Right now in Canada, the ability to follow COVID-19 social distancing guidelines without serious negative impacts to one’s livelihood is a luxury that is unavailable to significant portions of the Canadian population. In particular, it is largely limited to those whose occupations and existing financial security enable them to work from home, and whose living arrangements do not put them at significant risk for virus transmission. Disproportionately, the Canadians who enjoy this fortuitous situation are the traditional beneficiaries of white privilege, who, not coincidentally, are those whose lived experiences bears the closest resemblance to that of Canada’s political elite. For instance, while restaurants are presently required by law to implement social distancing measures and hygiene protocols for the protection of their guests, they are not obligated to provide improved working conditions for their staff.[1] Meanwhile, the Canadians who have suffered the worst repercussions, both from COVID-19 itself and from the public health regulations instituted in response to the virus, are those who must choose between social distancing and having a source of income and/or live in crowded housing. Disproportionately, the people in these circumstances live in racialized communities in major urban centres. It should not surprise us that the privileged experience enjoyed by our public officials instills them with an intellectual laziness that prevents them from using scientific evidence about the social and environmental determinants of health as the basis for crafting their policies.[2] The government of the State of Vermont has implemented a set of policy measures that make adherence to social distancing guidelines feasible for all Vermont residents. Some of these measures include free pop-up testing sites in vulnerable communities, meal delivery, hazard pay, and state-supported housing for homeless Vermonters. Additionally, Vermont Governor Phil Scott has proposed the distribution of $1000 stipends to Vermonters required to self-isolate. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US government’s leading infectious diseases expert, has endorsed this approach as “a model for the country.”[3] This approach might serve as a template for Canada as well, and, if implemented in conjunction with a massive ramp-up of vaccination efforts, might be sufficient to crush the pandemic in Canada within a matter of a few months. Such an effort could be funded through a combination of voluntary donations from the Canadian public in general – as well as large tax hikes directed at Canada’s richest 10%, whose lifestyles and business activities exacerbate racism and economic inequality, and promote the spread of zoonotic pathogens to human populations. Finally, a massive overhaul is needed for Canada's COVID-19 vaccination plan, which has thus far been slow and disorderly. This is largely a result of how, between 2015 and 2019, the Trudeau Liberals have wasted the opportunity to improve Canada's vaccine manufacturing capabilities. This has forced us to rely on shipments from external manufacturers, and limited our ability to deliver vaccines to Canadians in a timely manner. This problem may be partly addressed by accelerating the process of approving all proven vaccine candidates. The standards and procedures on which Health Canada has historically relied for approval of vaccine candidates were designed during, and for, non-crisis circumstances, and are therefore unsuitable for situations in which rapid distribution of vaccines to the public is a priority. All experimental or bureaucratic irregularities not resulting in serious illness or fatality should therefore be considered acceptable for the purposes of determining approval of vaccine candidates for distribution to the Canadian population. In light of the federal government's recent decision to accept vaccine doses through the Covax program, Canada must become an active contributor to global vaccination efforts. Canada can make progress toward this goal through the restoration own vaccine production capacity to its former excellence, which was obliterated through the privatization of Connaught Labs by Prime Minister Mulroney’s Conservative government.[4] The restoration and expansion of manufacturing facilities for this purpose may be accelerated by instituting the Emergencies Act. Sources: [1] Source, https://theconversation.com/the-politics-of-covid-19-results-in-pandemic-winners-and-losers-150604 [2] Source, https://www.vox.com/2020/11/19/21541810/vermont-covid-19-coronavirus-social-distancing [3] Source, https://www.vox.com/2020/11/19/21541810/vermont-covid-19-coronavirus-social-distancing [4] Source, https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/03/11/the-public-lab-that-could-have-helped-fight-covid-19-pandemic.html?rf

growing inequality is destructive to the health and well-being of all

Recently President Donald Trump officially Pardoned these convicted War Criminals. Seventeen Iraqi civilians were killed and twenty more were injured in Nisour Square by these four Blackwater private security employees. It is important that the transcending Principles of International Justice be upheld by the Canadian Government no matter who the War Criminals are.

This is important for so many reasons. a) It would allow both parents to contribute financially to their family income. b) It would provide many jobs for trained Child development workers c) It would ensure that all children have safe, skill-building activities to participate in outside of the regular school day. d) This is a pluralistic approach to serving all families in Canada.

On Dec. 20, 2019 Maxwell Johnson and his 12 year-old granddaughter, Torianne, were racially profiled and handcuffed after trying to open a bank account at a BMO branch in Vancouver. What happened to Max and Tori was terrible and shocking, but unfortunately it was just one example of the spectrum of racism Indigenous people face in Canada everyday. Whether it’s being denied service at a restaurant, being followed by security guards in a grocery store, or being made the subject of racist jokes and slurs by staff, Indigenous people, and other people of colour, experience racism on a regular basis. These seemingly isolated incidents connect to much deeper patterns of colonial violence and systemic racism against Indigenous people, including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and the recent forced removal of Wet’suwet’en people from their homelands. This racism dates to the creation of Canada itself and continues to the present day. It is all connected, and it must stop now. We need to hold institutions accountable for systemic racism. Visible minorities are under constant threat of racial profiling by organizations, and discrimination by police. We are launching this campaign to seek justice for Indigenous Peoples and communities, and so that other people of colour can feel safe.

