Opinion: Nobody wins when Alberta plays games with COVID vaccines

Author of the article: Amy Kaler
Publishing date: Sep 08, 2021 •

Premier Jason Kenney announces the province's new COVID restrictions at McDougall Centre in Calgary on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021.

 PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI /Postmedia

Last Friday, Jason Kenney announced that his government will pay people who haven’t been vaccinated yet a hundred dollars to get their shot. No one thinks this is a good idea, except presumably a few UCP caucus members. Most of the negative reaction comes from the vaccinated majority in Alberta, who resent what they see, correctly, as a reward for procrastinating and heel-dragging on vaccination, while the fourth wave of COVID gathers steam and threatens to swamp our hospitals.

I’m a sociologist who studies infectious diseases. There are even bigger problems with the COVID-cash scheme than ticking off everyone who already got vaccinated.

Putting a cash bounty on shots is what economists and sociologists call gamification. Gamification means taking any process or activity and making it similar to playing a game, in order to motivate people to engage in it. The appeal of gamified activities is that they offer individual players a chance to get the highest score or win big through strategizing and outsmarting other players or through betting against the house.

Gamification has its place — in casinos and video games. It does not have a place in public health. Gamifying COVID vaccines, by awarding money to people who delay getting their shots, sets Albertans up to see themselves as games players rather than citizens or people who have responsibilities to look out for each other. If delaying your shots for six months gets you $100, why not hold out a while longer and see if the province will up the payout to $200 per shot? Why settle for $100 now?

Sure, you’re a lot more likely to get COVID if you aren’t vaccinated yet, or to spread COVID to vulnerable people. But by Thanksgiving, if you bet strategically, you might be getting $500 for a shot!

In the gamified world, people who got vaccinated on time and followed the rules are bad players. Sure, they did their part to protect the vulnerable and so forth, but they lost out on the money. Next time around — and there will be a next time; COVID-19 is not the last pandemic virus we’re going to see — how much can I get for a shot in my arm? What will the payout be? Getting vaccinated without getting paid for it will appeal to some people, but for an unknown part of the population, the expectation has now been set that public health emergencies are games, and holding out for money is a winning gamble.

In addition to setting a terrible precedent, paying people per shot just doesn’t work. A study by the University of Pennsylvania, released last Friday, comparing 24 states with different incentives for vaccination, found that paying people per shot does not increase vaccine uptake at all.

What does increase vaccine uptake is mandates — requiring proof of vaccination to take part in activities ranging from attending sports events to air travel. We’re seeing this right now in Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford announced on Wednesday the creation of a provincial vaccine certificate which could be used to access restaurants, bars and indoor entertainment, and within 24 hours, the number of vaccination bookings through the provincial health system doubled.

Vaccine certification is fair — everyone who gets vaccinated can benefit from it. It is easy to implement, through provincial health registries. It’s voluntary — no one is vaccinated against their will. And it works. And most importantly, it doesn’t turn COVID into a game, in which winning means not getting vaccinated until the province shows you the money.

Alberta has had a terrible year and half with COVID. Let’s hope the provincial government stops making it worse by ill-advised and ineffective COVID cash giveaways.

Amy Kaler is a professor in the department of sociology at the University of Alberta.

O’Toole on the Defensive Over His Plan to Cut Billions From Child Care, End Emergency Support for Workers


Canadian Labour Congress
Thu., September 9, 2021,

OTTAWA, Sept. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- During the French debate last night, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole was on the defensive over his vow to tear up child care agreements with the provinces and cut billions from child care just when parents need them most.


“For many women, the lack of child care during the pandemic was a key reason they were forced out of the labour force. Today, many parents are still struggling to find spaces for their kids,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “It is cold-hearted and irresponsible for Mr. O’Toole to turn to these women and say no to the high-quality, affordable child care spaces that would finally allow them to return to the labour force.”

O’Toole was also caught again showing his anti-worker tendencies while talking about labour shortages, saying that emergency support for workers should be shut down. Earlier in the pandemic, O’Toole also said that more money should have gone to business, less to workers.

“A lack of child care spaces, low wages and poor working conditions. These are some of the key factors leading to labour shortages,” said Bruske. “Yet Mr. O’Toole is just another Conservative blaming workers. He cannot pretend to be a friend to working families while saying they should be cut off from critical emergency pandemic support.”

