the Prime Minister has said.

He implored protesters parked in trucks right outside the parliament building Monday to end their demonstration.

"Individuals are trying to blockade our economy, our democracy and our fellow citizens' daily lives. It has to stop," Trudeau said during an emergency debate in Ottawa that marked his first public appearance since isolating after he and some members of his family contracted the coronavirus.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that protesters have a right to voice their concerns but said residents don't deserve to be harassed in their own neighborhoods.

"This pandemic has sucked for all Canadians, but Canadians know the way to get through it is continuing to listen to science, continuing to lean on each other, continuing to be there for each other," Trudeau said after underscoring that Canadians are tired of Covid-19 health restrictions.

By Thursday, the Prime Minister was employing stronger language in a series of tweets: "The illegal blockades and occupations happening across the country ... (are) harming the communities they're taking place in -- and they're hurting jobs, businesses, and our country's economy."

Trudeau had spoken with Windsor's mayor "about the illegal blockade of the Ambassador Bridge ... because it is causing real harm to workers and economies on both sides of the border," he tweeted. He'd also spoken with opposition party leaders, asking all lawmakers to "denounce these illegal acts -- and to call for an end to these blockades."

About 80% of Canadians are vaccinated. Why so much angst now?

Almost 4 of every 5 Canadians are vaccinated, according to the Canadian government. However, provincial governments and the federal government have enforced various vaccine mandates, stoking ire among those politically opposed and fatigue among others as the pandemic hits its two-year mark.

At the federal and provincial level, Canada has enforced some of the strictest Covid-19 measures in the world, with widespread mask mandates and restrictions on the size of gatherings, not only at large events and restaurants but also in private homes.

A vocal minority of Canadians says they agree with the truckers' protest, saying is it time to drop most Covid-19 restrictions. With so many Canadians complying for so long with vaccine and mask mandates and other Covid-19 measures, some say public health officials and government leaders are now going too far.

As one couple who said they are fully vaccinated feel they did their part and now they want to move on, they told CNN.

Had Canadians staged serious protests over Covid-19 rules before this?

Various smaller protests took place across the country against health measures and mandates in 2020 and 2021. However, this is the largest and most widespread protest of its kind to date during the pandemic.
What Covid-19 rules are in place for Canadians who are not truckers?

Several provinces are beginning to drop some mitigation measures and allow the reopening of restaurant dining rooms, theaters, cinemas and gyms, albeit with capacity restrictions.

Decisions about most of these health restrictions and how and when to ease them are determined not by the Trudeau government but by individual provinces.

There is still a federal vaccine mandate for passengers traveling by air domestically or internationally. In addition, all federal public servants are required to be fully vaccinated as a condition of employment.

How might the Covid-19 protests end?

Possible solutions include persuading protesters to disburse voluntarily; the government giving into demands; and police removing the protesters. Military force is considered highly unlikely as Canada's armed forces are not a police force and they "are not involved in law enforcement in this situation," Defense Minister Anita Anand told CNN.

The Trudeau government will send more officers to protests across the country, saying Thursday the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada's national police force, continues to show decisive action.

"The RCMP are going to be sending additional reinforcements to Ottawa. I also can advise that the RCMP will be sending reinforcements to Windsor and in addition to that the RCMP have added additional resources at Coutts, in Alberta," said Marco Mendicino, Canada's public safety minister.

"Our top priority is to make sure that these illegal blockades end," he said.

Fact check: A fake Trudeau letter and other false claims about Canadian protests swirl on social media

By Daniel Dale, CNN- Yesterday 


On Wednesday, we debunked a bunch of false claims about the ongoing Canadian protests against vaccine mandates, Covid-19 restrictions and the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

But there are still a bunch more false claims swirling on this subject. Supporters of the protests -- which involve a minority of Canadian truckers, plus far-right activists and a variety of other citizens -- continue to promote inaccurate information, some of it complete fiction.

Here's a breakdown of three of the falsehoods that were circulating on social media on Thursday.

A phony letter purporting to be from Trudeau

Some supporters of the protests have shared an image of a letter supposedly signed by Trudeau and his chief of staff, Katie Telford.

The letter includes a supposed offer from Trudeau to meet with protest participants for a specific amount of time that varies depending on whether they are truckers and when they got vaccinated. One example: "2 Minutes per Trucker that can show proof of vaccination received prior to February 8th."

The letter was posted on a Reddit page supporting former President Donald Trump and by various users of Twitter, TikTok and Telegram.

Facts First: The letter is fake, Trudeau spokesperson Cameron Ahmad confirmed to CNN.

In addition to its bizarre substance, the letter has other obvious signs of phoniness: grammatical errors, inconsistent formatting and a title ("Ottawa Convoy Protesters") oddly placed above the logo of the Prime Minister's office. Some social media users suspected the document was intended as parody, but others took it as real.

