How Global News/APTN exposed alarming conditions in Ontario’s child-welfare system

Andrew Russell - Yesterday 


Last summer, Global News and APTN journalists started looking into Ontario’s child welfare system with a basic mission: uncover what life is like for the roughly 12,000 kids in its care.


© (Global News)Jessica Fowler speaks with Global News and APTN about her time in Ontario's child welfare system.

This provincial system is one part of what’s been called Canada’s “modern-day residential school system.”

Census data shows Indigenous kids make up only 7.7 per cent of the country’s child population, but they account for more than one out of two children in foster care under the age of 14.

It shouldn’t have been such a challenge to investigate. Government inspection reports for daycare centres and long-term care homes can be viewed online, which helps families determine what kinds of conditions their loved ones would encounter in these regulated spaces.

Why wouldn’t the same go for child welfare?

We knew the system lacked transparency from interviews with child welfare experts and a government-funded review of the system done in 2016 that called on the provincial government to publicly disclose more data on quality of care and how kids in the system are faring.

But it quickly became apparent that Ontario keeps even the most basic information under wraps. When we started our investigation in June 2021, it didn’t even post a list of licensed group homes and foster care agencies online.

We had to ask for a list from the communications team at the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. As a backup, we also filed a freedom of information request.

The government has since created an online search tool that allows anyone to find the names and licensing conditions of the for-profit companies and not-for-profits delivering care to the province’s most vulnerable youth, but other vital information isn’t disclosed.

Video: Kids ‘may not be safe’ in Ontario’s child welfare system

Encountering a system shrouded in secrecy and full of obstacles almost every step of the way, Global News and APTN had to file over 30 freedom of information requests with the ministry about everything from inspection reports to budget data showing how the $1.8 billion provided to the child welfare system is spent.


We had to pay roughly $1,500 in processing fees for those requests and waited months for responses.

Through one request, we obtained data from over 10,000 serious occurrence reports, or SORs. Homes are legally obliged to send these reports to the ministry when a child in care dies, is seriously injured or ill, goes missing or is physically restrained by staff — among other incidents.

READ MORE: NDP, Green Party call for end to for-profit care in Ontario child-welfare system

Even this information was released with reluctance. The ministry wouldn’t disclose entire SORs. Instead, they disclosed most of the fields that the reports contain – from an incident’s category and subcategory, to the location and date it occurred, to whether or not emergency services were called.

But they wouldn’t give us the detailed descriptions of each incident. Disclosing those would be a possible breach of children’s privacy, the government argued. Even if their names were redacted, the information contained in those textboxes could be used to re-identify specific youth, we were told.

Separately, we eventually obtained the list of licensed service providers through another freedom of information request. The list showed which group homes and foster care agencies are run by for-profit companies.

By merging that dataset with the SOR data, we found that private for-profit service providers account for 55 per cent of all SORs in group and foster homes, despite having only a quarter of the child welfare system’s beds.

With service providers receiving a per-diem for each child in their care, child welfare experts told us some for-profit companies view kids as “commodities.”

Global News and APTN tried to get the daily rate each residence receives, but the ministry withheld that data under a section of Ontario’s freedom of information law that exempts them from having to disclose the government’s or other organizations’ “trade secrets.”

READ MORE: Inside Ontario’s ‘scary’ child-welfare system where kids are ‘commodities’

Ultimately, though, the government records can only offer so much. Instead, it was personal accounts from young adults of their time in care that were the most insightful and poignant — and harrowing.

Finding those young adults wasn’t an easy task.

Our partner at APTN, Kenneth Jackson, already had an extensive list of contacts from the years he’s spent investigating the child welfare system. We scoured social media for weeks, looking for any posts by youth who had aged out of the system about their experiences within it. Whenever we spoke to one youth, we’d ask if they could connect us with others they’d met while in care.

One Indigenous youth explained to us how a group home’s windows were nailed shut and teens’ shoes and jackets were locked up so they couldn’t run away. She recalled being physically restrained by two staff members for reading a book after being told to turn off her light and go to sleep.

Another youth told us she was pulled down a flight of stairs and physically restrained for trying to make some toast after being told to return to her room. She also talked about the “helpless feeling” she felt as she was moved around the system 15 times.

“There’s nothing I could do about my situation,” she said. “It’s really scary when you're in it because you don't know where you’re going.”

Inspection reports reveal disturbing conditions inside Ontario group homes

Andrew Russell - Yesterday 4:00 a.m.
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A child sleeping on a soiled mattress, lack of access to basic dental care, and kids without proper clothes were among the major violations cited by ministry inspectors who visited Ontario children’s residences.


© (Global News)A Global News and APTN investigation obtained 35 reports conducted at Ontario group homes/foster homes by provincial inspectors between 2016-2021.

A Global News and APTN investigation obtained 35 reports conducted at Ontario group homes/foster homes by provincial inspectors between 2016 and 2021.

The inspections, carried out by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, offer a snapshot of systemic problems facing homes for Ontario’s most vulnerable youth.

Other alarming instances include homes in states of disrepair, children lacking access to good nutrition, and children pleading for more outings.

Video: Kids ‘may not be safe’ in Ontario’s child welfare system

Inspection reports and other reviews for daycares or long-term care homes are posted publicly, but there is little transparency when it comes to Ontario’s child-welfare system.

Using freedom of information requests, the Global/APTN team sought to peel back the layer of secrecy. Part of the investigation was informed by an analysis of more than 10,000 serious occurrence reports, or SORs – filed to the province when a child dies, is injured, goes missing or is physically restrained, among other reasons.

The other key element was inspection reports, which highlight what inspectors are seeing when speaking to youth and staff in these group homes across the province.

Read more:
Inside Ontario’s ‘scary’ child-welfare system where kids are ‘commodities’

These reports also document several instances of youth missing medical appointments or not receiving proper medication.

“(Redacted) case file indicated a need for orthodontic care due to an impacted tooth, however there was no follow up noted in the file,” said a March 2020 inspection report for a Mary Homes residence.