Bruske added that O’Toole’s proposal for gig economy workers, which appeared to be written by Uber, shows just how far out of touch O’Toole is with the reality facing workers today.

CLIMATE CHANGE WHO CARES

Suncor reaches agreement to extend Terra Nova FPSO

As the lead operator of the offshore Newfoundland oilfield, the extension is expected to extend production life by approximately 10 years, providing an additional 70 million barrels of oil.

Wed., September 8, 2021,

Suncor Energy has announced a plan to extend the life of the Terra Nova FPSO has been reached.

According to a news release issued Wednesday night by the corporation, the lead operator of the offshore Newfoundland oilfield, the extension is expected to extend production life by approximately 10 years, providing an additional 70 million barrels of oil.

The deal also includes royalties and financial support from the provincial government, totalling up to $205 million.

The floating production, storage and offloading vessel has not produced oil since late 2019. Most of the more than 1,000 jobs linked to the oilfield have been lost.

The FPSO will undergo maintenance work at the Bull Arm Fabrication site starting in early September prior to sailing to dry dock in Spain later this year, according to the news release. A safe return to operations is expected before the end of 2022.

Since beginning production in January 2002, the Terra Nova has produced 425 million barrels of oil.

The agreement also includes the restructuring of project ownership between Suncor, Cenovus, and Murphy Oil. Suncor will control 48 per cent of the project, Cenovus will control 34 per cent, and Murphy Oil will control 18 per cent.

Alongside the announcement, Cenovus says it will be restructuring it's assets in the Terra Nova and White Rose projects. The corporation will reduce its working interest in the White Rose project, according to a news release, if a decision is made to restart the project.

'A horror story:' Quebec health worker recalls shocking scene at Herron care home


Wed., September 8, 2021, 3



MONTREAL — Health officials who arrived at a Montreal-area long-term care home during a COVID-19 outbreak last year found residents who were desperate for water and had been left in beds soaked with urine and feces, a Quebec coroner's inquest heard Wednesday.

Martine Daigneault, a coordinator for the local health authority, testified that she went to Résidence Herron the evening of March 29, 2020 after being informed that the facility was struggling with staff shortages.

What she saw shocked her: carts piled with barely touched trays of food, representing two or three meals; bandages that hadn't been changed in days; residents with greasy hair and long nails who were so soaked in urine and feces that it left burns on their skin.

"I never saw a centre like that, never saw residents like this," she told the coroner's inquest.

Daigneault, who began her career as a nurse, said she began making the rounds to help feed the residents, accompanied by a nurse who had come to volunteer.

She said most residents didn't want to eat the food, which had been left out for a while and contained large chunks she felt were unsuitable for elderly people, but they were very thirsty.

"I saw residents drink two, three cups of water and kissed our hands over our gloves to say thank you," said Daigneault, who added that some residents showed signs of dehydration.

"You're telling a horror story," Coroner Géhane Kamel said a moment later.

Kamel's mandate is to investigate 53 deaths at six long-term care homes and one seniors residence. The portion of the hearings involving Herron began Tuesday after being suspended while prosecutors decided whether to pursue charges against the owners of the now-closed facility. Ultimately they decided no criminal charges would be laid.

Forty-seven people died at the home during the first wave of the pandemic.

Daigneault said the residence lacked basic equipment such as bedsheets, soap and wipes, as well as personal protective equipment such as gowns.

Oxygen canisters were old and often empty, she said. Over the next few days, several people died following respiratory problems that were presumably linked to COVID-19. "Would they not have died had we given oxygen? I don’t know," said Daigneault, who added that she isn't a doctor.

Daigneault said she continued working at the home over the next two weeks because there wasn't enough staff to care for residents. She said relations with Herron's owners were strained, and the health authority never succeeded in obtaining work schedules in advance. Rather, she said they would get the schedules written on scraps of paper half an hour before shifts started, and often many of the names on the list didn't show up.

Earlier Wednesday, another manager from the health authority testified that Herron's severe understaffing issues were in part due to a self-isolation directive from the province's health hotline.

Dr. Nadine Larente testified that there were so few employees on site when she arrived on March 29 that she called her husband and three children to come help feed and change patients.

Larente, who is a director of professional care for the local health authority, said she was told some employees had stayed home because they were afraid, but many others were following advice from the province's Info-Santé telephone line to self-isolate for 14 days after coming into contact with a positive COVID-19 case.