Trudeau told reporters in late January that he had no intention of meeting with the protesters.

A false story about a nonexistent court order

Numerous social media users, and at least one right-wing website, have claimed that a judge or court ordered police in Ottawa to give back the fuel they had seized from protesters as part of an effort to end the demonstrations, which have involved large trucks and other vehicles noisily occupying downtown streets in the Canadian capital.

The claim about a court order was echoed by prominent protester Pat King, who was listed as a regional organizer of the "Freedom Convoy" that started the demonstrations in January. King repeated the claim during a Facebook livestream on Tuesday that received more than 347,000 views.

The claim about the supposed court order was followed by other related claims. When Ottawa officers continued seizing fuel, for example, some social media users claimed that the police were defying the court order.

Facts First: No judge or court has ordered Ottawa police to return seized fuel or to stop seizing fuel.

Patrick Champagne, press secretary to Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, told CNN on Thursday that he had been informed by the Ottawa police legal team that the claim about a court order was "a fabrication." Brian Gray, spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General, told CNN on Thursday that court staff had "conducted a search" for the court order but had been "unable to locate any such order."

A video that made the rounds on YouTube and Twitter, which had been captioned as if it showed police returning fuel to protesters, simply showed fuel containers that demonstrators had refilled and brought in themselves. Nothing in the video suggested that police were returning fuel to demonstrators.

"The Ottawa Police are not returning seized items associated to the demonstration, such as fuel," a police spokesperson said in a Thursday email to CNN.

King did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

A false claim about Ottawa police officers

Claims have circulated on social media that Ottawa police officers are not required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, unlike Canadian truckers who cross the US border. (In mid-January, Canada began requiring truckers who cross the border to be fully vaccinated or face two-week quarantines upon returning home; this requirement helped to spark the protests. More than 85% of Canadian truckers who regularly cross the border are fully vaccinated, the primary advocacy group for Canadian truckers said in January.)

The Post Millennial, a Canada-based right-wing website, published a Tuesday article headlined, "Ottawa police not subject to vaccine mandate but truckers they're arresting are." A Twitter account that calls itself "Canadian Patriots" generated more than 5,400 retweets by tweeting on Sunday, "A friendly reminder that the @OttawaPolice is exempt from the vax!" Facebook posts making similar claims appeared in groups supporting the protests. Conservative former Canadian opposition leader Stockwell Day tweeted on Wednesday that Trudeau "allows the Ottawa police to not be vaxxed but not truckers?!"

The Post Millennial, like others that promoted the claim about a police exemption, cited Canadian broadcaster CTV News as its source.

Facts First: It's not true that Ottawa police officers are exempt from Covid-19 vaccine mandates; Ottawa officers are required to be fully vaccinated. While officers were initially exempted, Police Chief Peter Sloly eliminated this exemption more than three months ago, in late October, and set a January 31 deadline for officers to be fully vaccinated. There is indeed a CTV News clip that talks about Ottawa officers being exempt, but it is outdated; it aired in October, days before the exemption was abandoned.

About 84% of Ottawa officers were fully vaccinated even before Sloly ditched the exemption on October 29, the Ottawa Citizen newspaper has reported. CTV and CBC reported last week that fewer than 10 Ottawa officers were on unpaid leave because they hadn't received even one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. There are about 1,480 officers on the force.

It's possible that some of the people who spread this false claim were genuinely confused because the CTV News website did not put a date on the clip that was being widely shared on social media. In other words, it isn't immediately obvious that the video is old.

Still, accurate information about Ottawa's current vaccination policy for officers is easy to find on Google. In fact, Reuters published a fact check on the subject on Wednesday morning.

Opinion: Canadian trucker protests are the latest example of Covid-19 absurdity

Opinion by Abdul El-Sayed - Yesterday 

CNN

We've officially hit peak Covid absurdism.

It's hard to remember that it hasn't even been two years since the pandemic -- and all that came with it -- befell us.

That's because it's been a singular, all-encompassing experience. Generations hence, they'll talk about us like we talked about the generation who lived through the Depression."They lived through the pandemic" will be a shorthand to explain why we reflexively wear a mask on airplanes or ask about a restaurant's air filtration system before its menu.

But one aspect of the pandemic experience that can't simply be explained by the existence of an exceedingly transmissible, deadly virus spreading between us is the sheer absurdity that it brought with it. Whether boarding an airplane with underwear on your face to protest mask requirements, injecting yourself with horse dewormer instead of a safe and effective vaccine or swallowing household disinfectants because the President of the United States unironically suggested that it might help, the pandemic has amplified the frequency and tenor of ridiculous and sometimes alarming behavior.

Nothing typifies that absurdity quite like the trucker protests now gripping Canada.

