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Support Harm Reduction in LeslievilleAll community members benefit from the services available at the South Riverdale Community Health Centre, whether by being a direct service user, or by reaping the benefits when people who use drugs and other marginalized people have access to health and social services they wouldn't otherwise have access to. Given this reality, we sign this letter in support of: ** The many important community-based health and social services provided by the South Riverdale Community Health Centre (SRCHC); ** Continuation of the Supervised Consumption Site and harm reduction programming at SRCHC; ** Ongoing collaboration between South Riverdale Community Health Centre and the community at large, which includes residents of Leslieville, South Riverdale, and Toronto more broadly. We also call on all levels of government to work together to: ** Increase funding for SRCHC to enable them to sustain and expand services in light of the socio-economic crises facing so many in the community; ** Increase funding for the Supervised Consumption Site and harm reduction programming at SRCHC to ensure there are enough staff and programming to meet the increasing needs of service users, and actively engage with the broader community; ** Address gun violence through strong gun control measures and community programming that targets the root causes of violence. With love, kindness, and care, Leslieville Harm Reduction Coalition Leslieville Harm Reduction Coalition is a group of neighbours committed to supporting our community, including and especially marginalized people, people who use drugs, people who access harm reduction services, and people experiencing homelessness. As a coalition, we care about all of our neighbours.2,219 of 3,000 SignaturesCreated by Leslieville Harm Reduction Coalition
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Search the Prairie Green Landfill for Murdered Indigenous WomenDear Premier Stefanson, In solidarity with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), Chief Kyra Wilson of Long Plain First Nation, and the families of the missing victims, I am calling on the Manitoba Government to search the Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman). You recently announced that the Government of Manitoba would not fund the search of the Prairie Green Landfill, stating that the search would be too dangerous for workers. However, the feasibility report on the landfill search clearly states that it can be completed successfully. The report outlines recommendations for on-site hazardous materials teams to monitor air quality, act as safety officers and perform decontamination of personnel who work closely with evacuated materials. Multiple experts have re-asserted that the risks can be mitigated. Kris Dueck, the forensic consultant who co-chaired the technical feasibility study of a search at Prairie Green stated publicly that, “it’s pretty clear to most who have read the study that risks can be mitigated, and the search can be conducted safely. Any argument that would oppose those findings, in our opinion, aren’t necessarily based in fact.” Experts have reiterated that landfills have been successfully searched before. In 2021, the body of a suspected murder victim was found by authorities in a London, Ont. landfill, eight months after they were believed to have been brought there. Retired Deputy Chief Sean Spalding of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service, also attests to the effectiveness of such operations, having successfully conducted landfill searches. Your ongoing refusal to search the landfill only perpetuates systemic gender-based, colonial violence against Indigenous women and girls. Lack of institutional will was identified as a key factor contributing to the ongoing MMIWG2s+ crisis in the 2019 MMIWG2s+ inquiry report. It is evidently clear that, in this case too, the primary barrier to searching the Prairie Green Landfill is lack of political will. As the daughter and niece of Morgan Harris have stated, your government’s refusal to search for her remains feels like “a slap in the face” to her grieving relatives. I urge you to not sustain the injustice suffered by Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, and their families, and search the Prairie Green Landfill. Sincerely, Marlene Hale Wet'suwet'en Elder8,020 of 9,000 SignaturesCreated by Jamie Ker