Larente, who is also a geriatrician, said she questioned the wisdom of the directive given the long-standing staff shortages throughout the long-term care network.

"I was worried because, with all the centres in outbreaks across the province, that directive didn’t make sense, to abandon people before there are replacements," she told the inquest, adding that she contacted Dr. Lucie Opatrny, an associate deputy health minister, to express her concerns.

Larente said her group did their best to care for residents, but they didn't have enough masks for everyone or enough personal protective equipment to change it between patients.

At one moment, Larente said a patient fell to the ground as she helped her to the bathroom, and yelled for her daughter to help. Later, she learned the patient had COVID-19.

But Larente said residents on the ground floor, where she worked that evening, were more independent. Unlike what Daigneault encountered on higher floors, she said most of the patients she saw were dressed, hydrated and had received their medication and food that day.

At one point, Kamel interjected to ask whether doctors should have been called to do a proper examination of each patient.

“When I read this, and I get a chill up my spine to say this … I get the impression we let these people die,” the coroner said.

Larente acknowledged that in retrospect, many things should have been done differently. By the time the second wave came around, she said teams of doctors were going to care homes to assess the needs of the residents and ensure everything was in place to care for them.

But in the pandemic’s early days, she said, the health network was still scrambling to train personnel in hospitals, assuage fears and deal with shortages of personal protective equipment and staff as the number of outbreaks grew by the day.

“On March 29, we weren’t yet organized at that level,” she said. “We weren’t prepared.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept 8, 2021.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press

2022 rent increase capped at 1.5% in B.C.

Wed., September 8, 2021

B.C.'s maximum allowable rent increase for 2022 has been set at 1.5 per cent. (David Horemans/CBC - image credit)

With the province-wide pandemic rent freeze set to expire at the end of the year, the government has announced that landlords cannot raise rents by more than 1.5 per cent for 2022.

The maximum allowable increase is tied to inflation and was released by the Attorney General and Ministry responsible for Housing on Wednesday.

Any rent hike in 2022 cannot take place before Jan.1 and must be preceded by three months' notice from the landlord provided to the tenant.

The province introduced a rent freeze during the pandemic which is set to expire Dec. 31, 2021.

Landlords in B.C. can only increase rents once per year. Since 2018, the rate of increase has been tied to the rate of inflation.

The maximum allowable increase does not apply to commercial tenancies, non-profit housing tenancies where rent is geared to income, co-operative housing and some assisted-living facilities.

Tseshaht protect Broken Group Islands with debris clean up

Wed., September 8, 2021

Broken Group Islands, BC - For five days, Rachelle Packwood removed mounds of Styrofoam, rope and tires that had collected along the remote shorelines of the Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound.

It was the first beach clean-up Packwood had participated in and she hasn’t stopped talking about it since.

“I feel really good about what we did,” she said. “Knowing how many tons of debris we took off that Broken Group is astounding. I have a sense of pride.”

The initiative was part of the West Coast Vancouver Island Coastal Improvement Project, which aims to support large-scale marine shoreline clean-ups and derelict vessel removals along British Columbia’s coastline.

Supported by the provincial government through the Clean Coast, Clean Waters Initiative Fund, the $2.5 million project is managed by the Coastal Restoration Society (CRS), in partnership with Surfrider Foundation Pacific Rim, Rugged Coast, Ocean Legacy, and the T’Sou-ke Nation. Ten First Nations, including Hesquiaht, Ahousaht, Tseshaht, and Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k:tles7et'h', are also participating in the project.

“Marine clean-up programs are a critical part of reducing pollution in these sensitive ecosystems and protecting fish and other marine life, as well as important food sources,” said George Heyman, minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, in a release. “These projects will remove tonnes of debris, create new jobs and provide much-needed support to local governments, Indigenous communities and other groups to address marine pollution.”

Alys Hoyland is the Surfrider Pacific Rim youth coordinator and said that the nations’ involvement was “absolutely crucial to do this work well.”

The nations bring knowledge of the historical and the cultural sensitivities of each site, she said.

“It's such an honour and privilege to learn from the beach keepers that we were working with from Tseshaht,” said Hoyland. “And to use that knowledge to do the work in the right way.”

Four other Tseshaht members participated in the clean up, including Packwood’s son, Jayden.

The 23-year-old said he hadn’t visited his traditional homelands since he was eight years old and that it felt “amazing” to finally return.

“I realized how beautiful it was and it made me want to go back again,” he said.