“Staff advised … that the social worker asked to wait six months to address this because of (a) lack of insurance,” said the report, which noted a dental appointment was eventually made following the inspection and staff received training.

Mary Homes declined repeated requests to comment on the results of the inspection reports.

Kiaras Gharabaghi, dean of Toronto Metropolitan University’s faculty of community services, said group homes are “seen as the placement of last resort” with little concern for “quality of care.”

“Once you've run out of all other options, you've tried everything else repeatedly, then you get placed in a group home,” he said. “Young people know what that means. That means, ‘We don't know what to do with you. We can't really help you.’


“Let's hope nothing terrible happens.”

The process for inspections involves ministry staff visiting the home, interviewing staff and youth, and examining the home to see if it’s fulfilling its licensing requirements. The service provider of the home will then have the opportunity to respond to the findings.

Unlike inspections for long-term care homes, which are posted publicly, these files for group homes are not widely available.

Read more:
NDP, Green Party call for end to for-profit care in Ontario child-welfare system

At a children’s group home operated by Hatts Off Inc., just outside Hamilton, an inspection report from March 2020 found that ”menus were not found to be well balanced or nutritionally adequate.”

“My breakfast today was fruit loops, lunch was Mr. Noodles, staff do not make lunch, sometimes make dinner depending on food donation,” a youth said during an interview with an inspector.

One staff member told the same inspector the home often relies on the “church” to bring food, which is “inconsistent,” the report said.

Hatts Off also declined repeated requests to comment on the inspection reports.

The reports indicated that during a followup inspection by the province on July 10, 2020, staff who were interviewed confirmed they had participated in meetings to review balanced meal planning but “indicated concerns with the quality of food prepared.”

Hatts Off responded to the province the next month, saying it had provided confirmation it had met meal planning requirements.

The troubling reports are part of an ongoing investigation by Global News and APTN that found disturbing conditions inside Ontario’s group homes.

The investigation’s revelations were drawn from interviews with dozens of group home workers, youth and child-welfare experts.

The analysis of the SORs revealed an alarming number of injuries, physical restraints, and missing kids among private service providers, which both the NDP and Green Party have promised to abolish.

‘No amount of money will ever be the right amount’: Ottawa unveils $40B Indigenous child welfare settlement

While private operators make up only 25 per cent of beds across the province, they filed 55 per cent of all serious occurrence reports in residential settings, including 83 per cent of all physical restraints, 66 per cent of reports of missing youth, 62 per cent of medication errors and 31 per cent of serious injuries.

Merrilee Fullerton, minister of children, community and social services, declined a request to be interviewed for this series about the state of the child-welfare system.

In a statement, her office said the province has added 20 new positions “to support the inspection and oversight of children’s licensed residential care settings.”

“Currently a total of 43 ministry staff are conducting licensing inspections,” a spokesperson said in an email. “We are also reviewing the processes for inspections of licensed residential settings so that we can strengthen them where necessary and appropriate.”

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford called the investigation’s findings “very disturbing” and said the province was going to step up inspections.

“I’m going to make sure we’re on this. I’m going to make sure we have more inspections going on – because as far as I’m concerned, it’s unacceptable,” Ford said.

In the worst circumstance where a home is repeatedly found to have broken its licensing requirements, the province can revoke a service provider’s licence or prevent the company from renewing its licence.

But an analysis by Global News and APTN found the province has only revoked or refused a licence eight times in the past decade.

“The province is actually very hands-off on what care looks like, how it unfolds, who provides care,” said Gharabaghi. “There is a licensing process of foster homes and care homes and group homes. But those are checklist kind of processes. Do you have a fire extinguisher?

“They have virtually nothing to do with the quality of life experienced by young people in care.”

In its strategy to modernize the child-welfare system, the Ontario government has promised to enhance licensing enforcement through forthcoming regulatory changes that will be rolled out over the next three to five years.

The province also quietly released a new website in April that allows the public to search for any licensing conditions placed on a home.

P3
Ottawa, N.W.T. in talks with U.S. charity about funding for Indigenous park guardians


Ottawa, the Northwest Territories and Indigenous governments are in discussions with a group of large American charities about permanent funding for a program that puts First Nations people in charge of looking after parks and other conservation areas on their traditional lands.



Representatives from all the groups have agreed to try to work out a way for the charities, led by The Pew Charitable Trusts, to help fund the Indigenous Guardians program in the N.W.T.

If successful, the project could expand to other such programs across the country.

"Our programs are rarely infinite in time," Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault said from Stockholm, Sweden, where he was attending meetings. "There's great interest in the federal government in continuing to support this program.

"If other actors like it as well and if they want to support it, that's wonderful."

Guardian programs depend on local Indigenous people to act as eyes and ears on the land. They manage protected areas, monitor animals and plants, test water quality and watch development. They also help create land-use and marine-use plans.

There are currently 80 guardian programs across Canada. They are funded by a $173-million commitment over five years in last year's budget.

Last week in Yellowknife, the governments and charities met to discuss ways to make that funding permanent, at least in the North. Pew, through its trusts, controls more than $8 billion.

"Indigenous and other local communities have centuries of knowledge and experience in managing their lands and waters," said an email from Tom Dillon, Pew's manager of conservation programs.


"It's important to us that they benefit directly from these initiatives and that we help to galvanize government support to make their conservation aspirations durable."

Indigenous people welcome Pew's interest in ensuring the program remains in place, said Dahti Tsetso, a member of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, which convened the meeting.

"There is a lot of support across the board for exploring how this could support the guardians program," she said. First Nations across the North are interested, added Tsetso.

The Assembly of First Nations has been in support of guardian programs since 2015.

Tsetso said there are many more possibilities if a deal with Pew can be reached.

"It's like creating an investment strategy," she said. "We're looking at injecting a ton of resources into the N.W.T."