In late January, a convoy of truckers in Canada headed cross-country, from British Columbia to the nation's capital in Ottawa, to protest a mandate, which requires truckers entering Canada to be vaccinated or else be subjected to testing and quarantine requirements.

The demonstration quickly grew, with thousands of people clogging traffic and obstructing the US-Canada border. A couple of weeks in to the protest, the demands of the loosely organized truckers still remain unclear. Some are calling this specific mandate "unconstitutional," while others have expanded to calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end all Covid restrictions.

To appreciate just how strange this moment is, let's go way back to before Covid-19 was a word. Many of us would have expected that if a deadly virus began to spread among us, we, as a society, would look to doctors and scientists for answers. We'd demand public policy driven by their rational, evidence-based reasoning.

Sure, there'd be differences of opinion on a few key issues and the odd iconoclast or two who'd just never come along. But for the most part, we'd develop a collective approach to defeating the virus and do what needed to be done to get through the pandemic. And, let's be clear, that's exactly what a majority of people did.

Yet, from the jump, echoing the then-President who hid early evidence of how bad the public health crisis was becoming seemingly to protect stock prices, some began to argue that "the cure," meaning precautionary health measures, was "worse than the disease."

They pointed to the ways that lockdowns were hurting small businesses and school closures were robbing young children of the ability to go to learn at school, socialize with their classmates or receive the free school meals on which too many of our children rely. They argued that masks were just annoying. They resented the imposition on their lives.

And, to be sure, they weren't wrong about any of these things: Each of these was a real cost of Covid-19 restrictions. It's just that the cost of viral transmission -- which led to disease and death -- was profoundly and obviously greater.

But what began as fair disagreements started to mutate like the virus itself. Frustration with lockdowns inspired armed militiamen to storm the Michigan state Capitol and allegedly plot to harm elected officials. Around the country, the fight to keep schools open during later waves of Covid-19 exploded into massive protests against the very things that could keep kids in school safely -- masks and vaccines.

The frustration with having to wear masks in public spaces set off adult temper tantrums directed at retail employees and flight attendants.

And that's where the Canadian truckers come in. Their protests have spread to cities across Canada and beyond, effectively grinding to a standstill daily life in communities across the country. Now, they're impeding the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, one of the most active arteries for transnational commerce.

Here's what's so absurd about it: The protest over Covid restrictions is now disrupting peoples' everyday lives -- which is what the protest was supposedly aimed at stopping. They've lost the plot.

But perhaps it was the plot the whole time. It's impossible to divorce this moment from the sociopolitical trends that are also shrouded in absurdity -- the emergence of far-right movements around the world, the rash of proto-fascists and autocrats who've come to power, the salience of online conspiracy theories that spilled out of algorithms and into the real world in horrific ways.

In that context, perhaps the pandemic wasn't the substrate for the absurdity we're witnessing, but a catalyst that simply accelerated what had already been happening.

Either way, as the virus begins to ebb and we begin to imagine what post-pandemic life may hold for us, we must understand that the pandemic won't end when the virus recedes -- but when the absurdity that came with it does, too.


© Razi JafriAbdul El-Sayed

Trudeau says ‘everything’ on the table to end blockades, warns of potential violence

Amanda Connolly - Yesterday 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says "everything" is on the table when it comes to ending the blockades paralyzing cross-border trade at multiple locations, and which remain encamped outside Parliament Hill.

And he urged anyone still participating in the convoys, which are demanding an end to COVID-19 public health measures, to go home or face "severe" consequences.

“Unfortunately, we are concerned about violence, so we’re taking every precaution," he said.

“It’s time to go home – especially if you have kids with you.”

For two weeks, members of a convoy that has claimed to represent Canadian truckers have blockaded the streets of downtown Ottawa, frequently blaring air horns at all hours of the day and night until a 10-day court injunction ordered them to stop the noise.

Some of the group’s organizers, though, have ties to white supremacy as well as racist and extremist rhetoric. Ottawa police are now probing more than 120 active criminal investigations into alleged conduct by the convoy members, many of whom continue to say they are part of a “peaceful” protest.

Federal, provincial and municipal officials, however, have been clear over recent days: the blockades and activities of the convoy are now "illegal" and "unlawful," and must end.

Read more:
Premier Doug Ford declares state of emergency amid protests at land border and in Ottawa

Ottawa has asked both the provincial and federal governments for up to 1,700 extra officers to keep the protests in the city in check, with Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly consistently saying Friday that more resources are needed.

Officers in the city have given up off days, are working 12-hour shifts and are "bone-tired," Sloly said.

However, Trudeau told reporters that he doesn't "accept the contention that the city of Ottawa has exhausted its tools and resources," noting that resources have been given by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the RCMP.

Hundreds of additional officers from the RCMP and other municipal police forces have been deployed to Ottawa.