By the end of the five days, Jayden said he was “exhausted,” but “fulfilled.”

Hannah Gentes is the CRS Indigenous initiatives coordinator and said it’s important for the nations to have sovereignty over the work that’s being done in their traditional territories.

“It's really powerful to have the descendants of the original stewards of these lands come out and do some modern modes of stewardship,” she said. “It’s a really beautiful opportunity for community members to get together and be on the land together.”

Over 90 tonnes of debris have been removed from the coast between the Brooks Peninsula and the Broken Group Islands this summer – and the project isn’t over yet, said Hoyland.

“It’s the biggest clean-up that we’ve ever seen on this coast,” she said. “Getting the plastic out of water and off the beaches gives immediate and short-term relief to those ecosystems. But mostly, it's important for data collection. We need to know what's polluting our beaches so that we're able to do a better job of preventing that pollution in the first place.”

The data is used to influence policy and create better regulation over the use of certain materials in marine environments, such as Styrofoam, said Hoyland.

Styrofoam is a highly toxic substance widely used in the marine aquaculture industry. It breaks down into tiny pieces that are almost impossible to remove from the environment, described Hoyland.

A 2020 report from the province titled What We Heard on Marine Debris in B.C said many participants suggested Styrofoam makes up a “large proportion of marine debris.”

“Industry is moving towards alternatives to unprotected polystyrene docks; however, legacy issues of exposed StyrofoamTM remain even as new ones are being installed,” read the report. “The aquaculture industry alone has over 400 floats made from exposed StyrofoamTM that would need to be replaced and recycled in the coming years.”

Currently, the project is in the debris processing phase where various types of material are prepared for recycling and data collection, said Hoyland.

“The better informed we are on the problem we're facing, the better equipped we are to implement measures to prevent plastic pollution at the source,” she said.

Surfrider Pacific Rim has been doing remote beach clean-ups on the west coast of Vancouver Island for the past five years, said Hoyland.

“The sad thing about beach cleaning is that it just treats the symptoms, it doesn't stop the pollution,” she said. “Every year we go back, and every year there's more stuff.”

Hoyland said she hopes additional funding is secured for next year to “keep up with the flow of plastic that’s coming in.”

Packwood shared a similar sentiment and said, “it can't just be a one-time thing.”

“It has to be ongoing,” she said. “Once the north winds come through, it pushes all of the debris into the backside of the islands.”

Freezers, fridges, and legacy debris from the Japanese tsunami were some of the items Packwood said she found during her time on the islands.

“It was super eye opening,” she said. “It's really affecting our ocean and all of its inhabitants.”

As Packwood reflected on her time on the Broken Group Islands, she described it as “emotional.”

“I'm super passionate about my own territorial lands,” she said. “My grandfather grew up on Benson [Island] and I spent a lot of my time in my youth on Nettle [Island] in the summers. So, this just really hit home for me.”

For Packwood, the experience brought her closer to her ancestors.

“I felt gratitude for being out there and being able to do this for my people,” she said. “I want to be a protector of the land.



Melissa Renwick, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa

Indigenous voters can play kingmaker in the federal election

Wed., September 8, 2021

This federal election sees a record-number of self-declared Indigenous candidates vying for seats in Ottawa at 77 and that could translate into a record number of Members of Parliament.

Courtney Skye, research fellow with the Indigenous think-tank the Yellowhead Institute, isn’t confident that higher numbers of Indigenous MPs will mean a stronger stand on Indigenous issues.

“I think until Indigenous people are elected they don’t really know the dynamics of being in caucus and being a part of a party,” she said.

She points to Jody Wilson-Raybould, who was recruited by Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, elected in 2015 in the British Columbia riding of Vancouver Granville, and appointed as Attorney General.

By the time Wilson-Raybould ran successfully for re-election in 2019 she had been expelled from the Liberal caucus and seeking a seat as an Independent. Wilson-Raybould, who was a former Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief for BC and a lawyer, had plenty of experience in the political realm.

“She was confronted with a lot of issues. (She) had a very strong agenda, very motivated to create change for her people and was stymied within the Liberal Party in not being able to affect the change she wanted to see. She came out very vocally that there was no hope in changing the system from within,” said Skye.

Wilson-Raybould’s book “Indian” in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power comes out on Sept. 14. The tell-all book will examine her experience in the Trudeau Cabinet and her struggles.

