The proposed policy changes negatively affect the quality of care. The proposed changes to age groups are particularly concerning. Current Preschool age groups include children 30 months-6 years old. Under the proposed changes, Preschool age groups would include children aged 24 months - 5years old. Current Kindergarten age groups include children 44-68 months old. Under the proposed changes, Kindergarten age groups would shift to children aged 44 months - 7 years old. Mixing children of these young ages (24 months) with those who are older is not developmentally appropriate. When children are grouped by their developmental proximity, educators can better meet the needs of all children in the room. It is difficult to plan programing for and to equally support groups of children that are so different developmentally. Under the proposed changes, the staffing ratios for each age group appear to remain constant. The staffing ratio for each named age group remains constant, but the age of the children included in these groups has changed. 24 month old children were previously in maximum groupings of 15 children, with a 1:5 staff to child ratio. Under the changes, 24 month old children are now consider preschoolers, and would be in maximum groupings of 24 children, with 1:6 staff to child support. These changes put children safety at risk. There is less supervision of younger, more vulnerable groups, putting children's well-being at risk.

Roughly 16% of couples in Canada experience infertility. This number has doubled since the 1980s. Furthermore, the costs of fertility treatments can be prohibitively expensive. For example, fertility treatment for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) can cost between $15,000 to $23,000 (plus $2,000-$7,000 for medications). Currently, the majority of Canadian provinces do NOT offer funding for fertility treatments. And without funding, treatments become impossible to afford for many Canadians. Thus, we are leaving them with the unfortunate reality of never getting to become parents. ... MORE INFORMATION “In a country where about one in six Canadian couples experiences infertility, this poses a financial barrier for many.” - CBC “Canada is often lauded for its universal health-care system. But no comprehensive coverage exists for assisted fertility treatments, such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF).” - CBC “Roughly 16% (or 1 in 6) couples in Canada experience infertility. This number has doubled since the 1980s.” - Public Health Agency of Canada “IVF can cost between $15,000 to $23,000 (excluding costs of medications) depending on the level of intervention necessary. Medications are not covered by OHIP.” - Hannam Fertility Clinic “... infertility treatment causes high stress and puts a large burden on people's emotions and relationships.” - CBC “... it can cause severe emotional distress and affect someone's long-term well-being. “"Some people perceive suffering from infertility as like having cancer," he said, adding it's important to have networks of support.”” - CBC “Treatment coverage currently exists in only four provinces and varies significantly. Ontario provides funding to cover the first round of IVF. Manitoba offers a tax credit and New Brunswick has a grant to help cover partial costs. Quebec previously covered three rounds of IVF, but rolled back its coverage in November 2015 to a refundable tax credit. The remaining nine provinces and territories have no coverage.” - CBC “‘Fortunately we had the resources to do that,’ said Montgomery, ‘That also kind of felt unfair because I felt, well okay, that's great for us, but what about all those other couples out there that don't have equity to leverage to do this or investments that they can cash out on?’ - CBC “..."That's what I can afford. I'm not willing to go into debt for this process.” - CBC “...having a standard, publicly funded system across provinces would improve the safety and quality of IVF services and lower health-care costs in the long run.” "I think that one of the fundamental benefits of having something that is uniform, that is national, is that every individual Canadian and IVF patient is going to be treated similarly and have access to the same kind of treatment," - CBC “Canada does not have universal coverage for assisted fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization...” - CBC “Dr. Anthony Cheung, a Vancouver-based fertility specialist, said fertility needs to be more integrated in the public health system, adding that treatments are covered in Australia and many European countries.” - CBC Ottawa Fertility Clinic the costs for treatments are - example

This government is politicizing the distribution of vaccines to low-income and needy people. They are using it to gain votes in the next election. This is wrong.

Many low-income people use Dollar stores and budget stores that have been left off a list of "essential" goods during COVID in favor of rich area stores. This is discriminatory and will make more people get sick and die - especially in areas hard hit by COVID 19.

Covid 19 will eventually stop spreading. As seen in Australia. Australia has minimal cases. This is important because it will save lives as well and allow us to get back to life. It will prevent variants from coming into Canada and allow us time to Eliminate the Present Pandemic.

These front-line workers are caring for the children of other front-line workers but are all but forgotten. Emergency daycares are open and these workers were rly with children, staff and parents and need to be prioritized for the vaccine.

A mining company is applying to drill for Gold in Grassy Narrows Territory against Grassy Narrows’ will. This could lead to a dangerous gold mine that would compound the harm that mercury, clearcut logging, hydro dams and residential schools have already done to Grassy Narrows’ lives, lands, and way of life. This violation of Grassy Narrows’ Land Declaration is an important threat to Grassy Narrows’ self-determination, rights and culture. Tell Minister Rickford to deny Trillium Gold’s permit to drill at the Leo Project, and withdraw Grassy Narrows Territory from mining activity. Sign our petition calling on Minister Rickford to withdraw all Grassy Territory form mining and mineral exploration now!

It will help low income citizens comply with the tax filing laws and get their benefits.