A consultant report done for the initiative concluded that every dollar spent on a guardians program generated $2.50.

Guilbeault said there's nothing new about private charitable dollars funding public environmental programs.

"Philanthropies have been involved in conservation projects in Canada for a very, very long time," he said. "We've worked collaboratively together with many of them and often we will invest in projects together."

Tsetso said there's no timeline yet for when the money could help to fund the program.

"We're very much at the start of discussions," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022.

— Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

Telus Health's services under review after allegations of two-tiered medical care

Katie DeRosa - Yesterday 

© Provided by Vancouver Sun

Telus Health Clinic, 238 Robson St, Vancouver. Critics are concerned that Telus Health's LifePlus program, which requires patients to pay thousands of dollars a year — and in some cases is the only way to keep their family doctor — is creating a two-tier medical system.

The province’s medical services watchdog is investigating whether private, fee-based services offered by Telus Health allow patients to jump the queue, which is against the law.

Critics are concerned that Telus Health’s LifePlus program, which requires patients to pay thousands of dollars a year — and in some cases is the only way to keep their family doctor — is creating a two-tier medical system.

Mark Winston, 72-year-old Vancouver resident, said last fall he received a letter from his family doctor who said he would be closing his practice and moving to Telus Health.

If Winston wanted to continue seeing his doctor, he’d have to pay $4,650 for the first year and $3,600 annually after that to register in Telus Health’s LifePlus program.

Winston wanted to keep seeing his general practitioner, whom he said provides “exemplary care” but was morally opposed to paying a fee to access enhanced health care.

“As a citizen of British Columbia I was horrified that I was being asked to pay thousands of dollars a year for what should be free to all British Columbians,” said Winston, a professor and senior fellow at Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

“Ethically I just could not justify jumping the queue and paying money to be in a system that was going to give me the kind of healthcare that we all should be receiving anyway.”

“It’s not right,” Winston said, that only the rich can access that doctor.

“That is a horrifying, systemic way to deliver health care,” Winston said.

Complaints regarding Telus’ LifePlus Program and other private fee-based services pushed Health Minister Adrian Dix in February to ask the Medical Services Commission to review the practices “to confirm they are not allowing queue jumping for patients who pay a fee, which is prohibited by Canadian laws,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The commission has been in contact with private health companies — including Telus, which provided a submission — and will present its findings to Dix.

The Vancouver-based telecommunications company, which brought in $4.3 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2022, has been rapidly expanding into the health care field since 2018 when it purchased private clinics operating under the brands Medisys, Copeman Healthcare and Horizon Occupational Health Solutions.

Its virtual walk-in clinics under Babylon Health were particularly in demand during the pandemic when many opted for a doctor visit via video chat.

Patients do not have to pay for virtual visits through Babylon, where Telus bills to the Medical Services Plan. The LifePlus plan, however, is touted by Telus as a service that offers enhanced and personalized care that offers patients “head to toe” checkups, “an in-depth review of lifestyle factors and medical history” and access to specialists, such as physiotherapists and dietitians. This can result in 24/7 access to a doctor or fast-tracked MRIs or other medical tests.


© Herman Thind/Government of B.C.

Adrian Dix, B.C.’s health minister.

While in Opposition, Dix was highly critical of the private fee-based health system, which he called a medical “concierge-type service.” Private clinics are legal as long as the clinic doesn’t charge the patient and also MSP, referred to as double billing.

Dix said during debate on his ministry’s budget in May that Telus Health’s private model “captured my interest” which is why he referred it to the commission.

“In fact, people contacted me … expressing concern about that,” he said. “We raised that issue and took action on that issue.”

Dix said he’d like to see the conclusion of the review within the month.

Related
Telus jumps into business of health clinics, buys national chain

COVID-19: Telus fights to prevent disclosure of costs of controversial B.C. contract for vaccine booking service

Sonya Lockyer, vice president of Telus Health Care Centres and Pharmacy, said in a statement Telus Health “fully supports and is committed to publicly funded healthcare as the foundation of our healthcare system in Canada.”

Lockyer said Telus Health Care Centres “focus primarily on employer-based health and wellness services that are not covered by MSP” and it does not charge for primary care services.

Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, president of Doctors of B.C., said while private clinics are not new, there’s greater scrutiny in light of the health care crisis which has left 900,000 British Columbians without a family doctor.

“I think we do know that these clinics create a two-tiered system,” she said.

“One smaller elite system for those who can afford it and one for the rest of us.” That’s particularly concerning, she said, for racialized and Indigenous people who are more likely to be left behind.

It underscores the urgent need for the government to fix problems with the fee-for-service model which is pushing doctors out of the profession, Dosanjh said.


© CHAD HIPOLITO

B.C. Green party Leader Sonia Furstenau.

B.C. Green party leader Sonia Furstenau is worried Telus Health’s private clinics create an unfair system that violates the Canada Health Act.

Furstenau said while Telus insists patients are paying for access to dieticians and specialized care, she’s concerned that people faced with losing their family doctor will feel pressured to pay for private access.

“That primary care physician is only accessible if that fee is paid, right? That’s not supposed to be how our healthcare system works. This undermines that foundational principle of equity in our healthcare system.”

Furstenau also fears general practitioners will be lured away from family practice to Telus Health since doctors can see more patients a day through the virtual model and they don’t have to foot the overhead costs of operating their own clinic. Some doctors work for Telus Health on the side to supplement the income from their family practice.

“In a system where primary care doctors are having to make choices like that, we have a real problem,” Furstenau said.

Dix minimized the number of doctors moving to Telus Health, telling Furstenau in the legislature there are 31 physicians in B.C. for whom Telus billings accounted for more than 80 per cent of their MSP billings and 162 physicians who bill MSP for less than 80 per cent of their billings through Telus Health.

kderosa@postmedia.com

Alberta doctors renew call for action as survey suggests worsening youth mental health

Madeline Smith - Yesterday 

EDMONTON JOURNAL



Alberta doctors say children’s mental health needs “urgent attention” as a new survey offers a snapshot of escalating issues among the province’s youth.