Read more:
Online fundraising for Ottawa protesters ‘facilitating’ crime, Ottawa police argue in court

In response, Ottawa police board chair Diane Deans said Trudeau's comments were "unfair."

"The federal government have been late to recognizing this is a national crisis," she said.

"I think they are getting up to speed now, but I don’t think suggesting that the Ottawa Police Service has enough resources right now is what he should be doing."

Ontario declared a state of emergency on Friday that allows higher fines and penalties for infractions, but Sloly said without extra resources they will still be difficult to apply.

The blockade at Ambassador Bridge has heightened the pressure on Canadian governments to act.

The bridge is a vital trade route between Canada and the U.S., and both Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. President Joe Biden have raised concerns about the economic impacts in recent days.

Video: Trucker protests: Psaki says Biden ‘expressed concern’ to Trudeau about how blockades are impacting U.S.

Trudeau said on Friday that allowing the blockades to continue is not an option.

“The border cannot and will not remain closed," he said, and described the decision earlier in the day by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to declare a state of emergency as "responsible and necessary."

“Everything is on the table because this unlawful activity has to end and it will end," Trudeau said.

He added that people should expect to see police applying tougher enforcement of the laws "in a predictable, progressive approach," and that the hope remains that people will leave peacefully.

"Using military forces against civilian populations in Canada or any other democracy is something to avoid having to do at all costs," he said.

"We are a long way from ever having to call in the military, although of course we have to be ready for any eventuality. But it is not something we are seriously contemplating at this time."

For two weeks, since the beginning of the blockade in Ottawa, Trudeau has faced questions about the potential for military intervention to remove the convoy members who have barricaded city streets with big rigs and other vehicles, refusing to move until public health measures are lifted.

While the Canadian Forces can be deployed at home, doing so is extremely rare.

Trudeau's father, the former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, did so under a piece of legislation that no longer exists -- the War Measures Act -- in response to a series of terrorist attacks by the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) in what is now known as the October Crisis.

It was during that crisis that the infamous quote by the elder Trudeau emerged.

Asked how far he was willing to go in enforcing civil order, Trudeau senior answered: "Just watch me."

The most recent case of the military being deployed against civilians happened in 1990 during the Oka Crisis, and came at the request of the Quebec premier at the time.

On Friday, Trudeau was asked whether his father's experience with backlash over using the War Measures Act has shaped his own willingness to deploy the military in response to the current blockades.

"My values are deeply informed by the way I've been brought up," Trudeau answered.

"But every situation is different."

Trudeau says almost half of protesters' funds from U.S., as they turn to Bitcoin

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says about half of the money being raised for protesters blockading Parliament Hill and several border crossings is coming from the United States, but an expert says attempting to stop the flow of cash is like playing a game of whack-a-mole.

An order recently approved by an Ontario court to freeze millions raised through GiveSendGo will be effective at least temporarily in stopping those funds flowing into organizers' hands, said anti-money laundering expert Matthew McGuire.

The order, obtained by the provincial government, prohibits not only the fundraising platform and organizers, but third-party payment processors and financial institutions, from disposing of or dealing with the millions raised.

"The prohibition that really matters is the prohibition against Canadian financial institutions and payment processors dealing with the donations themselves. And so that can lock them in place here," McGuire said.

So far, around US$8.8 million has been raised through the GiveSendGo campaign page, a Christian fundraising platform, and more than $700,000 has rolled in through another page on the website called "Adopt-a-Trucker."

McGuire said the order serves as a notice to institutions like banks that if "you deal with funds related to this subject … you do so at your own peril."

In an affidavit filed along with Ontario's application, Ottawa Police Service detective Chris Rhone outlines how he believes the money raised through these campaigns is offence-related property.

The officer goes on to say the donations "are facilitating the indictable offence of mischief which has been committed, is being committed, and is intended to be committed for so long as there are funds available to keep protesters and their trucks in Ottawa."

The campaigns were quickly put together last week after GoFundMe cancelled an earlier fundraiser that had gathered more than $10 million. The website said it had determined the protest in Ottawa had turned into an "occupation."

Local police and leaders had raised concerns about the crowdfunded cash given how many of the hundreds of the trucks and protesters that rolled into the nation's capital had refused to leave, clogging up streets and sidewalks and resulting in nearby businesses shutting their doors.

Two weeks after their initial arrival, some trucks have left Parliament Hill, but many others haven't budged. Drivers continue to honk their horns, albeit more sporadically, given a 10-day court injunction in place to prevent the incessant honking that residents heard for days.

McGuire said nothing can prevent another campaign from popping up, which would present the same challenge for governments and police.

It's also no wonder convoy organizers are turning to cryptocurrency including Bitcoin to generate funds because it's decentralized, he said.

"You can't serve an order on the Bitcoin system as a whole. There's nobody there to take that instruction."

