TDSB staff have put together a plan that will allow class cohort sizes to decrease to 15-20 students per class, as recommended by Toronto Public Health. The plan costs $20 million dollars for additional teachers - drastically less than other plans or approaches - and it requires a slightly shorter school day. However, the plan cannot proceed unless the Minister of Education gives TDSB permission to shorten the school day by 48 minutes. And Minister Lecce has refused that permission. By refusing permission, the Minister is forcing Toronto schools to cram kids into larger classes where their risk of exposure is much higher due to a lack of physical distancing. There is no justification for such a risk when we have a high-quality, effective plan on the table. Tell the Minister - protect our kids and give TDSB the simple permission it needs to enact this plan. Note: if you'd like to read the full TDSB plan, you can do so here: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/docs/Returning%20to%20School_A%20Guide%20to%20the%20Safe%20Reopening%20of%20the%20TDSB_August%2010.pdf

We need to challenge the power of the military-industrial complex Do you know that the largest lobby group for the fighter jets is a charity - the Global Affairs Institute? We need the $19 billion for housing, child care, the green new deal, and for education, long-term care, etc. Quote: "More for COVID-19 latest hurdle in Canada's long road to buying new fighter jets" Fighter jets are a major polluter, and they are mainly used for air shows.

I have already reached out to Toronto Public Health, Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Government Services, The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, all without a response or a plan to address this issue. Although there is a requirement for PPE for disabled people to receive personal support and assistance, no individuals should be paying for PPE out of pocket, and yet, this is happening. I have talked to many non-profits, that have shared the concern that there is no commitment or funding for PPE for disabled people who need access to it for their activities of daily living where physical distancing is not possible. This petition requests that all levels of government work together to ensure that Attendants, Nurturing Assistants and people with Disabilities in Ontario are PPE secure. It appears that the government has forgotten about disabled people and the folks that support us. This lack of action is unacceptable. This lack of action puts lives at risk. Regards, Terri-Lynn Langdon, MSW, RSW Ontario Institute for Studies In Education, Social Justice Education, University of Toronto

Mental health calls are largely handled by untrained officers who don't have the skills to de-escalate crisis situations. This leads to unnecessary violence and killing of people in crisis, of which poor and IBPOC are largely overrepresented. In cities where mental health crisis teams are properly implemented, they provide clear benefits, including: - reducing carceral costs, - reducing the incidents of violence from the police, - reducing repeat calls for service, - reducing costly psychiatric hospitalizations, and - improving the use of officers’ time [1]. [1] https://www.prainc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/RespondingtoBHCrisisviaCRModels.pdf

2020 is not the year that Canadians need to hold a Federal Election! The Bloc Quebequois leader has vowed to trigger a federal election in the fall if the PM and Finance Minister fail to resign over the WE scandal. Is now really the best time to hold a federal election, diverting attention and resources from the critical fight against Covid-19. Disrupting current programs and policies which have proven mostly effective in controlling a global pandemic for partisan political posturing seems like the last thing Canadians need at this time of strife.

CanWhite Sands has applied for a sand processing plant to take out 5.5 CFL football fields squared by 26 stories high of silica sand each year for the next 25 years. The oxygenizing of this silica will produce acid of a pH of 2.44 leaching heavy metals like arsenic. The drainage is to the Brokenhead river where this acid along with a polyacrylamide which breaks down in sunlight and acid to acrylamide a potent neurotoxin. This project will pollute the Brokenhead river contaminate the carbonate aquifer and kill lake Winnipeg. This environmental assessment plan ignores key aspects of the proposal that will lead to this damage. Link to Government EAP: gov.mb.ca/sd/eal/registries/6057canwhite/index.html CWS Proposed Project Impacts to Brokenhead River - Dennis Analysis.pdf https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:f4976d99-cf02-4f89-8814-0505b2f4a1f4 Dennis LeNeveu's Correction of Free Press Article https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=139593417826957&id=115584813561151 Risk Assessment of CanWhite Sands Project “Dangerous to Eastern Watershed” By “Our Line in the Sand”- a local community group https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:d9881975-18b3-45d2-8198-a8f9126fa284

In 2013, when the Hupacasath FN realized the negative impacts of the CC-FIPA, they launched legal action with the help of West Coast Environmental Law. They lost the case; now China has more economic power than all Cdn. First Nations put together. With the severe impacts of climate change, Canada has a global responsibility to save what is left of the ancient forests.