© David BloomThe Stollery Children's Hospital Emergency entrance.

In an online panel survey conducted from May 4-17 via the Alberta Medical Association’s albertapatients.ca platform, 713 parents answered questions about how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their children’s health. Two-thirds of the parents surveyed said the mental health of at least one of their children is worse compared to before the pandemic began.

The results are especially stark for parents of high-school-aged kids, with 77 per cent of parents of children 15 and older reporting deteriorating mental health for their kids.

Health workers and youth advocates have previously raised alarm about the situation, reporting a spike in youth with eating disorders, as well as more young people seeking help for depression, anxiety, substance use and self-harm.

AMA president Dr. Michelle Warren said more needs to be done to make sure youth can access the treatment they need.

“This is something that needs urgent attention because it’s going to take a long time to get caught up on care that’s been delayed,” she said.

On Tuesday, the provincial government released details of their response to the Child and Youth Well-being Review , which gathered information over about two months in mid-2021 to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected children and youth.

According to the province, they’re taking several new steps in response to the panel’s 10 broad recommendations. They include expanding “prevention and early intervention supports” like virtual counselling and in-school supports. The government is also spending $110 million over three years to help schools with “pandemic-related issues” like learning loss, school nutrition and mental health supports.

Provincial officials previously announced money to expand youth mental-health hubs and virtual counselling services.

Associate minister of mental health and addictions Mike Ellis said in a statement that improving youth mental health is a “top priority” for the provincial government.
Doctors ‘taken aback’ by number of kids hospitalized for mental-health issues

Warren, a rural family doctor, said there isn’t just one factor driving the current crisis. She’s seen patients struggle with isolation and being cut off from social supports during the pandemic, and many kids are also dealing with fear and anxiety about their health and their family’s safety. Some caught COVID themselves or saw loved ones hospitalized, or even killed, by the virus.

Nearly 60 per cent of the parents who responded to the AMA survey said one or more of their children have a diagnosed mental-health concern.

That group represents a small sample size compared to the overall survey, with 398 respondents in total. But they were negative about their experiences seeking care for their children: 72 per cent rated the overall quality of the health-system as either bad or very bad at meeting their child’s needs, and they noted problems navigating resources and getting timely access to referrals.

Dr. Bonnie Islam, a pediatrician and associate teaching professor at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine, said doctors have been “taken aback” by the number of kids being hospitalized for mental-health issues.

“What we’ve been saying is we’ve always been dealing with a crisis in pediatric mental health — just now, the numbers have exponentially risen,” she said.

Islam added that some parents seeking help are told their child’s mental-health issues “aren’t severe enough” to be prioritized on a long waiting list.

“It’s really very disheartening, because you’re basically telling parents, ‘This doesn’t matter,’ or you’re telling the child you’ve brought, ‘You don’t actually have a problem.'”

Data from the AMA survey was weighted to reflect gender, age and region of Albertans who have used the health system in the past year.

Because online panels are based on a non-random sample, a margin of error isn’t applicable. But as a comparison, if the data were collected through a random sample, the a margin of error would be +/-3.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20, with a 95 per cent confidence interval.

masmith@postmedia.com

@meksmith

New Calgary Street Harassment Rules Are In Effect & There Is A $500 Fine For An Offence

Charlie Hart - Yesterday- Narcity

People in Calgary can now get fined $500 if they are found to have harassed another person in a public space.


© Provided by 

An existing bylaw was amended by the city council, adding new rules aimed specifically at targeting street harassment, and the changes are in effect as of June 1.

The City of Calgary said in a news release that under the new rules, Calgarians will be able to report instances when they've personally been harassed or they've witnessed the harassment of another person in a public space — such as restaurants, sidewalks and libraries.

The amendment to the city's public behaviour bylaw outlined the definition of street harassment as communicating with someone in a way that could "reasonably cause offence or humiliation."

This includes comments or actions that refer to someone's race, religious beliefs, disability, age, marital status, source of income, family status, gender identity, or sexual orientation. It also extends to sexual advances or solicitation.

The amendment also carries a $500 fine for those found to have committed street harassment offences.

Ryan Pleckaitis, the chief bylaw officer for Calgary's community standards team, said that reports of harassment "will be approached seriously and investigated."

The news release also said that currently, Alberta has no provincial laws against street harassment.

"The City of Calgary has a responsibility to support the well-being, comfort, and safety of Calgarians in public spaces," it added.

Any incidents of street harassment can now be reported to Calgary Police's non-emergency line, by calling 311 or creating a 311 service request online.

People making reports will be asked to share details of the incident, including describing the offender and giving the location of the incident.

As the U.K. brings back imperial measurements, is it time for Canada to drop them?

Laura McQuillan - 

For more than 50 years, Canada's dual system for measuring things has been a source of confusion for tradespeople, crafters, newcomers and anyone who's ever been asked for their weight in kilos.

Why, for instance, are outdoor temperatures measured in Celsius — until you get into a pool? Why do we order our morning coffee in ounces but buy milk in litres?

Canada is officially a "metric" country, yet many industries and individuals work in imperial measurements, adding extra costs and complexity for businesses and making everyday tasks — from buying produce to ordering a drink — just a little more complicated.

Soon, Canada may have a new ally in mixing its measurements: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly planning to announce the revival of the imperial system for the Queen's Jubilee. The move will allow stores to sell products in pounds and ounces, as well as grams — further distancing the U.K. from Europe, which uses the metric system.

"It's plain crazy," said Prof. Werner Antweiler, an economist at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, of the U.K.'s proposed change.

"This is just plain populism. It has absolutely nothing to do with economics. It's detrimental to the economy. It's detrimental to the commercial interests of Britain, because most of their trade is still in the European Union, like it or not."