Wilson-Raybould is one of two Indigenous incumbents not running this time around. Eight incumbents are trying to win their seats again: six from the Liberals and one each from the New Democrats and Conservatives. Of those, four are Métis, three are First Nations and one is Inuk.

In 2015 and 2019, the election of 10 Indigenous MPs set a record.

According to numbers confirmed by Windspeaker.com, the NDP leads this election with 27 Indigenous candidates; the Liberals have 25; and the Conservatives have five. Unconfirmed numbers have the Green Party at 11 and the People’s Party of Canada with four.

As a policy analyst, Skye holds that while she has seen changes made in programming, she has not seen changes made in Canada’s systems.

“I think the system as it exists is embedded with colonialism, systemic racism and white supremacy and it is very hard to deconstruct that internally,” she said.

“What I’m interested in is nationhood and governance and restoring our traditional practices and that’s the kind of thing that can only be done in our communities internally. So that’s where I put my attention to,” said Skye, who has never voted in a federal election.

She says there is enormous pressure riding on the wins of Indigenous candidates.

“I think there are very high expectations,” she said.

Niigaan Sinclair, assistant professor of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba, goes a step further saying those expectations are unrealistic in a party system as “Canadian political parties serve Canadian political interests, period.”

“The Indigenous MPs will always serve Canadian interests. The only time in history that we’ve ever seen an Indigenous MP who could serve Indigenous interests it was Jody Wilson-Raybould when she was independent because she didn’t have to follow a party,” he said.

Indigenous MPs can only make an “incremental difference,” he says.

That’s not a view held by Arlen Dumas, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, who points to the work accomplished by Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou NDP MP Romeo Saganash, who did not run for re-election in 2019. Saganash, a Cree lawyer, laid the groundwork for what eventually became Bill C-15, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. The bill was passed into law this past June.

“I truly appreciate his individual efforts. Romeo singlehandedly brought forward United Nations legislation. He stimulated conversations and opportunities,” said Dumas in a television interview.

“Individually people can choose to use the opportunity they have to advocate and change discussions and conversations.”

Both Dumas and Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald have been vocal in encouraging First Nations voters to support First Nations and other Indigenous candidates.

The AFN has even gone as far as analyzing population data from Statistics Canada and Elections Canada and has identified 24 ridings in which First Nations electors could have made a difference in the 2019 election. In those ridings the representation of First Nations electors was higher than the margin of victory for the winning candidate; and First Nations electors represented at least five per cent of the electors and the margin of victory for the winning candidate was less than five per cent. These ridings are right across the country.

“All parties should consider the role that First Nations issues and electors play in the potential role of ‘kingmaker’ in the upcoming September 20, 2021 election. In this list, 10 seats are held by Liberals, 8 by New Democrats, 5 by Conservatives, and 1 by the Bloc Québécois,” says the AFN.

While leaders have been fairly quiet on Indigenous issues throughout most of the election campaign, Indigenous issues are topics in both the French and English leaders’ debates.

In the French debate tonight, “Indigenous peoples, cultural industries and cultural identity” is the issue, while tomorrow night’s English debate will address “Reconciliation.”

Joining Trudeau in the debates, both to be held in Gatineau, are Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc Québécois), Erin O’Toole (Conservatives), Annamie Paul (Green Party), and Jagmeet Singh (NDP).

Sinclair points out that the Trudeau government served the interests of Indigenous peoples best in its second term when the Liberals sat as a minority.

“It’s worth noting they’ve passed the most amount of bills in relation to Indigenous peoples when they have the NDP in their government, propping them up.

“Notice when you have a minority parliament you have the most amount of success for Indigenous peoples. Notice when the Liberals were a majority, almost nothing got done for Indigenous peoples. That just tells you how a minority parliament is the best situation for Indigenous peoples,” said Sinclair.

Windspeaker.com

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

AMC continues fight to reclaim Children's Special Allowance funds

AMC has previously claimed the government used “sneaky and immoral” tactics to get the omnibus bill  through the legislature, and “strategically hid” Section 231 of the bill.

Wed., September 8, 2021

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) has taken another step in their legal challenge of a provincial bill they say denies First Nations people who have been involved with the Child and Family Services (CFS) system the right to sue the government for money that AMC believes has been taken by the province illegitimately.