Earlier in the week, convoy organizers touted Bitcoin as a way for supporters to ensure the protests are sustained, characterizing it as offering financial freedom.

In his affidavit, Rhone references how organizers "are already transitioning from traditional currency fundraising to Bitcoin fundraising" because they feel Bitcoin cannot be confiscated.

McGuire said there are many ways for protesters to use cryptocurrency, including by changing it into other value.

"It's not hard to turn Bitcoin into a gift card," he said. "It's not hard to load it onto a prepaid card and use it like a regular Visa."

Trudeau said Friday that he spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden that morning about the influence of foreign money in funding the "illegal activity" on Parliament Hill and blockades at several border crossings.

"We see that almost half of the funding through certain portals that is flowing to the barricaders here in Canada is coming from the United States," he told reporters.

"Canadian banks are monitoring financial activity very closely and taking action as necessary."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2022.

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press

Experts say journalists face increasing vitriol from distrustful minority at protests

Many journalists who cover charged pandemic protests across Canada are coming under fire themselves for reporting on incidents of hate and misinformation, say experts who warn such attacks threaten a key pillar of democracy.

While the verbal, and sometimes physical, attacks are limited to a minority of protestors, Brent Jolly of the Canadian Association of Journalists said several reporters covering the trucker convoy in Ottawa have said they've been harassed on the scene and online and feel like they have a "target on their backs."

Jolly says journalists have become easy targets for some, who believe "if facts aren't on their side ... attack the messenger."

"They're trying to not just threaten journalists in a very direct way, but there's also efforts to censor and get journalists to avoid covering these kinds of stories," said Jolly, national president of an organization that promotes excellence in the field, including principles that hold reporters to a duty to serve the public interest.

Fanning the flames is a mountain of misinformation on social media, where the views of a small number of people seem much more prevalent, he said.

"It sure as heck doesn't feel like a minority when you're knee-deep in it," Jolly added. "It feels like you're running up a hill and carrying a Sisyphean boulder behind you."

A Global News journalist in British Columbia posted a video clip on Twitter earlier this month showing her being followed at a protest by a man and woman accusing her news outlet of spreading lies, while a CTV reporter in Edmonton tweeted earlier this week that harassment was so bad there his outlet removed the broadcaster's logo from vehicles "for safety."

A CAJ report released earlier this week suggests the trauma reporters feel from hateful messages and online intimidation has "substantial impacts on Canadian journalism."

It's especially worrisome for racialized journalists, for whom abusive online messages are the norm, it found.

The 11-page document followed a virtual roundtable discussion from October that included first-hand accounts of harassment from journalists across the country, and it noted that politicians and other media members "play a significant role in co-ordinating targeted harassment."

Shanna MacDonald, a communications professor with the University of Waterloo, said the perception some people have of journalists as enemies of the truth has been brewing "for quite some time," calling it a key point of many fascist movements throughout history.

But the idea that media members can't be trusted was recently amplified by Donald Trump's 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, she said, noting Trump often labelled mainstream media as the "liberal elite" in attempts to discredit or deflect negative coverage of himself throughout his run to office, and again through his four-year term as president.

"It's classic playbook — discrediting (institutions) where there are codes of ethics, where you have to tell the truth," MacDonald said. "And once you discredit them, you can infiltrate with other forms of information ... that don't have to be verified or factual.

"It's very insidious."

The negative perception of journalism has spilled across the border as some politicians have stoked similar flames here, Jolly said, noting that People's Party leader Maxime Bernier has targeted certain journalists through his own Twitter account "to score political points."

Social media has given people a forum to share their thoughts on any number of issues, whether they have expertise in the subject or not, and experts say that can be problematic.

"Everybody's voice can be heard if they know how to use the platform well," MacDonald said.

She added that the problem becomes cyclical as people become more entwined in their own social media echo chambers, where algorithms show them posts and news stories that only reinforce their point of view.

MacDonald said policy is needed to push back against the spread of misinformation online, urging governments to "find ways to regulate that."

"The everyday citizen using social media can't fix it," she said. "We can be as critical as we want, we can follow people really broadly in order to dilute our algorithm ... but at the end of the day, that's not our responsibility.

"Platforms have designed things this way.... And at the moment, they're controlling the way that we actually experience information."

Allan Thompson, the journalism program head at Carleton University in Ottawa, said he's struck by the "alternate reality that many of the protesters seem to live in when it comes to (how they view) news media."

"(Some) are absolutely convinced that what news organizations produce is biased and a distortion and subject to some sort of conspiracy," he said.

Thompson said he was accosted on Facebook after posting photos he took last weekend of confederate flags and other extremist symbols in the crowd, with commenters suggesting his portrayal of the event was biased and inaccurate.