© Russell Boyce/ReutersA group of British shop owners known as the 'Metric Martyrs' hold imperial pints outside a London court on Nov. 20, 2001. The men were convicted for selling products under the imperial weights system, after the U.K. enforced European regulations, which said the metric system must take precedence. Britain is now expected to allow shopkeepers to use the imperial system once again.

The U.S., Myanmar and Liberia are the only countries that still use the imperial system day to day.

Antweiler and others — including some who work entirely in the imperial system — say Canada should go the opposite route from the U.K., by ditching the imperial system and going fully metric, like most of its trading partners.

Canada's continued use of both systems, Antweiler said, adds "an additional layer of complexity and additional source of error and an additional source of cost, because now you have to comply to the other standard."

But greater metrication would require buy-in across industries, from engineering and real estate to farming and beer-brewing — and it could create new headaches for Canadian businesses with clients across the southern border.

When Canada went metric

To understand why most Canadians know their height in feet and inches but measure their travel plans in kilometres, you have to go back to 1970. That's when the federal government launched the Metric Commission to convert Canada from imperial to metric, and to educate the public on how to use the new system.


© CBC News/CBC ArchivesThe Metric Commission announced Canadian schools would begin teaching metric weights and measurements back in 1975.

In 1975, weather broadcasts switched from Fahrenheit to Celsius. Food packaging and street signs were soon amended to metric units, and by 1979, gas stations were filling tanks by the litre instead of in gallons.

For many industries, though, the change was voluntary. Amid pushback from them, as well as some members of the public, and from the United States — which abandoned its own metrification plans in the early 1980s — Canada became stuck in measurement limbo by the time the Metric Commission was abolished in 1985.

Today, entire industries — like construction and other trades — still operate in the imperial system, or a mix of the two, requiring a level of bilingualism in two systems of measurement.

The accuracy argument

Like most tradespeople,Toronto cabinet-maker Greg Moogk works almost exclusively in the imperial system — except for when an architect gives him metric drawings, as sometimes happens with high-rise construction projects, or when he's buying products from outside of North America.

"It's way, way, way easier to be more accurate in the metric system," Moogk said, adding that he's received requests like "'just cut it at a hair over 1/16 of an inch' — like I have an idea of what that is."

"If we had the option of just all of a sudden eliminating the imperial system, it obviously would be weird for a minute, because everyone [in the trades] would have to learn the metric system. But it's so much easier [to use] — it's a lot more difficult for someone to get their head around fractional math than really easy decimal places, right?"

Other creators face similar challenges working between the two systems.

"The tools that we use in quilt-making [are] all in imperial measurements … But in Canada, when we go to buy the fabric, we're buying it in metres, not yards," said Karen Neary, a quilt pattern designer from Amherst, N.S.

She includes both systems of measurement on her patterns, so clients can figure out how much fabric they need — no matter where in the world they are.


© Hannah McKay/ReutersThe U.K. is poised to bring back some imperial measures, meaning that like Canadians, Brits will use two measurement systems in daily life. Here, a tailor in London, U.K., holds a tape measure showing inches and centimetres — measurements that Canadian crafters often have to convert between.

"Metric is much easier, because if somebody says 'five-eighths of a yard' or whatever, you've got to stop and think, well, what is that?" she said.

"But I really cannot see us switching over to metric completely, because all the tools, all my rulers, are quarter-inch, everything is quarter-inch."

Those measurements get even more confusing when you consider beer, which is measured differently depending on if you're buying it in a can or from a tap. A tall can contains 473 ml (the equivalent of 16oz, or a U.S. pint), but walk up to a bar and order a pint, and you'll get 20 oz (an imperial pint).

For those in the beer industry, switching between those measurements is "like second nature," said Kyra Dietsch, marketing manager at Muskoka Brewery in Bracebridge, Ont.

"We walk a line between the two, and we end up using them so interchangeably that we don't even notice … When I'm going into a restaurant, I'm ordering in ounces; when I'm looking at the cans, I refer to them as millilitres. So it really depends on the format as well."

Time for a change?

Switching between the two is easier in some industries than others. It could be as simple as swapping ounces for millilitres on a coffee shop menu, labelling lumber in centimetres or printing Celsius measurements on oven knobs.

"I'd say 80 per cent of the history of metrification is just the willingness to actually put different labels on things, and basically nudge people toward using the international standard," Antweiler said.


© Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Construction and other trades are among the Canadian industries that mostly work in the imperial system — in large part due to American influence.

But some industries would need to take extra steps, like retraining workers such as engineers and architects, and companies might need to change their manufacturing lines or other operations to adapt, depending which countries their clients are in.

Antweiler believes a total shift would only be possible if the federal government mandated it — and that's unlikely to happen.

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said the government "supports and encourages the use of metric units, but understands that some Canadians are more comfortable with the imperial system. Therefore, the use of both systems of measurement is permitted in commerce."

For all the confusion in the Canadian measuring system, it's a source of hope for those who can only dream of living in a country where things are measured in metres and litres — like Don Hillger, president of the U.S. Metric Association, which has been running into resistance for more than 100 years while pushing for the U.S. to adopt the metric system.

"I even have relatives that say, 'Please don't do this, don't promote [metrication]' until they die, because they don't want to learn metric," Hillger said.


© Jane Robertson/CBC

Advocates of the metric system say it's time for Canada to stop using imperial, such as measuring their height or short distances in feet and inches. Here, seats are spaced out — in inches — for an event in Three Rivers, P.E.I., on March 17, 2021.

He says he hears from a lot of younger people who think it's "ridiculous that the United States is the major holdout." But it's unclear when — or if — his country might join the rest of the world in going metric.

"You've got to have more people ask for it before it'll actually take place in the States. And I don't think we're quite at that point," he said. But he added: "I think it would help if Canada changed."

Desperate northern Manitoba Nations declare state of emergency on health services, leveling charges of racism

The Keewatinohk Inniniw Okimowin Council (KIOC) has declared a state of emergency on health services for its 23 member Nations in Manitoba’s north.

