Books, are resources. A local school trustee, and prospective politician amongst six people made it their mission to remove three books from the South Central Regional Libraries (WinklerLibraries) https://www.facebook.com/100063668588322/posts/pfbid0dzTMwbQReZ6zfppKbknM3C3VVE4MDsh8LTkCmySWhN1E5gpSKUdmzkoUPDPaKz61l/. They claim the books are pornographic and are against the law, when however the books are there for families and children to read together, and cover a wide range of sexual education and health information. Parents might use these resources to know how to talk to their children about sex, sex organs, identities, and sex terminology. Learning these things in part help keep children safe, knowing how to properly label their sex organs, parents might want to teach their children these things because it helps teach them what their privates are, and that they aren't bad words and that if someone is violating them they can properly identify the parts, as cute names for sexual parts can be misinterpreted, a vagina is a vagina and a penis is a penis, and can't be confused with a cookie or any other terminology that makes adults feel more comfortable. Two of these three books that are titled It's perfectly normal by Robie H. Harris and Sex is a funny word by Corey Silverberg. These books are more informative but sex is a funny word has a blend of a story infused in it, book exerpts can be found on these links provided: https://sexedrescue.com/its-perfectly-normal/ And https://youtu.be/h_si_7xB_3k The third book being called to be banned is called All boys aren't blue by George M. Johnson, It is written by a queer black author, he says his book is not pornographic in nature, age appropriate and helps children to identify sexual abuse and see themselves represented within literature as the novel is about growing up queer. More can be read at this link regarding this teenage novel: https://time.com/6120915/george-m-johnson-all-boys-arent-blue-book-bans/ These books are optional, they're offered as reading for both education and enjoyment. Not everyone has the same view points, and that's but speaking for diverse families, speaking for diverse readers is a problem, especially when these politicians claim to say less government involvement, and more freedom to make choices for yourself and your family or when they come from a veiwpoint that isn't based in current information and claim otherwise. They're making a choice on behalf of many without providing information as to why many of the reasons they have provided caters to the feelings they have about the particular books in question. These books deserve a proper fight, to be protected, because it's not the books that are being let down, it's children, families and people. Please sign this to keep these books an option for many and offer a wake up call to school trustees and politicians alike.

Because passenger vehicles account for such a large percentage of air pollution in Canada, just a small reduction in average emissions from vehicles can have a very positive impact on our environment! This is also a time and cost effective solution that could be rolled out quickly. And it is a problem that will never go away. If we were all driving Electric Vehicles today, they still require properly inflated tires to preform efficiently. Let's get those tires inflated!! "Cars, pick-up trucks, minivans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are all types of passenger vehicles used for personal transportation in Canada. Given that there are approximately 18 million passenger vehicles on Canadian roads, they are a major contributor to air pollution, particularly in urban areas. Air pollution has major adverse impacts on the environment and the health of Canadians. While emissions of some pollutants from passenger vehicles have declined over the past two decades, air pollution continues to be one of Canada's highest environmental priorities and challenges. Passenger vehicles emit various air pollutants including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO) and sulphur oxides (SOx). Both nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds(VOCs) are involved in a series of complex reactions that result in the formation of ground-level ozone, which is a respiratory irritant and one of the major components of smog. The Criteria Air Contaminants Summary presents the emission estimates of these pollutants from transportation sources in Canada. Passenger vehicles account for a considerable proportion of the total national transportation emissions including: approximately 21 per cent of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions approximately 51 per cent of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions approximately 4 per cent of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) emissions" Copied from: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/air-pollution/sources/transportation/cars-trucks-vans-suvs.html

National Public Inquiries or Royal Commissions have an essential role in examining complex social or political issues, providing detailed, research-based information on Inquiry topics and typically giving the government a menu of policy means to address any serious social concerns the Inquiry discovers in carrying out its mandate. The Federal Government established a Royal Commission on the Concentration of Ownership in the Newspaper Industry. It's time to examine closely what is going on with Canada's newspaper and broadcast journalism to see if it is reflective of what has happened elsewhere and what steps can be taken so that their reporting meets Canadians' expectations.

It takes a lot of people to counter the prevailing pressures that have gotten us to this place. Thankfully, so many people in this region are joining the call to prioritise affordable and non-profit housing. If we stay silent and fail to act urgently and boldly now, we will continue to see a loss of families and diversity in our communities. We will continue to see increasing hardship in our streets and parks. We are a wealthy province and country. Working together with purpose and courage, we can build communities that provide homes for all.

There are over 500,000 people, including families, living in Canada without any valid immigration permits and this number is increasing. In addition, 1.2 million people are on work, study or refugee claimant permits, most of whom have no opportunity to remain permanently in Canada. Permanent resident status is the mechanism through which all other rights are accessed. Undocumented people, migrant workers and refugees are being exploited in substandard working conditions, because regressive immigration and labour laws restrict their agency and leave them open to abuse. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation. Migrants experience insecure housing, abuse at work, poverty and fear. The uncertainty about the future, constant stress of making ends meet and risk of detention and deportation negatively impacts their health. Canada, like most of North ​​America and Europe, has not seen a real inclusive regularization program for undocumented people in decades. Moreover, migrants on work and study permits in low-waged industries, like care workers, farmworkers and gig-workers, have only a few tiny and difficult-to-access immigration programs to get permanent residency. The vast majority of undocumented and temporary status migrants living and working in the country are excluded from permanent residence. Together, we can change that. Together, we can win equal rights for 1.7 million people. Together we can ensure permanent resident status for all now and in the future.

Children suffering from seizures require access to life saving rescue medication in the event that the seizure becomes a medical emergency. Legislation needs to be enacted to protect educators from liability in the event that these medications need to be administered to ensure the health and welfare of these children is of the highest priority in our school systems.

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.

To whom and all it may concern, There are many many reasons to go ahead with the Green Line and to have more bus routes, stops, and buses running more frequently. If you don’t have a car getting from point A to point B takes an enormous about of time, almost all day, and a lot of energy. Moreover, a more rapid way to get around leans to a reduction in violent crimes – less of an opportunity, and, likely, for the same reason, less sexual assaults committed by strangers. Furthermore, a greater, more efficient public transit system will hopefully inspire people to use their cars less. If this happens it will likely lead to a significant decrease in Greenhouse emissions, which helps the environment, and less traffic accidents, which would significantly decrease health care energy and costs related to car accidents. If those are not good enough arguments here are more... A more efficient, rapid, transit system gives many students more time to study, and thus increases the potential these students have to succeed. It gives more time for families to be together, it helps to enable people to get more done, it may even help many people not only get more done but significantly be more productive and work more conscientiously overall because people can get home earlier and therefore sleep more. As far as work in concerned, finally, it helps many people have more time to work at their job as it has the potential, for many people, to lower the frequency people arrive to work late. I’m sure there are more reasons but at the moment these are all I can come up with, and don’t think they are bad reasons. Thank you for taking the time to read this. May all of you stay safe and well, Michaelle Tuz-Atkinson

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.