AMC, an organization that represents 62 First Nations in Manitoba, announced on Wednesday they have filed their written submissions in their challenge of the provincial Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act. (BITSA)

The province passed the omnibus bill in November of 2020, and AMC has previously claimed the government used “sneaky and immoral” tactics to get BITSA through the legislature, and “strategically hid” Section 231 of the bill.

AMC claims that Section 231 of BITSA will not allow for legal action to take place, and give no opportunity for the possibility that the provincial government could be forced to hand over hundreds of millions in federal money from the Children’s Special Allowance (CSA) to First Nations people who have been involved in the CFS system.

The CSA is a federal allowance of approximately $530 per month, per child given to agencies that care for First Nations children in care, and is meant to be used for education, training, and recreational activities.

But between 2005 and 2019 the Manitoba government forced agencies to remit the money to the province, as they argued they had been paying for the care of the children and therefore were entitled to CSA money.

A previously-filed Class Action Lawsuit against the Manitoba government could have potentially provided compensation for children who didn’t benefit from the CSA, but with Bill 34 passing last fall the province was granted immunity from its actions and from the lawsuit that could have seen them forced to hand over $338 million.

In a statement released on Wednesday AMC Grand Chief Arlen Dumas said that through BITSA the province “legitimized the capturing of Children’s Special Allowance.”

“First Nations children are disproportionately separated from their families, culture and Nations,” Dumas said. “The quality of care provided under the CFS system, and the lack of supports for life skills after leaving the system, leads many former First Nations youth to the justice system, becoming homeless, and/or becoming vulnerable to being missing or murdered.

“Instead of taking the CSA from First Nations children, the funding could have been used to ensure better outcomes for First Nations children leaving care.”

AMC said that in their written submissions they will argue the bill absolves the province from any liability for receiving CSA money, and in doing so “denies First Nations children equality and equal benefit of the law on the grounds of age, race, aboriginality-residence, and family status.”

Hearings for AMC’S legal challenge to the bill are scheduled to begin on October 25.

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun

UN asked to censure discrimination against off-reserve, non-status Indigenous People

Thu., September 9, 2021
OTTAWA — The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is filing a legal complaint against the Canadian government with the United Nations Human Rights Committee, alleging discrimination against off-reserve and non-status Indigenous People.

The complaint says Justin Trudeau's Liberal government has adopted a "distinctions-based approach" to developing Indigenous policy.

As part of that approach, the complaint says the government has chosen to engage with only three recognized groups: the Assembly of First Nations, the Metis National Council and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, none of which represents off-reserve or non-status Indigenous People.

More than 70 per cent of Canada's Indigenous People live off-reserve but the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), which touts itself as their national voice, says it has not been involved adequately, if at all, in consultations or negotiations on self-government, land claims, health care, education or natural resources.

CAP's complaint is being submitted under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Complaints under the covenant are adjudicated by the UN Human Rights Committee, and since Canada is a signatory to the covenant, CAP argues it will be bound by the committee's ruling on the matter.

The organization says it has chosen this approach because taking the federal government to court in Canada is "extremely expensive, takes many years to resolve and is unlikely to result in an effective remedy."

"The legal filing clearly makes the case that the Canadian government's discrimination is based on the inaccurate and stereotypical assumption that Canada's off-reserve Indigenous People are less Indigenous than their reserve-based counterparts and that federal government programs and policy fail to meet their needs," CAP says in a news release.

"Indigenous People in Canada still face widespread discrimination and racism in justice and health care," Kim Beaudin, national vice-chief of CAP, says in the release.

"Prime Minister Trudeau has allowed a discriminatory approach to off-reserve Indigenous Peoples that is wrong and is badly hurting grassroots Indigenous Peoples."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected version of an earlier story. It corrects the spelling of CAP national vice-chief Kim Beaudin's name.

Ontario court finds province broke law on lack of public consultations

Wed., September 8, 2021

TORONTO — An Ontario court has found the provincial government broke the law by failing to adhere to the Environmental Bill of Rights.

Several environmental groups brought forth applications for judicial reviews over the province's alleged failure to consult with the public before enacting the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act.

Late last year, the province opened up consultations to the public months after the passage of Bill 197 last summer.

The Superior Court of Justice says the minister of municipal affairs acted "unreasonably and unlawfully" by consulting with the public months after it enacted changes.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark said the government was forced to act quickly "in the face of a rapidly changing pandemic."

"The ministry consulted with the public after Bill 197 was implemented, and continues to do so, with a clear commitment to take the public’s input into consideration whenever an enhanced Minister’s Zoning Order is used," Zoë Knowles said.

