We are at a critical point in history. The protection of human rights is a battle, which, when lost, is punishing to reclaim. We must stand strong for everyone. No-one must be left behind. The world cannot be run by bullies, sociopaths and thieves.

Improving children's and teenagers mental health in Ontario: Mental health has been around for century's and has continued to affect children and teenagers physical and mental well-being. Research conducted by Garcia & Elliott states that the closures of schools are impacting the learning and retention of previously taught material for children and teenagers. The closures of schools are impacting children’s and teenager’s mental health as they are feeling less confident in their work and feeling a lack of motivation which then creates children and teenagers wanting to give up on life. Perhaps enforcing schools to be open and finding different support systems within the schools, will help improve children’s and teenager’s mental health during covid-19. With schools being closed for a long period of time and now reopening has caused many children and teens feeling depressed and an increase of their anxiety as they don't know what to expect next. There needs to be better support systems for children and teenagers in our Ontario community today, if not it will continue to become worse and nothing will change but the lives of our future children and teens. Lets be the change in our community and use our voices to help support children and teenagers who are suffering in silence with mental health damage inside.

Vladimir Putin's sudden, unprovoked and brutal launching of a war on Ukraine is an atrocity happening in real time. Putin has expressed that he believes the Ukraine is "historically Russian territory" - and he has backed his words with armed military assault across the length and breadth of the nation. (1,2) While the world reels and looks for ways to sanction Russia, Ukrainians are suffering and dying in their homes. Canada must lead the way in offering solace and safety to the persecuted innocents of Ukraine. We must immediately create a priority path to refugee status for all Ukrainians impacted by the war criminal Putin's aggression, and waive all fees to entry. Canada has created priority refugee paths before for those affected by violence (3). We must do so again, for all Ukrainians whose lives have been upended by hostile invasion. Canada can and must lead by example. While the world looks for ways to bring peace and security back to Europe, Canada can offer our own peace and security to the Ukrainians who have just had it ripped away at the point of a bayonet. Prime Minister Trudeau: lead by example and expedite a fee-free, priority path for Ukrainian refugees immediately. Sources: 1. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-russia-ukraine-history-speech-rcna17132 2. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-vladimir-putin-moscow-66891d68fe3d51fbed4b1758cc49d501 3. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/afghanistan/afghans-canada/priority-processing.html

We largely have Robert "Bicycle Bob" Silverman to thank that today Montreal is ranked the best city in North America for bicycling. There were basically no bike facilities here in 1975 when Silverman co-founded the bike advocacy group, Le Monde à Bicyclette. Nor were local authorities receptive to improving things. When bridge and metro authorities refused to let cyclists cross the St. Lawrence River, Silverman called a press conference and came dressed as Moses, asking the Almighty to part the river waters. This stunt earned him front section coverage in major daily newspapers, helping to sway public opinion in favour of bicyclists’ rights. Opening bridges and the metro to cyclists were among Silverman´s many successes over decades of work. He also went to jail for “illegally” painting some of the first bike lanes in Montreal, a city that now boasts almost 1,000km of bike lanes and paths. Silverman was involved in much more than just urban cycling. As one example, he helped organize some of the first outdoor volleyball courts in Montreal, promoting a cooperative and inclusive sport. Like bicycling, outdoor volleyball has now grown popular. Silverman gave much to Montreal, yet lived precariously for many years without much money. Now, it is time for Montreal to return the favour and publicly recognize the life work of this great man. We largely have Robert "Bicycle Bob" Silverman to thank that today Montreal is ranked the best city in North America for bicycling. There were basically no bike facilities here in 1975 when Silverman co-founded the bike advocacy group, Le Monde à Bicyclette. Nor were local authorities receptive to improving things. When bridge and metro authorities refused to let cyclists cross the St. Lawrence River, Silverman called a press conference and came dressed as Moses, asking the Almighty to part the river waters. This stunt earned him front section coverage in major daily newspapers, helping to sway public opinion in favour of bicyclists’ rights. Opening bridges and the metro to cyclists were among Silverman´s many successes over decades of work. He also went to jail for “illegally” painting some of the first bike lanes in Montreal, a city that now boasts almost 1,000km of bike lanes and paths. Silverman was involved in much more than just urban cycling. As one example, he helped organize some of the first outdoor volleyball courts in Montreal, promoting a cooperative and inclusive sport. Like bicycling, outdoor volleyball has now grown popular. Silverman gave much to Montreal, yet lived precariously for many years without much money. Now, it is time for Montreal to return the favour and publicly recognize the life work of this great man.

The weekly so-called “protests” significantly affect residents, workers and businesses of Victoria, with large numbers of trucks and other vehicles repeatedly honking their horns, revving their engines and blaring loud music for hours on end in Downtown, James Bay and other neighbourhoods. It is illegal to make noise in a street or public place “which disturbs or tends to disturb the quiet, peace rest, enjoyment, comfort or convenience of persons in the neighbourhood or vicinity” (City of Victoria Bylaw 03-012).