Workmans cottages should have a blanket protection in the City of Toronto as very few remain. Developers have taken advantage of too many loopholes provided by the city to destroy these historic homes. This would be a similar blanket protection that Montreal imposed for their "Shoebox homes" https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/shoebox-bylaw-referendum-1.5076513 . The essence of the workman's cottage was to provide affordable housing, with land, to the lower working class which is still relevant and needed today, allowing three stories to be built from a one-story defeats the whole purpose of what these homes represented over a century ago, and is a strong historic icon that needs to be protect.

Many people including public health experts, healthcare workers on the front line, workers who have worked non-stop throughout this entire pandemic, labour organizations, and more have been calling on paid sick leave since the start of the pandemic (and before), but it is not yet widely spread that a bill was put forward to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in early December 2020 to legislate paid sick leave. This bill, Bill 239, was put forward by MPP Peggy Sattler, and went through a first reading on December 8, 2020. The bill needs attention to ensure Ontario mandates paid sick leave for all workers. We cannot miss this opportunity to ensure this passes. The bill has to go through more readings by other Ontario MPPs, committee members, and be discussed before being moved forward into legislation (or failing). The public can provide further input in this process, like how the bill should be altered in any way to make it more protective of any person in Ontario providing any sort of labour to an employer in Ontario, including undocumented and temporary workers. You can email or call your local MPP and provide them with any important changes they should discuss in the process, and urge them to ensure that paid sick leave is passed into legislation. Paid sick leave should be mandatory, and in 2018 Premier Doug Ford removed the few protections that existed. This moment is of course especially urgent given the ongoing and escalating COVID-19 situation as we go into the end of the year and a provincial "lockdown". Numerous outbreaks are taking place at workplaces such as warehouses, and many of them are not included in the lockdown. Many nurses, physicians, and other healthcare workers are continually exposed to COVID-19, and are working between hospitals and Long-Term Care homes, are under-staffed and over-worked, and need to be ensured that they will have paid sick leave for their own protection, patients' protection, their loved ones, and for everyone else. This also applies for people working in grocery stores, pharmacies, schools, and all other labour and services that have just been symbolically applauded but absolutely not sufficiently compensated or protected. These government failures are allowing for growing hazardous working environments, and the failure to reinstate mandatory sick days already negates the purpose of a coherent public health response. People need to be able to stay home for their health, the health of others, and should not have to choose between income and health. The Ontario Financial Accountability Officer also confirmed this month that the Ontario government has $12 billion in contingency funds for COVID-19 spending. Paid sick leave is completely feasible by large employers, and can be supported by the government for small businesses. Paid sick leave is one of many steps that are necessary to respond to this pandemic, alongside an eviction ban, emergency income support, hospital surge funding, expanded testing and vaccination capacity, and more. https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-239 https://www.peggysattler.ca/paidsickdays