Environmental groups and residents are fearful of the toxic chemicals that are likely to be released into the headwaters of the Oldman River watershed, which would endanger the drinking water of downstream cities such as Lethbridge and many wildlife species, including the threatened cutthroat trout. (Coal is associated with toxic levels of selenium; a similar coal project in Elk River, B.C., owned by Teck Resources, is releasing so much selenium that U.S. officials downstream are concerned.) A mine like this would result in huge habitat loss: area approximately the size of Edmonton would be impacted. Residents invested in the tourism industry in this well-loved part of Alberta are highly concerned about how the mine would negatively affect their businesses. Riverdale Resources say that they have received approval from all Treaty 7 nations, but according to Latasha Calf Robe, a member of the Blood Tribe, “No community-level consultation has been done on the Blood Tribe, and, as far as I know, has not been done with any of the communities in Treaty 7." The project has now gone to a joint provincial and federal review. If approved, it would open the door to other similar open-pit mines throughout the Rocky Mountains. Let's be clear: no matter what Riversdale Resources claims, projects like this will likely lead to poisoned fish, denuded rivers, and toxic drinking water. And burning the coal will sink our climate targets.

From this article in the Toronto Star on July 31st 2020 - "We know that home care workers in Ontario are already paid considerably less than those in long-term care. This situation must be corrected, not made worse. To stabilize the entire health system, home care workers must be paid at parity with those in long-term care. Workers in both sectors deserve a raise for the critical support they provide to our seniors. Ontario’s seniors are relying on the government to protect them. Safe, reliable, and compassionate home care from well-trained and well-paid staff is key to improving overall care for seniors."

When determining our long range plans, unit plans, and individual lesson plans, Ontario’s educators look to the curriculum to inform and guide us. The curriculum is determined by the Ministry of Education, which claims to conduct reviews on a regular basis. The curriculum for each subject area consists of general big ideas, and specific expectations that determine our learning goals and the outcomes of our students. For each subject area and subsequent strand (ie. number sense and numeration in math), there are general and specific expectations that tell us what our students should be able to do after successfully completing the academic year. These expectations shape what we teach every day. As there are no such curriculum expectations about Black identities or race, what requires teachers to include these subjects in their lessons? Nothing. Without Ministry mandated curriculum, Black identities and histories are not being taught in a meaningful way, and ultimately left to the discre​tion of the teacher. This approach will not uproot systemic racism in our schools, and there needs to be change in the curriculum given to teachers.

It has taken decades to establish laws and regulations to protect Ontario’s environment - it’s wildlife, biodiversity, ecosystems and species at risk. Now, the Ford government is taking advantage of its majority government to gut these regulations while ignoring its legal obligations under the existing environmental protection laws. On July 22, 2020 in the last week of Ontario Parliament’s summer session Premier Ford rammed through Bill 197, the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act on Wednesday and cancelled Thursday sitting. Bill 197 passed after no consideration at committee, and only 50 minutes of debate at Third Reading. It is a giant piece of omnibus legislation with far-reaching changes, including gutting environmental oversight rules. The Ford government was "not compliant" with the law by passing its omnibus economic recovery bill Tuesday without consulting the public on major environmental changes according to auditor general Bonnie Lysyk. Previously the Ford government eliminated the office of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and more recently, on July 1, 2020, exempted forestry activities from the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act.

Government keeps us in poverty Which is not right. At 60yrs old you shouldnt have to starve To try and survive. Rent is way to High and you always have To live with someone To get rent paid. Housing takes forever.