Changes in the climate have recently become more than obvious. By the end of this century, it is estimated that the Earth's surface temperature will rise by approximately 2°C, having devastating effects on our ecosystems, flora, fauna, and humans. Nature itself is already very fragile, and our attitude is destroying a whole world of living organisms and our very own home. We are residents in one of the neighborhoods within the peel region and our keen observation is that some apartments have a central waste collection point but every time you go there, there is always household waste disposed on the floor, a mixup of recyclable and non-recyclable waste items inside the same bin bag when appropriate and well-labeled refuse bins have been provided. A lot of these negative effects could be improved if humans slightly amended their behavior. By managing waste in a way that avoids landfills and reducing consumption by reusing products, we avoid the creation of unnecessary waste. Nevertheless, by separating and recycling the waste we do create, we could reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills. The waste that remains would actually be burnt to create energy, meaning less waste or nothing at all is actually sent to landfill. The environmental benefits of a proper waste disposal system are clear. When a person doesn’t dispose effectively of a plastic product or a product that may contain dangerous chemicals, these chemicals can eventually find their way into local water sources and the soil. Proper waste disposal can help preserve our natural environment, and ensure a healthy ecosystem for the long-term future. People need to know about the importance of proper waste disposal to help induce action. The better you are aware of the value and benefits of the good waste practice, the easier and more efficient the desired behavior can be adapted.

When we all stand up for the issues that matter to us, we create a society that works for everyone.

The equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic enters our oceans EVERY minute. Plastic is everywhere, destroying our ecosystems by releasing harmful microplastics and contaminating our water bodies. If we want to stop plastic pollution from destroying our environment beyond repair, we need to take action at the local level to push for impactful change. This is why we are calling on Toronto leaders to do their part in the fight against plastic pollution. We can do better. Every year, Toronto uses approximately 215 million plastic bags, which equals 1400 tonnes of plastic waste, adding to our growing body of plastic pollution. Black plastic takeout containers and cutlery are still used extensively, even though black plastic cannot be recycled in Toronto. 54,000 tonnes of recyclable material go to Toronto landfills every year due to contamination. As a city, we have made some progress with Phase 1 of Toronto’s Waste Reduction Strategy by encouraging businesses to reduce single-use takeaway items. But we must take bolder measures to make the necessary reductions in plastic waste that are needed to save our environment for Phase 2. So, we are pushing Toronto City Council to strengthen Phase 2 of its Waste Reduction Strategy. Toronto must ban single-use plastic bags, non-recyclable single-use black plastic, and take steps to gradually phase out single-use water bottle consumption.

Thermal coal is one of the worst contributors of GHGs that promote climate change. Banning the mining, export, import and burning of thermal coal in Canada would be a significant step in reducing climate change. The Canadian Environmental Protection Act provides a mechanism for the public to use to accomplish this. After last summer's wildfires and the catastrophic flooding last fall, Canadians realize that climate change is here now, and feel compelled to do something to stop or reduce it before their communities are destroyed.

Natural Resources Minister Wilkinson is considering rubber-stamping a multi-billion dollar tax credit for Big Oil to invest in carbon capture — a fantastical, false climate solution. [1] Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is touted by the Oil and Gas lobby as a way of cutting emissions, by capturing carbon before it escapes into the air. But hundreds of climate experts are sounding the alarm: CCS is flawed — in fact, it actually increases emissions. And it’s economically risky and hasn’t been proven at scale. [2-4] This greenwashing tactic is flying under the radar of the public because it sounds good on paper — it might even be tricking MPs and policymakers. With the federal budget expected as early as next month, we have a small window to raise the alarm and expose Big Oil’s last ditch attempt to save their dying industry. The first step is a massive petition, signed by all of us. Together we can send a loud message to the federal government: Don’t give Big Oil a multi-billion dollar lifeline — fund real climate action, workers, and communities instead. Sign now. Sources: [1] https://www.theenergymix.com/2022/01/19/carbon-capture-tax-credit-likely-for-2022-budget-wilkinson-says/ [2] https://thenarwhal.ca/carbon-capture-explainer/ [3] https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/academics-urge-canada-to-ditch-carbon-capture-tax-credit-letter [4] https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/12/20/beware-of-false-solutions-to-the-crises-of-climate-change-and-plastic-pollution.html

Over six years ago when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action were put forth, several of them (71 through 77) related to missing children and unplotted cemeteries at residential school sites. TRC call to action #73: “We call upon the federal government to work with churches, Aboriginal communities, and former residential school students to establish and maintain an online registry of residential school cemeteries, including, where possible, plot maps showing the location of deceased residential school children.” Indigenous communities have always known about these unmarked graves. After waiting for six years for the government of Canada to do anything at all about this, it was decided to go ahead and uncover the mass graves themselves, with minimal resources. And now after dragging their feet to map out and uncover these mass graves of children, the governments of Canada and the RCMP are dragging their feet on beginning any criminal investigations into these deaths. And even if the RCMP and the governments of Canada were to start criminal investigations into the mass grave sites of Indigenous children, how could it be a legitimate investigation when these organizations are all currently engaged in ongoing human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples, such as the illegal invasion of Wet’suwet’en territory by the RCMP, the illegal harassment of Mik’maq fishers by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the ongoing denial of reparations to the survivors of St. Anne’s residential school by the Canadian Federal government, just to name a few of the outrageous violations continuing to this day? In countries where the governments, military and police cannot be trusted to do a proper investigation into crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court can come in to oversee the process. That is what we need in Canada today. Join us in calling on the ICC to come to Canada and bring objectivity to the investigation of these crime scenes. Send your letter to the ICC and the Prime Minister of Canada to let them know where you stand.

It is very important because people can't pay for almost anything. Their rent, food, medication, bills. Just recently the cost of living has gone up along with everything else. Not just in my city of Niagara but throughout all Ontario.