"As Ontario continues to respond to COVID-19, we will not let red tape put Ontarians’ health and safety at risk."

The three-judge panel granted the judicial review in part but dismissed numerous other challenges the environmental groups raised about other ministries.

The court said the government failed to post proposed amendments over the controversial use of Ministerial Zoning Orders on the Environmental Registry prior to implementation.

The province has used the so-called MZOs to fast-track land developments, especially in environmentally sensitive Greenbelt.

Environmental groups that were part of the case hailed the Sept. 3 decision as a victory for the environment.

"As Environmental Commissioner of Ontario for 15 years, I am heartened to see the court uphold the rights of people to participate in government decision-making affecting the environment," said Gord Miller, chair of Earthroots, one of the organizations involved in the court battle.

"The court's declaration is clear – the Government of Ontario broke the law in violating those rights."

The Canadian Environmental Law Association said the decision reaffirms the public's rights.

"The Environmental Bill of Rights provides very significant tools for the people of Ontario to know about, and participate in, decisions that affect their environment," said Theresa McClenaghan, the executive director of CELA.

Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said it was a win for the public.

"Ontarians have a right to participate in government decision-making that impacts the environment," Schreiner said.

"By violating Ontarians’ environmental rights, Doug Ford has not only broken the law but has also made it clear that he will put his pro-sprawl, pro-developer agenda above all else."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2021.

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press

UCP  PROVES THERE IS NO GOVERNMENT LIKE NO GOVERNMENT
'Boiling point': Alberta doctors warn of health system collapse as COVID cases climb


Thu., September 9, 2021



CALGARY — Alberta's health-care system is on the verge of collapse, warns a group of physicians who are pleading with the government to strengthen public health measures to fend off a relentless fourth wave of COVID-19.

Dr. Shazma Mithani, an emergency room physician in Edmonton, said a staffing crisis, overwhelmed intensive care units and mixed messaging from the province has created a "dire" situation.

Her biggest fear, she said, is that doctors will need to triage patients should hospitalizations continue to mount.

"We don't want to have to make these decisions where we're choosing who gets to have (intensive) care or not. And we're getting closer and closer to that every day," Mithani said in an interview.

Alberta Health Services, the province's health-care provider, said in a statement Wednesday there were 258 intensive care beds in the province, which includes 85 added spaces. It said intensive care unit capacity sat at 87 per cent — just slightly below a seven-day average of 91 per cent.

Mithani said the government needs to listen to frontline health-care workers and implement stronger public health restrictions to prevent the health system from crumbling.

"This is much, much worse than I think people understand," she said. "We, as health-care workers, are telling you that things are very dire, that ICU beds are running out, that we are stretched very thin in terms of our hospital capacity."

On Friday, the Government of Alberta reinstated an indoor mask mandate for public spaces and an alcohol sales curfew at 10 p.m. It also announced a $100 incentive for unvaccinated Albertans who get their shots in response to an intensifying crisis.

Dr. Ilan Schwartz, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta, said those efforts are "all but meaningless."

"They are worse than doing nothing at all because now it is going to delay the government from taking more definitive action," Schwartz said during a panel discussion Wednesday with advocacy group Protect Our Province.

Dr. Darren Markland, an intensive care physician in Edmonton who was also on the panel, said the government should consider vaccine passports and a circuit-breaker lockdown, which is a tight set of restrictions for a limited amount of time to curb ongoing transmission of COVID-19.

Relying solely on vaccinations won't reign in a growing fourth wave driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, added Mithani.

It takes at least six weeks for people to build full immunity against COVID-19 because vaccine shots need to be separated by a month and then allow another two weeks to develop protection.

In the meantime, there are no signs COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are slowing. There were 647 Albertans in hospital Wednesday due to COVID-19, with 147 of those patients in intensive care. Hospitalizations jumped by 7.5 per cent from Tuesday. Another 18 people died in a 24-hour period.

The doctors with Protect Our Province said there are risks related to government inaction. Those risks, they said, include reduced health-care access for Albertans and increased burnout among health-care professionals.

Alberta Health Services announced late Wednesday that all scheduled, elective surgeries and outpatient procedures in the Calgary Zone have been postponed for the rest of the week. It said on social media the move was necessary to deploy qualified staff to intensive and critical care units.

"The situation really has come to a boiling point," said Schwartz.