He worries that social media and political influence is making journalists' jobs increasingly challenging. But Thompson said presenting facts in an unbiased way has become "more important than ever."

"All we can do is try to flood the media space with reporting that is fair and accurate and hope that it has an audience," he said. "But I honestly am not sure how you reach those who have decided that so-called mainstream media cannot be trusted and ... are part of some sort of conspiracy to delude people.

"It really is distressing."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2022.

Melissa Couto Zuber, The Canadian Press

MY ALMA MATER

U of L Faculty Association begins strike
Erik Bay - Thursday
Global News


As of 11 a.m. Thursday, every one of the roughly 500 members of the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA) is on strike after labour negotiations with the board of governors broke down.

According to ULFA president Dan O'Donnell, the two sides haven't been able to find any middle ground on key issues.

"We think this is just a sad day," O'Donnell said.

Read more:
University of Lethbridge faculty vote 92% in favour of strike, negotiations continue

“Unfortunately from the management side, they've seen this as being all about management rights. In fact, the last thing they've said to us as we left the table was we can't budge on management rights and it's going to be a long strike.”

Negotiations have been ongoing for more than 600 days. The association's contract ended in July 2020.

Several organizations and businesses are showing their solidarity for the faculty association, including the Owl Acoustic Lounge, the United Nurses of Alberta, and Public Interest Alberta.

Video: University of Lethbridge Faculty Association to strike Thursday if no settlement reached

“The University looks forward to resuming negotiations with ULFA soon and to discussing more reasonable positions than ULFA's demand for 12% raises," a statement from the school reads. "This is three times the salary increase recently awarded to Alberta's front-line nurses, and not sustainable to the university nor affordable for our students."

The U of L is also closing all workplaces to ULFA members Friday morning.

"As far as we're concerned, the strike can stop this afternoon," O'Donnell said. "It can stop tomorrow, or the week after next. Unfortunately, if we have a university administration who are prepared to harm the students the way they seem intent on doing, we can also sit it out for four weeks, six weeks, eight weeks."

Read more:
Concordia University administration reaches tentative agreement with faculty union

In a previous release, on Monday the U of L said it "expects a prolonged strike, which could threaten (the) semester."

During the strike, students will not attend courses or have assignments.

The university said "it has established contingency plans to help mitigate impacts and support students. These plans are being shared with students and other stakeholders at appropriate times through the strike action."

Video: U of L students push for classes to remain online entire semester

Global News reached out to the University of Lethbridge students' union for comment, but did not receive a reply as of writing.

As for how long the strike will last?

“All bets are off right now, which doesn't mean we're back at square one," O'Donnell said. "It just means everybody's got to go away and think, 'Is there a different way I can organize this?' in order to finally come to an agreement.”

AUPE VS UCP

Alberta labour union takes fight against Critical Infrastructure Defence Act to the Supreme Court of Canada

Paula Tran - Yesterday

Alberta's largest public sector union is taking its constitutional challenge against the UCP government's Bill 1 to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) said Bill 1, or the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, violates the rights of Albertans and is an attack on the freedom to take part in peaceful protests.

The union is seeking leave to have the Supreme Court hear an application to overturn a decision made by the Alberta Court of Appeal last December, after the appeal court ruled that AUPE had no standing to bring the claim because no one had yet been charged under the Act.

Read more:
Advanced education minister expects Alberta post-secondary institutions to drop vaccine and mask mandates

The union argues the Alberta Court of Appeal based its decision on hypotheticals, even though AUPE and its members were experiencing a "current chilling effect" from the bill's prohibitions.

"AUPE believes that peaceful protesting is a cornerstone of our democracy and that the aim of the government is to use the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act to silence opposition to its policies," said Patrick Nugent, AUPE's counsel, in an emailed statement on Friday.

Video: Alberta First Nation says response to Coutts blockade shows Bill 1 is ‘racially profiled’

AUPE first launched its constitutional challenge against Bill 1 in June 2020, after the bill passed third reading the month prior. The bill was passed in response to the rail and road blockades that were organized in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs protesting the construction of the Coastal Gas Link natural gas pipeline in northern B.C.

Read more:
Comparing Coutts border protest to Indigenous land defenders inaccurate, says Alberta premier

The bill allows law enforcement to arrest and fine anyone trying to shut down critical economic infrastructure, including railways and highways. It also makes it easier for police to intervene at blockades rather than wait for a court injunction.

But questions arose about the fact that the bill has not been used until Monday, 10 days after protestors arrived in Coutts.

Video: Alberta border blockade remains adamant, demands nationwide mandates lifted

Alberta RCMP has laid charges under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act against Calgary street preacher Artur Pawlowski, who is being accused of obstructing and interfering with essential infrastructure.

