Workers' rights abuses must be taken seriously by the City Council. With the upcoming municipal election, future City Council members need to be aware that this issue is one that needs to be on their agenda. The longer that the City of Vancouver takes to properly enforce its Ethical Purchasing policy, the longer it fails to support the rights of workers. For example, in 2021, the Workers Rights Consortium reported that two employees from Palm Apparel and Sewing International had died due to the companies' refusal to pay legally mandated medical benefits. One woman (and her newly born child) died due to lack of access to maternity care. The hospital told her that she would need to pay more than five months' wages for the care she and her child needed, all because Palm Apparel did not bother to pay its employees' healthcare coverage. The City of Vancouver has contracts with both Palm Apparel and Sewing International. However, due to the passive complaints-based approach, the City was not immediately aware of these infractions and therefore could not work with either company to meet the ethical purchasing policy in a timely manner. The lack of support (and seemingly awareness) for workers' rights internationally is disheartening. People should not have to die to bring attention to these abuses, and yet the City of Vancouver has not acted regardless of these deaths. The City of Vancouver must take a stronger and more pro-active approach to ethical purchasing.

Earlier this year, Premier Ford prematurely ended universal mask protections in Ontario. The result has been a catastrophe - an overburdened healthcare system, thousands of COVID hospitalizations, an increasing toll on the economy. [1,2] When school boards resisted the move, Ford stripped them of the ability to set their own COVID policies and forced them to end mask protections - needlessly infecting more kids. [3] Now, with cases still high and a fall surge looming - and in the total absence of any effective government response - school boards must be equipped to take care of their students. Doug Ford must lift the prohibition on school boards setting their own COVID policies, and allow them to reinstate masking and other protections for themselves based on conditions locally. Sources: [1] CTV: "The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and it contributes to Ontario’s growing number of health system crises," https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-science-table-to-be-dissolved-next-month-as-director-warns-that-pandemic-will-continue-to-be-a-daunting-challenge-1.6043546 [2] CIBC: "Dropping mask mandates may actually be working to prolong COVID's economic costs" https://economics.cibccm.com/cds?id=69e88cfb-7f52-4ff4-b8e9-f52fd983a1df&flag=E [3] CTV: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/03/11/tdsb-mandatory-mask-extension/

Poor housing and homelessness is costly for cities and taxpayers. The average monthly costs of shelter beds are $1,932, almost ten times higher than the average monthly cost of social housing of $199.92. In addition, homeless people and those poorly housed have a higher rate of illness. The monthly cost of a hospital bed is $10,900. Preventing eviction is often the most effective way to prevent homelessness. If the next Owen Sound mayor and city council chooses to continue to be inactive in addressing attainable housing and homelessness, they must be held accountable for the additional individual and societal costs to health and justice services associated with an increase in homelessness. Join the Movement! Add your voice to hundreds of neighbours and community members who want our next City Council to support a bold vision for solving Owen Sound's housing and homelessness crisis - starting with an Affordable Housing and Homelessness Plan.

The Rideau Regional Centre was closed in 2009. At the city’s homeless shelters, some studies have found the percentage of long-term residents with a mental or developmental disability to be as high as 70 per cent. We can do better than that.

Children are being hit, smacked, kicked and pinched by their parents everyday in Canada. In other countries that have banned corporal punishment, new support became available for all parents to learn more safe and effective ways to discipline. In Canada, we wait until it is too late to support parents who are at risk of abusing children. We wait until children are struggling from trauma to support them. Canada is not proactive. We are failing families.

Our children's life is in danger!! The Taliban is the most misogynist regime on the planet today, committing large-scale human rights violations, establishing a system of total gender apartheid, and specifically targeting those they see as promoting “western” values. As Canadians, we must now hold our government accountable for the harmful consequences of their actions internationally and call on PM Trudeau, Minister Fraser, and IRCC to fulfill a moral obligation to save as many lives as possible.

We look to the next Premier to lead us to climate solutions so we can inspire others, and create resilient communities across BC. As members of the BC NDP, we call on all candidates to sign this pledge, to commit to real climate action and to stand by this commitment as Premier of B.C. How this works: Leadership candidates who sign this pledge commit to enact these commitments once sworn in as Premier. NDP Members commit to only vote for a leadership candidate who signs this pledge before November 30th, 2022. If you’re not a member yet, sign up before September 4th, 2022 so that you can have a voice in this election and help choose the next Premier: http://bcndp.ca/join Email us at [email protected] with the heading “climate pledge” to sign up for the climate first voting bloc and stay informed. Note: Ashley Zarbatany is the chair of the BC NDP's Standing Committee on the Environment and Economy (SCOEE). The action items were prioritized and revised democratically as a committee with input from broader membership as well.