Dr. Barry Lavallee, CEO for Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin (KIM), the health arm of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), says the action was taken to address the lack of appropriate health services, which he stresses is fueled by racism and discrimination.

“When a large, well-funded system like the federal government or provincial government see that there are dire and material consequences to the lack of services in an area and does not respond accordingly except to make excuses and small patchwork (measures), this is how racism looks at a larger structural level,” said Lavallee.

The state of health emergency was declared on May 24, brought to a head with the nursing shortage that impacted the 21 nursing stations staffed by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). There’s also a delay in medivacs because of the lack of planes and pilots, points out Lavallee.

As of May 26, however, said ISC spokesperson Nicolas Moquin in an email statement to Windspeaker.com, nursing stations are “currently operating at/or slightly below minimum staffing levels” and for the week of May 30, only one community is expected to be operating at just below minimum staffing levels.

Lavallee says ISC hasn’t made it clear to KIM what the definition of “minimum staffing level” is and there’s “no proof” to ISC’s claim.

These nursing shortages only scratch the surface of lack of support for health services experienced in the north, says Lavallee, who has held his position since 2020. The previous year he served as medical advisor for KIM. Lavallee is a member of the Métis community of St. Laurent, Man.

“A system knows that if it gave the money and did what it was supposed to do, health would improve, death rates would drop. But if I choose not to and just claim that it's too expensive, that's how racism looks,” said Lavallee.

He adds that the present state of health in Manitoba’s north was stressed even further by the coronavirus pandemic, but COVID-19 was not the cause.

Lavallee says declaring the state of health emergency is both a move of desperation and an attempt to be proactive.

The current system is not working, he says, and funding of $115 million available from the Manitoba government for health transformation in the north through more surgical units or more obstetricians isn’t the full answer.

“My argument to that is don’t even look there until you deal with racism. Because even if you infuse $115 million and you don’t change the racist attitudes of people who work in the north, not all people, it makes no difference because the only way you get a CT scan is by a physician examining you, believing you, and then ordering the test. That doesn't occur as often as it should. That's how racism looks on a one-to-one person. We see that all the time,” said Lavallee.

He adds people are continuously denied access to secondary services, pain medication, antibiotics and proper diagnostic investigations.

“People leave these places sick,” he said because of the racist attitudes of some medical professionals.

Lavallee points to what he calls the “classic” example of anti-Indigenous racism in the health care system with Brian Sinclair, who died in a Winnipeg hospital emergency waiting room in 2008 after being ignored by staff for 34 hours.

“That wasn't one episode of racism. We get calls all the time from the ones who actually have the energy to call us and make complaints to have their cases examined and advocated for. (It’s) all the time across Manitoba. This is not just the north. This is everywhere,” he said.

“However, isolation factors, poor attention by the provincial government, it’s propensity to only want to deliver services in southern Manitoba to predominantly white people is another way that racism rears its ugly head on the day-to-day living of First Nations people.”

Lavallee says the federal and provincial governments need to come to the table and be willing to both embrace and fund the innovative ideas that First Nations leaders put forward to address the health issues of their people.

“(We need to) go beyond the nursing station model. Look at new models of providing primary care. We want to do that as well as dealing with things, like harm reduction, (which) is absolutely necessarily needed right now. But the current system does not have enough support in general,” said Lavallee.

Instead of nurses only working at the stations, there needs to be “a whole slew of other providers that we can mix in a different kind of blend of primary care” including occupational therapists and respiratory care therapists.

“Those systems are old and antiquated. We've got to put our heads together to find something better to match each community and really that's where we want to go,” said Lavallee.

Moquin said the nursing stations do have an “inter-jurisdictional team,” which includes physicians, paramedics, dental therapists or hygienists, and community health workers. Statements provided to Windspeaker.com by both the federal and provincial governments committed both levels to working with the First Nations.

“It is important to our government that First Nations leadership and health professionals have a direct role in developing and implementing healthcare plans that prioritize First Nations people on and off-reserve, as well as northern and remote communities,” said a government spokesperson for Health Minister Audrey Gordon. “Manitoba is at its best when First Nations leadership and health professionals are at the table, helping make the best decisions for their people and communities.”

The spokesperson also said that Gordon was in the process of arranging a meeting with MKO and KIM “to continue the discussion of improving health and wellness services in Northern Manitoba and for advice on other ways to fight racism in our healthcare system.”

As for ISC, Moquin said, “The health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples and communities is a high priority for our government (and)… ISC continues to work directly with First Nations communities to ensure their health care needs are met.”

Lavallee says the goal of KIM is to transform health in Manitoba’s north and take control of health services.

“We don’t want the status quo anymore,” he said. “(We want) to rejig (services) in a different way…We need to work in community and work out of community, so we have better flow and access to resources, all those kinds of things. That's what we want. Patients just want to be treated better. They want to be treated with respect and that's really hard to find sometimes… with doctors and nurses.”

In 2018, MKO signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Health Transformation with Canada. MKO created KIM to meet that goal.

Windspeaker.com

By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com

New hunting rules fuel division in B.C., four First Nations say

Yesterday 



The first line of a provincial announcement on new hunting rules reads: “In partnership with First Nations, the B.C. government is making changes.” But four northeast B.C. First Nations that will be particularly impacted by the province’s decision say they were left out of this partnership.

The May 19 announcement from the B.C. Ministry of Forests outlines a suite of changes to hunting regulations, including closures and reductions to moose hunting and nixing caribou hunting in the Peace River area. The government says this is needed to protect moose and caribou populations impacted by decades of heavy industrial development.

Four Treaty 8 nations — Doig River, Halfway River, Prophet River and West Moberley — claim that, despite meeting with the government in advance of this decision, their input was ignored. They say the new restrictions will have negative impacts on Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents as local hunters and outfitters were not given priority tags.

“The regulations create disproportionate impacts among Treaty 8 Nations and for local residents, and were made in a manner that undermines the new path forward that we were promised,” the nations wrote in a joint press release published May 30.