Pawlowski was arrested at his residence by Alberta RCMP and Calgary Police Service officers on Monday. A video of his arrest showed him being handcuffed and taken away by police. Multiple people can also be seen yelling at the police and filming the incident.

Read more:
Alberta NDP calls on UCP to suspend commercial operators licences as Coutts protest enters 13th day

He has been taken before a justice of peace and remains in custody until his next court appearance on Feb. 16, said an RCMP spokesperson.

The AUPE criticized the UCP government's response to the protest, accusing it of only imposing the law against groups they don't like.

“The fact that the government and police waited so long to charge anyone under Bill 1 during the border protests at Coutts and aren’t using the act to shut down the protests entirely suggests that this will be a law that is imposed only on those with whom the government does not agree," said AUPE president Guy Smith.

The Alberta government maintains that the blockades are unlawful and enforcement decisions remain solely in the authority of the police.

Read more:
Manufacturing association says blockades taking big pinch out of Alberta’s economy

"The Alberta government looks forward to defending against these baseless claims. As always, enforcement decisions about statutes such as the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act remain solely in the authority of law enforcement.

"Constitutional rights, such as those of free assembly, have been found by courts to have reasonable limits. The blocking of critical infrastructure is unacceptable, and we believe that the Supreme Court of Canada will agree that the AUPE claim is without merit," said Alex Puddifant, acting Justice Minister Sonya Savage's press secretary.

Alberta loosening COVID-19 restrictions as border protests resume

Earlier this week, Kenney also said comparing police responses at Coutts to police responses to Indigenous land defenders is "inaccurate," calling the situation at Coutts very fluid and complex.

“It is never lawful to block a railway and I’ve seen with much frustration those kinds of blockades go on, sometimes for weeks. I think that is wrong,” he said

Calls grow for Alberta to release data, recommendations used to lift COVID restrictions

Less than a week after unveiling its plans to roll back COVID-19 restrictions, the Alberta government is facing multiple calls to release the data and recommendations it got before making the decision.


© Provided by Edmonton JournalThe Alberta legislature on Nov. 5, 2020.

Ashley Joannou - Yesterday 7:12 p.m.
Edmonton Journal

Former Alberta cabinet ministers have differing opinions on whether the information — which is currently protected under cabinet confidentiality — should be made public.

Alberta is one of several provinces to announce plans to roll back restrictions. Alberta’s mandatory vaccine passport program has already ended and as of Monday, masks will no longer be required for students in the province’s schools. Additional stages lifting more restrictions come into effect on March 1, if hospitalization numbers trend down.

News of the restrictions being loosened has led to requests from municipalities and one of Alberta’s largest school boards to see the province’s data and recommendations made by chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

Let us share perspectives: Sohi

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi sent a letter requesting the information to Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Jason Copping on Friday, after council passed a motion earlier in the week.

“Given that some of the next stages of the plan are tentatively scheduled, we are asking you for an opportunity to share our perspectives, including what we have heard from a wide variety of Edmontonians, on the timing and staging of the relaxations,” Sohi’s letter says.

“To have this discussion, and support city council’s further discussions on this topic, it would be helpful to understand the data which informed the Government of Alberta’s recent plan.”

In Calgary, city council has agreed in principle for Mayor Joyti Gondek to make a similar request but they still need to give it a final sign-off next week before a formal letter could go out.

Edmonton Coun. Andrew Knack said he trusts Hinshaw but doesn’t trust the government to follow medical advice after previous restrictions were lifted too soon.

Knack said city council makes the vast majority of its decisions after debating the facts in public.

“People can see clearly how we came to our decision and that builds trust in the decision-making process — being able to understand why somebody has decided made a decision the way they have, even if they don’t agree,” he said.

On Wednesday, Edmonton Public School Board chairwoman Trisha Estabrooks said the division will be asking Hinshaw to outline the data and rationale for the government’s decision to remove the masking requirement for students.

“That, to me, is critical data that needs to be shared publicly,” Estabrooks said.

At a press conference Thursday, Hinshaw deferred questions about the masking requirement to Copping and said she couldn’t share what recommendations she’s made because she took an oath of cabinet confidence.

Copping did not commit to sharing data with municipalities. He said the government is using a “prudent, phased approach” to lift restrictions.

“We take very seriously the recommendations made by our chief medical officer of health.

“We, as a cabinet committee, are balancing the needs of Albertans not only protecting health and protecting people from Delta, and Omicron and COVID, but also mental health, because of the cost that we have with putting in restrictive measures, and then also the overall economy.”
Former cabinet ministers weigh in

Former Alberta justice minister and Progressive Conservative MLA Jonathan Denis said cabinet confidentiality allows for free discussion of many competing views and he’s concerned about the precedent that would be set if information discussed in cabinet could be made public.