"It's going to be a while before the premier and the chief medical officer of health will be willing to step back and accept that these actions have failed to immediately curb transmission and by that point, we're going to be in dire, dire trouble."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2021.

Alanna Smith, The Canadian Press

KENNNEY PROVES THERE IS NO GOVERNMENT LIKE NO GOVERNMENT
Masks or no masks? Fear, frustration as Alberta schools set their own rules

Wed., September 8, 2021,

Students and staff wear masks as they attend class in Montreal. Alberta school boards are grappling with provincial exemption to public masking rules. 

(Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press - image credit)

With the provincial government stepping back from the responsibility, school boards across Alberta are having to make gut-wrenching choices about whether or not to bring in mandatory masking requirements to protect students and staff against COVID-19.

At a special meeting Tuesday, trustees on the Parkland School Division board narrowly voted against reinstating a masking policy. Face coverings will be strongly recommended — but not mandatory — for students, staff and visitors.

Jacqueline Sampson, a parent of two students in the school division west of Edmonton, said the province should not be downloading divisive public health decisions onto local school boards.

"I don't think they should be forced to make a decision like this, but the Alberta government has forced them," Sampson said in an interview Wednesday.

"And so, because the Alberta government is not choosing to protect kids, somebody's got to."

Last Friday, in a bid to clamp down on rising fourth wave, Premier Jason Kenney announced that masks would become mandatory in indoor public spaces and workplaces in Alberta.

Schools, however, are exempt.

School boards have been left to set their own policies on masking, creating a patchwork of rules across the province as students return to the classroom.

Public and Catholic school boards in Edmonton and Calgary have since voted to have masks remain mandatory. Students and staff in Red Deer, Fort McMurray and Elk Island Public Schools will also need to mask up.

When Education Minister Adriana LaGrange promised a "normal" school year on Aug. 13, Alberta had 4,438 active cases and 152 people in hospital with the illness.

As of Tuesday, there were 15,486 active cases with 602 people in hospital.

Detailed school data is no longer being reported online. Provincial data shows 2,892 of Alberta's active cases are among people aged five to 19.

"It's going to totally backfire. " -Jacqueline Sampson, parent

Sampson fears the hodgepodge of rules will leave her children, ages six and 12, at risk — and accelerate the spread of COVID in Alberta communities.

If she could afford to keep her six-year-old at home until she's eligible for vaccination, she would.

"When the cases go up, you can be sure that those cases are going to be coming from schools," she said. "It's going to totally backfire. "

According to back-to-school guidelines announced in August, students must wear masks on school transportation until at least Sept. 27.

Beyond the school bus, classroom policies on masks have diverged.

On Wednesday, trustees with Rocky Mountain House-based Wild Rose School Division voted 4-2 against making masks mandatory.

The board, however, voted in favour of mandatory masking for school visitors, and prohibiting schools from holding any large indoor gatherings.

'Fed up'

Wednesday's Wild Rose board meeting demonstrated the divisions facing schools grappling with whether or not to introduce mask mandates.

Parent Roxanne Franczak urged trustees to reject mandatory masks.

She said parents should decide what's best — and said there is no reason why boards should adopt rulers stricter than those set out by the province.

Masks are harmful to students' mental health, Franczak said.

"This is not normal for healthy childhood development," she said. "Parents and children are getting fed up with the narrative and restrictions being pushed upon us."

Wild Rose trustee Daryl Scott, who ultimately voted against the mask mandate, said he supported the motion but felt pressure from parents to reject it.

"The government's downloaded a bombshell," Scott said.

"We, as school boards in the province of Alberta, have been asking for autonomy, more autonomy … Well, the government's picked a very hot topic and said, 'There, deal with it.'"

Protecting the school year

School boards are making health decisions with limited access to public health data, he said.

"There's lots of evidence out there showing vaccination is one of the ways to get out of this pandemic but we can't force everybody to be vaccinated. So there's a problem on our doorstep that, no matter what we say or do, we can't ignore."

Children under age 12 are not eligible for vaccines.

The province has stopped contact tracing in classrooms and is no longer notifying schools of positive cases. School boards are having to rely on the honour system.

Wild Rose trustee Russ Hickman said that despite receiving complaints, he felt compelled to vote in favour.

He said he wants to avoid another year marked by closures and quarantines.

"We can protect children and protect the school year by implementing mask mandates," Hickman said.