Dear Minister Lecce and Premier Ford, we demand the immediate vaccination of all Ontario educators against the Coronavirus to safely continue their frontline work in schools, particularly in the province's hotspot regions. Over 160 thousand public teachers in Ontario need to be recognized as "essential, frontline workers," who face the daily risk of exposure to a life-threatening virus in their workplace. UNESCO, the United Nations agency for education, called on governments to give teachers priority access to COVID-19 vaccines. Currently, there are over 13,000 Covid-19 cases reported in Ontario schools. That's over 25 % of schools, not including asymptomatic students uncounted for because of insufficient testing. The political narrative that continues to claim that "children are incapable of spreading the virus," is now old science. In fact, it is probable that the majority of Covid cases in schools are potentially spreading between asymptomatic student carriers to their homes. Studies from Canada and around the world have shown that schools are significant vectors for the transmission of COVID-19, particularly with the more contagious and deadly variants that are now the predominant infections. A study conducted by Dr. Simona Bignami of the Université de Montréal and Dr. John F. Sandberg of George Washington University, found that it was Montreal children who infected their parents last fall, not the other way around, transforming Canada’s second largest city into a COVID-19 epicentre. Educators are well-aware that safety measures such as "cohorting," mask enforcement and social distancing look good on paper, but despite educators best efforts, these essential measures are impossible to systematically apply and enforce consistently with children. They are all the more ineffective in schools that are overcrowded and poorly ventilated. According to government data, more than 30,000 Ontario students and school staff have been infected with COVID-19. The frightening truth is this: asymptomatic outbreaks are probable throughout schools, particularly those in hotspot regions. Without adequate asymptomatic testing, the government can continue the narrative that schools are safe, that children's mental health is more important than their physical safety - and ultimately justify the political agenda to keep the economy open. Indeed, our economy is important, but how can the economic agenda take precedence over protecting lives? Teachers and students are expected to return to school during the current provinces lazy-lockdown, to bravely "step up," and face the increasing risk of contracting the new and more deadly Covid variants. The government has repeatedly defended the safety of our schools remaining open, using rhetoric that downplays increasing virus case-counts inside schools as simply a reflection of the increased numbers in the community. Wouldn't that indicate schools are also unsafe? There's this rationalized myth that schools are magically exempt from the spread and dangers of this virus, because "children can't spread the virus," that, hand sanitizer and safety screening will make up for overcrowded and poorly ventilated classrooms, that the exponential spread of more contagious and deadly variants, and our overwhelmed hospital ICU's that are at a breaking point, are factors scary enough to lockdown the entire province for another month - but schools are somehow safe? The fact is, schools are not safe! I ask you Minister Lecce and Premier Ford, how can you honestly and ethically justify sending teachers and students back into a clearly unsafe environment without the existing protection of vaccines? Is it not your responsibility to ensure the safety of your citizens, their families and ultimately our children? Our healthcare heroes, our vulnerable seniors, and those who are medically at risk, clearly take vaccination precedence - but our teachers also need to be prioritized in the line-up for vaccinations. They actually need you to "step up, Premier Ford," and do your part - either vaccinate educators - or move all schools to virtual learning! Sincerely, Lisa Porter and the included signatories

The plans for rail expansion in Toronto’s Lakeshore East corridor by Metrolinx will relieve congestion and improve public transportation, but can and should be done without the wholesale destruction of a community’s green spaces including the environmentally sensitive ecosystem of Smalls Creek Ravine and Williamson Park Ravine. There remains an opportunity for Metrolinx to create a model for sustainable city building by working with the affected communities in finding ways to restore and revitalize these greenspaces as part of their construction work. Help us send a message to Metrolinx that they cannot ignore the communities in which they operate. Update - Feb 2022 Metrolinx has clear-cut and destroyed over 200 trees, the majority of which created a canopy that took over 100 years to establish. This will be replaced with a permanent concrete wall up to 10 ft tall and over 400 ft long in addition to a replacement concrete that is now 6 meters wide and above ground. As well, the path connecting the west and east sides UPDATE January 7, 2021 - Since the launch of this petition Metrolinx has publicly responded, saying they have indeed conducted and continue to conduct community consultation. This is true. But it changes nothing about the content of this petition. To date, Metrolinx has only publicly released the same documents SmallsCreek.ca had to first obtain through a Freedom of Information request. Their Dec 24th blog post reiterated much of what they have said already, and while mentioned it is interested in further community consultation, takes the tone that this project - still slated to begin as early as the end of January 2021 - is a done deal. SmallsCreek.ca will continue our community outreach until Metrolinx recognizes the petition's requests and engages in a meaningful dialogue that takes our positions into active consideration. We want more trains & two way service. We want a 4th track, but ask our provincial transportation stakeholders to install the transit, without sacrificing an important community ecosystem. Learn More at www.smallscreek.ca

We certainly are nowhere near rich if we're on PWD. A sudden deduction is felt by us in a powerful way. This drop in assistance is disorienting and problematic for people, especially who go just a modest amount over the limit and who do so at the end of the year, when the seasonality of things can also increase expenses and decrease work income. It can be really bad timing! Covid-19 just makes this all harder to deal with, too. Costs and expenses typically do not go down, but suddenly a PWD client can be without that extra money earned through their hard work, through their disability. In fact, the actual work might be continuing the same, but suddenly there is a loss in access to otherwise available resources. It's not a smooth transition for us. Things someone might buy with this extra income if it weren't clawed back: It could go toward a doctor recommended supplement which is not covered, toward a psych or physio therapy session which is not covered but does wonders for overall management of stress and health issues, toward a meaningful gift to a loved one at Christmas, or toward something otherwise out of reach but which afforded increases one's quality of life and health. Like mentioned, on PWD we are not rich, so these small amounts mean a lot to us.

As a self-employed business owner, I was out of work due to the lockdown for Covid-19 and I followed the rules for applying for CERB in order to not only survive, but to keep my business afloat because my landlord didn’t bother with the rent subsidy. I realize that there were many who may have accidentally applied, but we self-employed had no other option and now are being told we were not eligible all because the word “net” was inferred and not actually stated on the website or the automated recordings when filing by phone. This is going to further destroy many small businesses and their owners more than this pandemic already has. To reduce us below eligibility for net profits after our deductions is beyond unfair and seems as though the rules are being changed to benefit CRA and the economy.

Global Pandemic