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A Celebration Honouring Health Care Workers & a Eulogy for the Health Care SystemHealthcare collapse is one of the most urgent issues in our province. We need your help. Patients are unable to access care until they are near death. Front-line healthcare workers are experiencing medical-level burnout, PTSD, moral & ethical distress, and mass resignation. This is a huge cost to British Columbians in all the ways of assessing cost. The solutions proposed to increase University funding and hiring doctors is essentially useless and cruel to young professionals/new graduates. For the salary of 1 doctor, the province could hire multiple nurse practitioners (NPs), nurses or allied health professionals such as social workers, rehabilitation specialists and social service & housing workers; these clinicians and workers are best-positioned to address the staggering issues of housing, social service referrals, community & residential rehabilitation, home & community support care, government disability funding & programs etc. Healthcare and social service workers are largely young women who work in risky situations in acute care & dangerous areas of downtown & SROs. We are tossing bodies at a problem that needs to be remedied at the systems level & human-resource-retention & safety. Meanwhile, thousands of workers are ending up on medical leave with psychological & physical health issues which is funded by WorkSafe BC, on long-term disability supports, tax-payer funded public resources and/or individually-funded private services (counselling, psychologists and private psychiatrists etc). This is no way to treat our 'healthcare heroes' who we glorify in the media & then readily ignore. We're deep in a crisis and we can't let this continue; the height of the problems are yet to come. This year in April & May alone, more than 100 doctors, nurses, healthcare workers & social service providers working for Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Fraser Health (FHA) signed open letters to the media crying out because of a large lack of resources and poor treatment of the individuals they provide services for. Additionally, more than 700 Canadian academics also signed an open letter decrying the dismantling of the Main & Hastings encampment. It cannot be overstated how significant this is; health authority employees are risking their employment and careers by doing this. The alarm bells are going off yet the fire is being ignored. May 2023: More than two dozen Surrey Memorial Hospital ER doctors signed an open letter: - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-memorial-hospital-physicians-open-letter-1.6843980 - https://globalnews.ca/news/9700128/surrey-memorial-hospital-crisis-doctors-letter/#:~:text=Dozens%20of%20emergency%20room%20doctors,to%20patients%20and%20the%20public.%E2%80%9D May 2023: 36 Surrey Memorial Hospital Obgyn doctors signed open letter. - "More than two-thirds of women's health providers at the hospital have signed a letter saying critically inadequate resources are compromising patient safety, resulting in an untold number of close calls and the death of a newborn in 2020" attributed to lack of resources, according to the healthcare workers involved. - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-memorial-hospital-womens-health-doctors-open-letter-1.6858473 April 2023: 44 nurses, community outreach and social workers signed an open letter to Vancouver Coastal Health “Many of us who are on the front line have witnessed and/or been the recipients of police-led violence or escalation, both physical and verbal,” the document reads. - https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vch-workers-decry-east-hastings-decampment-despite-fearing-employer-blowback April, 2023: More than 700 people signed “An Open Letter from Academics Against Vancouver’s encampment evictions” in response to the city’s efforts to remove all tents and structures from East Hastings Street. The letter was addressed to 25 B.C. politicians, including the premier, Housing Minister, Health Minister, Vancouver’s mayor, the entirety of city council, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. - https://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-must-do-better-700-academics-decry-dtes-decampment-in-open-letter-1.63559042 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Lisa Allyn
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No Mining On Anishinaabe TerritoryThis system allows companies and individuals to stake mining claims on First Nations lands from the comfort of their offices, without gaining the consent of the Indigenous people who live there. You have stated that we need to “listen to Indigenous voices and ensure they are heard loudly and clearly.” Your government’s refusal to respect Grassy Narrows’ Indigenous Protected Area completely contradicts your own words. This is not in the spirit of reconciliation that your government espouses to care about. Grassy Narrows has been fighting for justice for over 50 years, it is time to make things right. Grassy Narrows is demanding that Ontario respect their Indigenous Protected Area and end all logging and mining activity on the area. Will you commit to that now? We must respect Grassy Narrows' decisions for their territory. Never again should harmful decisions be imposed on Grassy Narrows people and the territory that they depend on. This is an issue of high concern to me and I will be watching closely to see that justice comes at long last to Grassy Narrows.6,794 of 7,000 SignaturesCreated by FreeGrassy .