The Premier constantly insists that his decisions are based on the recommendations of qualified doctors and on science. Across the board doctors have indicated that the current lock-down measures are inadequate. More people are becoming infected, Intensive Care Units are overwhelmed and people are dying. Whole families are being infected, are sent off to different communities as local hospitals cannot cope and many are dying alone. When Malls and Big Box stores are open and filled with shoppers, this risks not only the shoppers who have chosen not to stay home but also the staff who are exposed to significant risk if they hope to keep a job and income. We hear over and over a "stay at home" message but how does that make sense when we encourage lineups and shopping? It is time to stop this virus before there are more mutations, including some that may be vaccine resistant.

On March 28th City Councillor Stephen Andrew tweeted "I do not believe there is a 'rape culture' in Victoria." We wonder why then 1 in 3 women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. We wonder why then it is the collective, normalized experience of women to live in fear of rape. We wonder why it is that 80% of women/girls who are sexually assaulted know the perpetrator. Stephen Andrew's assertion that there is no "rape culture" in Victoria exposes a deeply problematic mindset that has no place on city council. The way Stephen Andrew denied rape culture and minimized women’s voices and experiences to defend men’s behaviour is the very definition of rape culture. What's worse is that Stephen Andrew denied the exisitenace of rape culture in response to the Survivors Story Project: https://www.instagram.com/survivorstoriesproject/ A community that have supported survivors and given them a platform to bravely come forward and share their credible stories of traumatic rape and sexual assault which have resulted in the recent termination of at least four men in the real estate industry. These women have found some justice where other avenues have failed. Stephen Andrew undermines this community of support and the bravery of these women coming forward by referring to them, in his 'apology' tweet, as 'justice by mob' that 'isn't good enough'. We think Stephen Andrew isn't 'good enough' to represent the City of Victoria. Stephen Andrew doesn't seem to know or care that less than 5% of sexual assaults are reported to police or that ⅔ of survivors report NOT having confidence in the criminal justice system. Most victims of sexualized violence, regardless of gender, do not report for fear they won't be believed. Stephen Andrews public statements further discredit and dismiss those who have the strength to come forward. Stephen Andrew deleted his tweet ONLY because of the public backlash he faced and in an act of reputational damage control he took to the media to say HE would lead a 'task force on sexual abuse'. We are unmoved by Stephen Andrews claims that he was "awakened" in the span of 24 hours. We do not want someone who just hours before did NOT believe survivors to take a leadership role in determining the path forward. Clearly Stephen Andrews reversal is politically calculated. Clearly Stephen Andrew doesn't not understand the damage he has done and how many will remain silent because of his words. Stephen Andrew has proven he knows nothing of the realities women and survivors face or the prevalence of sexualized violence. He has proven that he has no understanding of the current system that absolutely deters reporting. He has proven that he has zero regard for survivors' truths. Apologies are not enough. We are calling on him to resign. It is long overdue that Victoria council address rape culture in our city by advancing its 2019-2022 Strategic Plan goal to "explore ways to end sexual harassment and assault in Victoria" but THEY MUST DO MORE. We don't need a task force, we need an action plan. We need it immediately and we need it to centre the voices and experiences of survivors. We, the community, believe survivors and we NEED our city council to, too.

Just because the ocean is an unknown quantity to most of us and is being used as a dumping ground for our garbage, doesn't mean that we can ignore the suffering of the creatures and plant life that dwell below. We will have depleted all the fish stocks by around 2043 if we carry on in this manner, overfishing until there's nothing left. Sharks, an apex predator, are having their fins ripped off and are then thrown back into the sea: all for the benefit of those who think shark fin soup will enhance their sex lives.... Remember that tragic movie "The Cove"? Well it's happening all over again..the Japanese village of Taiji is practising horrific dolphin abuse on a grand scale. They are blaming the dolphins for eating the blue fin tuna, worth millions on the open market, when they are the ones who have fished the tuna to the verge of extinction. The only way that the undersea world can recover is if we stop eating fish, stop dumping junk and show a lot more respect for nature.

The COVID-19 crisis has revealed that swift emergency action and systemic change in the long-term public interest is both necessary and possible. The United Nations has reported that the destruction of nature is the root cause of present and future global pandemics, and the Government of Canada acknowledges that the climate and ecological emergency will contribute to worsening public health crises, including the further spread of infectious diseases. Climate change is rapidly outpacing scientific predictions, and the world is fast approaching tipping points that threaten abrupt and irreversible heating and biodiversity loss. Biodiversity loss and species extinction threaten human food systems. The climate crisis is predicted to lead to catastrophic economic losses and worsening political instability, affecting the most marginalized communities first and foremost. The people of Canada should be able to directly participate in the environmental, economic, social and political decisions which affect their lives and those of future generations. Citizens’ assemblies are representative, democratic instruments well-suited to overcoming political deadlock and addressing complex problems. Citizens’ assemblies produce evidence-based public judgment, and are not equivalent to other forms of public consultation, such as town halls or referendums, which rely solely on the collection of public opinion. Other G7 countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, have created national citizens’ assemblies on climate policy. So has the state of Washington. Since there exists a pre-qualified vendor of record with the Government of Canada, with expertise in the design and delivery of citizens’ assemblies (MASS LBP, masslbp.com), there is no reason for Canada not to do the same.