The restrictions are a stop-gap solution which will be revisited next year, according to the ministry. While the government’s announcement noted the decisions “support reconciliation,” the First Nations leaders say it will fuel division.

“The regulatory changes are a unilateral action of the minister of forests that do not reflect the proposals advanced by Treaty 8 First Nations,” Valerie Askoty, Chief of Prophet River First Nation, said in a statement. “Our proposals sought to protect our rights under Treaty 8 while balancing the interests of neighbouring resident hunters and guide outfitters.”

The Ministry of Forests did not respond to The Narwhal’s requests for comment prior to publication.

The hunting restrictions come as the province grapples with a landmark court case that outlined the scale and source of ecosystem imbalance in the region.

Last year, the B.C. Supreme Court found the province guilty of infringing on the rights of another Treaty 8 signatory, Blueberry River First Nations, by permitting and encouraging widespread logging and oil and gas extraction to the point members could no longer exercise their rights to hunt, trap and fish. The 2021 ruling was an indictment of how B.C.’s conduct on the northeast B.C. landscape over decades piled up, impacting people, wildlife and ecosystems.

According to Jesse Zeman, executive director of the BC Wildlife Federation, these new restrictions are a response to the ruling, but the province’s focus on hunting instead of industry doesn’t add up.

“The court said, ‘Get a handle on cumulative effects’ and the province is saying, ‘Well, we’re gonna get rid of half of the hunters and half of the moose harvest … and we’re going to continue to approve projects,” he said in an interview.

Those projects, he said, include continued oil and gas extraction and construction of the Site C dam.

The Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship said it is working with Blueberry River First Nations and other Treaty 8 nations on a “province-wide regime to address cumulative effects.”

“In October 2021, we signed an agreement with Blueberry River First Nations as an important first step in responding to cumulative effects, providing stability and certainty for 195 permit holders, and supporting Blueberry with $60 million to heal the land, create jobs and protect their traditional way of life,” a spokesperson told The Narwhal in an emailed statement.

Of course, cumulative effects do include impacts to wildlife populations, but Zeman said with about 60,000 moose in the region there’s plenty of room for harvesting without it becoming unsustainable.


The way in which the regulatory changes were implemented also tips the scales in favour of hunters based in more populous parts of the province, he added. The changes include closures in some areas of the region and a shift from open season to limited entry in others. Limited entry means anyone wanting to harvest a moose, say, has to put their name into a draw and tickets are issued through a lottery system.

It becomes a numbers game, in other words.

“We have members up there who are third, fourth generation people who have large chunks of land where they can go out their back door and teach their kids how to hunt,” Zeman said.

He said the majority of hunters in the province are based in the south compared to a small fraction in the northeast. When the Peace region moves to a limited-entry hunt, “chances are most of the hunting opportunities will now flow to people who do not live in that region.”

The Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship said it could not comment directly on the new hunting regulations but noted it plans to establish regional advisory tables to work with stakeholders.

“We’ll be looking closely at measures such as improved inventory of wildlife populations and compulsory reporting data for harvested animals. This will help inform the path forward for wildlife stewardship, based on new data gathered as we monitor the impact of the interim hunting regulations that were recently announced.”

The nations don’t disagree that there are pressures facing moose and caribou — that’s why they were at the table in the first place. The problem, they say, is the province is perpetuating divisiveness.

“Our nations, alongside other Treaty 8 First Nations, engaged the province to address those impacts by closing the open seasons in a manner that would balance non-Indigenous hunting in the territory with protections for our treaty right to hunt,” they wrote in the press release. “Our preference was to shield local hunters from the effects of the closure by providing priority allocation of tags and we sought ways to permit guide outfitters to be left whole.”

Scott Ellis, executive director of the Guide Outfitters Association of B.C., told The Narwhal there’s no question the impacts of provincially approved development have changed the landscape.

“The cumulative effects are real: roads, logging, powerlines, oil and gas,” he said in an interview. “We see the cumulative effects where they are: Blueberry area and across the whole region. It’s a pretty big hunk of dirt.”

But he agreed with the nations’ assessment of the changes and said it comes down to what he described as the “clunkiness” of provincial policies.

“Under the [limited-entry hunt], you’re not able to give some kind of priority to the locals within the northeast region on Treaty 8 lands,” he said. “I applaud the First Nations for trying to minimize the impact to guide outfitters and local resident hunters.”

“My fear here is this solution is very divisive,” he added. “First Nations will be blamed and that should not be the case.”

Earlier this year, while the province was working on what the proposed changes would look like, Judy Desjarlais, Chief of Blueberry River First Nations, received a death threat. The province and the First Nations had been discussing changes to hunting regulations as part of the ongoing negotiations related to the 2021 court ruling.

“I understand that hunting is a big part of the way of life for all residents of northeast B.C., whether Indigenous or not,” Desjarlais said in a statement published at the time. “This reprehensible incident underscores the sensitivity of this subject.”

The tension between local and non-resident hunters is nothing new for those who call the region home.

“We’ve been hammered with way more hunters in recent years, as people are coming into our territory to hunt after open seasons elsewhere were shut down,” Roland Willson, Chief of West Moberley First Nations, said in a statement. “This means a huge decline in our members’ ability to successfully harvest moose in a meaningful and culturally appropriate way.”

But according to Willson, B.C.’s decision adds fuel to the fire at a crucial moment when everyone in the region, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, needs to come together and work on solutions.

“We are very unhappy that the province disregarded our recommendations and made a unilateral decision. Our friends and neighbours in the Peace should understand that we are trying to protect their interests as well as safeguarding our own Treaty Rights. In the end, all of us up here are Treaty people, and we need to find ways to live together.”

Matt Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Narwhal

Rescue dog tests positive for potentially deadly virus at Calgary animal shelter

Craig Momney - Tuesday

The Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) in Calgary is in outbreak after a rescue dog’s test came back detecting a potentially fatal virus.