“You would not have the same free-flowing discussions and high-level decision making if the actors, in this case the ministers of the Crown, would know that this type of information could actually be disclosed,” said Denis, a Calgary lawyer, adding that provincial and federal governments of every stripe uphold the same rules.

“Having sat at the cabinet table before in five different ministries, there are often very many competing interests. There’s often competing data, competing studies that you have.”

If a municipal government wants to gather its own information, they can do that, he said.

“I know no situation where one government goes and asks for confidential information from another government.”

Retired Alberta politician Brian Mason, a former leader of the provincial NDP who was also the transportation minister in the Notley government, acknowledged that Hinshaw’s recommendations would be covered under cabinet confidence but said the government could and should voluntarily release them to restore confidence in the decision making process after restrictions were previously lifted too soon.

“Nobody’s suggesting that the government release the individual comments of cabinet ministers in a confidential cabinet meeting. They’re just suggesting that the information provided to the government upon which it claims to be making this decision be made publicly available, and that’s not a slippery slope,” he said.

ajoannou@postmedia.com

twitter.com/ashleyjoannou

Opinion: Dropping COVID restrictions puts the health of children at greater risk

Sabrina Eliason , Tehseen Ladha , Sam Wong - 

Yesterday 

Edmonton Journal

As the Alberta Medical Association Section of Pediatrics, we are very disappointed and concerned about the plan announced by our premier on Feb. 8, to lift public health protections. This announcement comes while our health system remains under significant strain due to staff shortages, test positivity rates are still in the 30-per-cent range and there continues to be unsustainably high rates of daily hospitalizations, ICU admission and deaths due to COVID.


© Provided by Edmonton Journal

Children in the school yard outside Garneau School in Edmonton on Thursday January 20, 2022.

Lifting these protections now will only increase the strain on our already strained health-care system. Meanwhile, the re-allocation of resources to meet the “surge” demand of COVID hospitalizations has come and will continue to come at the cost of health-care services for other patients, including children.

Although COVID is often milder in children, it is not harmless. We have seen increased hospitalizations in extremely young children with COVID and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in older children. We have watched pediatric ICU beds be used for adult ICU patients. We have seen youth suffering prolonged symptoms after mild COVID infections.

We have seen therapies for children with disabilities cancelled due to redeployment of staff to support the surge of COVID patients. We have supported children experiencing mental health and developmental issues exacerbated by the unmitigated spread of COVID causing school and activity disruptions. We have been left wondering what resources will be left for children with complex developmental, medical and mental health conditions and what impact the lack of access to these supports will be on their lives and their families.

There have been significant negative impacts on children and their families, not only from the public health measures themselves, but from having to put these measures in place because of uncontrolled spread of COVID due to premature removal of public health protections by our government.

We have watched for two years as the health of children has been put behind the health of adults with COVID. The cost of this is reaching a point of crisis and will not improve if COVID cases continue to rise. Our government’s plans for removal of public health measures have come without the necessary commitment to investing in protecting our children and communities.

We need our government to prioritize the community accessibility of COVID vaccination for all eligible children along with concomitant education and awareness campaigns. This could happen through school vaccination sites, public-transit accessible vaccine sites and community outreach programs. We need a strong and clear message from our government that acknowledges the evidence that COVID vaccines are safe and one of the best ways to protect our children.

We also need a commitment to other evidence-based mitigations such as masking in schools to reduce the transmission of COVID amongst children and their families. There is currently no evidence that masking in these situations negatively impacts children’s mental health or development.

Until we are at a point where larger numbers of children are vaccinated and case rates are consistently low, it is vitally important that we keep in place the protections that have led to Canada having one of the lowest death rates per capita among the developed countries of the world. This means continuance of masking in indoor spaces including schools, optimizing ventilation, isolating when symptomatic or COVID positive, using rapid tests appropriately, and getting booster doses of the COVID vaccine when eligible.

Without adequate control of COVID infection rates, families risk daycare shut-downs, school closures and activity cancellations due to outbreaks and health resources will continue to be redirected from children to treat hospitalized COVID patients. Rampant COVID transmission in the community is a major factor in families’ decisions to keep their children home to avoid exposures that may occur via activities and socialization.

The long-term health and development of Alberta’s children is dependent on consistent and adequate mitigation of COVID. It is time for our province to truly start putting children first.

Authored by: Drs. Sabrina Eliason and Tehseen Ladha, members-at-large, and Dr. Sam Wong, current president of the AMA Section of Pediatrics executive. The AMA Section of Pediatrics represents the almost 300 doctors who care for children in Alberta.

Co-signed by: Drs. Bonnie Islam, Mary-Pat Schlosser, Hasu Rajani, Christopher W. Andrews, Catherine Macneil, Charlotte Foulston, Natalie Forbes, Kyle McKenzie, Elsa Fiedrich, Breanne Frohlich, Juan Pablo Appendino.