If you live in Ontario, this may be one of the most important petitions you sign this year... Only massive urgent transformational change can solve the climate emergency we are in. This will not happen on its own. It will take every one of us working together to push for critical change … but it can be done! The steep price of oil and gas has driven up the cost of transportation, food and other essentials, making life unaffordable. These same fossil fuels also worsen the climate emergency causing tornadoes, floods, extreme heat, droughts and wildfires. And they produce deadly air pollution which already kills 6600 Ontarians prematurely every year [1]. The clear and cheapest solution is green renewable energy. Unbelievably, the Ontario government instead is planning a massive increase in gas-fired electricity, burning even more fossil fuels [2] - an unacceptable move that will threaten all our futures. While Ontarians are struggling to put food on the table and find affordable housing, this government has been in lock-step with mega land-developers making multi-million dollar profits while they consume our dwindling precious farmland, green spaces and wetlands, ignoring protective regulations in some areas, to promote harmful unnecessary highways [3,4] and urban sprawl [5]. The result: fewer, oversized, expensive, and more isolated car-dependent homes consuming more fossil fuels and land for the few who can afford, while further deepening the climate crisis, fatal air pollution, housing shortages and food insecurity. It doesn’t have to be this way! The solutions for the healthy thriving future we all deserve already exist. If our government chooses to ignore solutions, it’s up to every Ontarian to pay attention, to stand up for ourselves and our loved ones urgently, and demand the Government of Ontario take urgent climate action while we still have time to secure a livable future: 1) Sign this petition to demand government accountability for an urgent climate action plan 2) Sign on to the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign (OCEC) at: https://www.ontarioclimateemergency.ca/individual-pledge and share widely — join over 250 diverse groups and individuals representing over 850,000 Ontarians to increase your impact in calling for positive urgent change to protect your future 3) Use your vote - every single election! And get others to vote for pro-environmental candidates in every future election. With the lowest voter turnout in history for the June 2022 Ontario provincial election, the current majority government actually represents only 18% of all eligible voters [6]. Local level decisions have a huge impact. Voting at every level of government matters to our everyday lives like never before - add your voice because your future is truly at stake and your vote can make the difference! Connect with the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign on social media! https://twitter.com/ocecampaign https://www.instagram.com/onclimateemergencycampaign/ https://www.facebook.com/ONClimateEmergencyCampaign Sources: [1] https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/2021-health-effects-indoor-air-pollution.html [2] https://www.theenergymix.com/2022/01/10/ontario-grid-faces-375-emissions-increase-as-ford-government-embraces-new-gas-plants/ [3] https://cal.streetsblog.org/2015/11/18/caltrans-admits-building-roads-induces-congestion-but-admitting-a-problem-is-just-the-first-step/ [4] https://www.thestar.com/life/2021/12/06/highway-disease-doctors-prescribe-saying-no-to-highway-413-development.html?rf [5] https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/chief-public-health-officer-reports-state-public-health-canada/2017-designing-healthy-living.html [6] https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2022/06/03/18-of-ontario-voters-handed-doug-ford-a-majority-government-whether-thats-a-bad-thing-depends-who-you-ask.html

As Canadians, we can be proud of the reputation Canada has earned for providing safety to persecuted people from across the globe. We can't now tarnish that reputation by turning our backs on Afghans who are at risk precisely because they worked with us to advance values which we as Canadians share -- those of democracy, human rights, and gender equality. The Taliban is the most misogynist regime on the planet today, committing large scale human rights violations, establishing a system of total gender aparthied and specifically targeting those they see as promoting “western” values. As Canadians, we must now hold our government accountable for the harmful consequences of their actions internationally, and call on PM Trudeau, Minister Fraser and IRCC to fulfill a moral obligation to save as many lives as possible.

COVID remains extremely dangerous to many, despite vaccination. Immune compromised people are exposed to great risk each time the virus is present around them. It is also estimated that as many as 1 in 5 people who suffer a COVID infection will experience Long COVID, nerve damage, heart damage, or other permanent disabilities. And COVID exposure in the womb can cause miscarriage or neurological disorders in children. In addition, the advent of increasingly infectious variants is directly due to the decision to let COVID spread uncontrolled in a highly vaccinated population, selecting for more evasive mutations. Universal masking has been demonstrated to greatly reduce the risk of COVID exposure. This is why the Ontario science advisory table chair and the Ontario Hospital Association are all recommending that mask requirements be extended for high-risk, essential locations. With BA.5 on the rise and the pandemic entering what may be its most prolific phase yet, it's long past time to make decisions based on science rather than politics. The Minister of Health must implement a mask mandate at essential locations such as medical facilities, grocery stores, and on transit, to restore accessibility to immune-compromised and pregnant and people and to finally begin confronting the scourge of COVID with real mitigations.

COVID remains extremely dangerous to many, despite vaccination. Immune compromised people are exposed to great risk each time the virus is present around them. It is also estimated that as many as 1 in 5 people who suffer a COVID infection will experience Long COVID, nerve damage, heart damage, or other permanent disabilities. And COVID exposure in the womb can cause miscarriage or neurological disorders in children. In addition, the advent of increasingly infectious variants is directly due to the decision to let COVID spread uncontrolled in a highly vaccinated population, selecting for more evasive mutations. Universal masking has been demonstrated to greatly reduce the risk of COVID exposure. This is why the Ontario science advisory table chair and the Ontario Hospital Association are all recommending that mask requirements be extended for high-risk, essential locations. With BA.5 on the rise and the pandemic entering what may be its most prolific phase yet, it's long past time to make decisions based on science rather than politics. The Minister of Health must implement a mask mandate at essential locations such as medical facilities, grocery stores, and on transit, to restore accessibility to immune-compromised and pregnant and people and to finally begin confronting the scourge of COVID with real mitigations.

COVID remains extremely dangerous to many, despite vaccination. Immune compromised people are exposed to great risk each time the virus is present around them. It is also estimated that as many as 1 in 5 people who suffer a COVID infection will experience Long COVID, nerve damage, heart damage, or other permanent disabilities. And COVID exposure in the womb can cause miscarriage or neurological disorders in children. In addition, the advent of increasingly infectious variants is directly due to the decision to let COVID spread uncontrolled in a highly vaccinated population, selecting for more evasive mutations. Universal masking has been demonstrated to greatly reduce the risk of COVID exposure. This is why the Ontario science advisory table chair and the Ontario Hospital Association are all recommending that mask requirements be extended for high-risk, essential locations. With BA.5 on the rise and the pandemic entering what may be its most prolific phase yet, it's long past time to make decisions based on science rather than politics. The Minister of Health must implement a mask mandate at essential locations such as medical facilities, grocery stores, and on transit, to restore accessibility to immune-compromised and pregnant and people and to finally begin confronting the scourge of COVID with real mitigations.