“We had a dog test positive for distemper,” says AARCS executive director Deanna Thompson.

“So we went into full lockdown here at AARCS and have a number of dogs in quarantine. Sadly we had two puppies also come down with it (who) had to be put down.”

Read more:

Lethbridge Animal Shelter seeing more surrenders, fewer adoptions

The shelter believes the virus was introduced to the shelter two weeks ago after it took in several unvaccinated rescue dogs from a community east of Calgary.

“Sadly if they were vaccinated, they never would have gotten it in the first place,” says Thompson.

“I think that’s what we really want to get across to the public is get your animals vaccinated so that they don’t have to go through what these guys did.”

Distemper is an incurable airborne illness primarily occurring in unvaccinated canines.

Shelter veterinarian Dr. Marta Gunn says once a dog is infected, the virus has to run its course, affecting its respiratory, gastro-intestinal and nervous systems.


“In these dogs, we’ll see seizures,” says Gunn.

Video: Alleged puppy mill sells infected dogs to unsuspecting customers

“We will see ataxia where they can’t walk properly, involuntary muscle twitching and if they do progress to neurologic signs, often those symptoms, even once they’ve recovered, they can be long term,” she adds.

The shelter will keep more than a dozen dogs quarantined as a precaution for two weeks with the plan of testing the dogs now and again in fourteen days.

However, with the cost of vet bills, they are now appealing to the public to help.

“We expect the cost just to maintain our quarantine to exceed $15,000 over the next couple of weeks,” says Thompson. “So, we are reaching out to the public in hopes that they will come forward and help us get through this.”

Read more:

Alberta SPCA has taken in more than 600 animals this winter; 10 horses found dead

The shelter says there have been several reported cases of distemper across the province.

Dog owners at a nearby dog park say they’ve taken the necessary precautions against the preventable virus by vaccinating their animals, knowing the virus could be out there.

“But at the same time, I can’t let it prevent me from exercising my dog and coming out here. He enjoys this a lot so to take that out of his life, I don’t think that would be healthy either,” says Calgary resident Phoebe-Anne Worby.

“You can only do so much though,” explains Neel Reniga, who says his dog needs the exercise, ”so we got to come out, but she’s, you know, part of the family so we get her out but we’ll also take our proper precautions as we need to,” he concluded.

To help fund this recent outbreak, visit aarcs.ca

Nagar: Punjabi rapper Moose Wala is another victim of the politics of hate in India

Rishi Nagar - Yesterday

Calgary Herald


Sadly, the unleashed politics of hate is showing its cruel face in India with the slaying of Canadian-based rapper Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, 28, known famously as Sidhu Moose Wala.

Youth pay tribute to late Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala who was shot dead a day earlier in Mansa district in India's Punjab state, during a candlelight vigil in Amritsar on May 30, 2022.

Thousands of fans gathered outside his Indian village home after he was shot dead in Punjab on the weekend. He was cremated Tuesday.

In just another example, people are being killed mercilessly. Hatred, bigotry and intolerance are engulfing societies and communities.

The Punjab police chief, Viresh Kumar Bhawra, said the killing of the singer seemed to have been a fallout of an inter-gang rivalry with the Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar gang. This gang has ties with the persons in Canada, he claimed.

The state police chief said Moose Wala’s security cover was scaled down to free personnel for deployment during the Operation Blue Star anniversary next week. Moose Wala had a private bulletproof car but he chose not to travel in it and chose not to take two commandos assigned to him for his security as well.

Sidhu rose to international stardom on a series of hits recorded after moving to Canada as an international student at Humber College in Toronto. He returned to India, where he contested unsuccessfully the Punjab legislative assembly election for the Indian National Congress Party this year.

He was widely known for his “gangster rap,” attracting 6.9 million followers on Instagram and more than 10.8 million YouTube subscribers.

However, Moose Wala had close ties with controversies as well. Violence had previously broken out at some of his Canadian performances, including a stabbing at a Surrey event and gunfire at a Calgary concert in 2019.


His song titled Jatti Jeone Morh Wargi came under fire as it made a reference to the 18th-century Sikh valiant woman Mai Bhago. Many police reports were also registered against Moose Wala for promoting violence and hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikh community. He had to issue an apology later on.

Later, he was also booked by the Punjab police under the Arms Act after being charged with the promotion of gun culture in 2020. The action was taken for his song Panj Goliyan (Five Bullets).

He did extend his support to the farmers’ protest at the Delhi borders that went on for more than a year.

The controversial singer-turned-politician went on to release the song Sanju, a day after his bail on Arms Act charges by a Sangrur district court, comparing his case with that of the famous Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt. Last year, a criminal case was filed against Moose Wala and five police personnel, after a video showing him shooting at a firing range went viral on social media.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tweeted his condolences for Moose Wala, with a statement from the Congress party saying that his death “has come as a terrible shock to the Congress party & the entire nation.”

With his Canadian connection, he has performed to soldout crowds in Manitoba, Ontario, B.C. and Alberta and was scheduled to perform in Calgary and elsewhere in Canada as a part of his Back 2 Business Tour.

His music videos generally secured millions of views and featured slick production and camera work. His 2018 song, It’s All About You, was the most-watched YouTube video on Valentine’s Day in 2018.

Canadian rapper Drake paid tribute to Sidhu, posting to his Instagram story a photo of the singer with the caption “RIP MOOSE.”

Canadian comedian Lilly Singh also remembered Sidhu in an Instagram post, calling him a “young legend.”

“Through his revolutionary music, he will live on. Beyond the care he had for his community, he created the soundtrack that made many of us feel seen, a perfect blend of hip hop, rap and folk music,” she commented.

Many of Moose Wala’s followers on social media are holding the state government responsible for this murder and many unfounded conspiracy theories are popping up.

Rishi Nagar is the news director at Red FM 106.7 in Calgary, a member of the Calgary Police Service’s Anti-Racism Committee and a member of the senate of the University of Calgary.