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Stop Politicizing Safe SupplyIndividuals across Canada are dying from toxic substances. This toxicity is a direct result of current drug prohibition policy that is based on Colonial-era legislation now understood to be racist and not based on evidence for how to manage the potential harms associated with people's use of different substances. My own son died of Fentanyl poisoning at age 21 after losing access to a safer supply and lack of effective treatment options. Safe Supply, separating people from lethally toxic illicit supply, is one part of stemming the horrific tide of death and harms from toxic drugs in Canada. On May 29 (not 31) the House of Commons will vote on an opposition motion to end all safe supply programs. We need to rally all MPs, across all parties, to not support this motion.191 of 200 SignaturesCreated by Glenn Mahoney
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Studying GLBI Scenarios changes GenerationsMany aspects of GLBI are not known, such as no example has been given about the Disability portion, and how the non-income tested portion will work. We're asking you Leah, to be detailed and precise for the PBO, all 3 scenarios include much higher earners with higher benefits for those with lower incomes as well, and because Canada deserves correct answers before it becomes a campaign promise again.8 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Joseph Vander Meer
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Stop sentencing Youth to Life in Prison, and criminalizing their poor Mental Health.Our prisons are filled with traumatized, neglected, and abused persons. Many are youth trapped by, and in, the socially disconnecting correctional construct that engages in traumatic, anti-social practices that reinforce dysfunctional behaviours, cause more damage to prisoners, especially developing Youth, thus increasing their risks of substance use, violence, and crime. State Violence begets violence. This is why prison populations have gradually increased, despite a decades long decrease in criminal offending. Prison's are self-fulfilling prophecies of human suffering and misery, that perpetuate social discord for all residents, in all of our communities.186 of 200 SignaturesCreated by James Ruston
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Make the CDB non-reportable for taxes!Dear Minister Freeland and Minister Khera, We, the undersigned, believe that people with disabilities deserve to live with dignity. This is why we are asking for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) to be made non-reportable for taxes. If the CDB has to be reported at tax time (even if recipients do not have to pay taxes on it), it may be used to calculate eligibility for other federal benefits and credits. This could result in clawbacks. If the federal government cannot guarantee that their own benefits and credits won't be clawed back by the CDB, how can they expect the provinces and territories to not claw the CDB back from their social assistance programs? We are asking that the Income Tax Act be modified to treat the CDB like the Canada Child Benefit by making the CDB non-reportable for taxes and excluding it from Adjusted Family Net Income. Benefits of doing so include: -No clawbacks of federal benefits or credits for CDB recipients -Less likelihood of the CDB being clawed back by provincial and territorial social assistance -Reduced stress for CDB recipients at tax time because they don't have to report it on their tax return -A show of good will from the federal government towards the Disability community, who have waited so long (and are still waiting!) for the CDB. Thank you for considering this request. Sincerely,5,744 of 6,000 SignaturesCreated by Patrick Teed
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Let's regain control over corporations1. Allowing dividends is exactly parallel to allowing gamblers to collect winnings without cashing in chips. Nobody in the world can collect his winnings without cashing in his chips. Why allow shareholders to collect winnings without selling shares? How are shareholders different from any other gambler? 2. Allowing a company to own shares in another company means that a company is betting against itself. It is a blatant conflict of interest when a company must make decisions which favour itself over the owned company.1 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Doug Jacques
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SchoolsRight now schools in downtown Toronto are way over capacity, there are is some schools 37 kids in the class, some of schools are driving school children 3-4 km away.2 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Aleksandar Janicijevic
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Canada - stop the genocide in Gaza!Israel is not complying with the orders of the International Court of Justice to stop engaging in genocidal acts - so Canada must take action. Please sign our petition to government leaders to put pressure on Israel to stop the killing, to join a ceasefire, and to permit aid to flow freely into Gaza. The killing, and death by starvation, needs to stop.235 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Lyn Adamson
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Two-term Limit for Politicians: Urgent Reform Needed!The implementation of term limits is a prudent and forward-thinking measure that can positively transform our political landscape. By fostering innovation and curbing the concentration of power, we can create a more responsive and accountable system.8 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Pamela Brohm