Hi! It's been a minute! My baby is now a toddler, & I returned from mat leave last month. Shortly after my leave began (a year ago!) I accepted a new role as a Correspondent with
@CTVNationalNews
, & here I am! Thank you for following along, & for all of your lovely messages :)
#BREAKING
Ont. Min. of Health confirms: “I can confirm that based on current supply, Ontario will begin offering the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to individuals aged 40 and over at pharmacy & primary care settings across the province effective Tues.”
#onpoli
#cdnpoli
#COVIDont
“The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) does not support and strongly disapproves of any protests on public roadways, highways, and bridges.”
#onpoli
#topoli
BREAKING: The Ont. government’s Bill 28 legislation -which will impose a 4-year contract on 55,000 CUPE education workers -has passed. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association reacts with a statement: “What happened today at Queen’s Park is horrifying.”
#onpoli
#onted
#cdnpoli
Tomorrow at 10 am. Interim Liberal leader/MPP John Fraser (Ottawa South) & MPP Dr. Adil Shamji (Don Valley East) will hold a news conference to call on the Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones, to address ER/ICU closures.
#onpoli
#onhealth
As the Toronto Star recently reported: According to data from Toronto Public Health, a full 68 per cent of all workplace COVID-19 outbreaks so far have taken place in offices, warehouses, construction sites and food processing plants. (many open still!)
#onpoli
Outside St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto’s west end, where Minister Elliott is scheduled to speak now, emergency room doctor, Dr. Venugopal, wants to speak to Minister Elliott. “I work with nurses. Doctors didn’t need a pay raise.” Calls Bill 124 a slap in the face.
#onpoli
NEW: Toronto General Hosp. confirms it is under Critical Care Bed Alert. “This means our 3 intensive care units --CVICU, CICU, & MSICU—are at their total bed capacity and/or have limited human resources to safely keep all physical critical care beds open/ in operation.”
#onpoli
Ont. Medical Association- which reps 43, 000 physicians, is calling for mandatory vaccinations for education workers. “Children are currently ineligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines & are therefore reliant on others to keep them safe," said OMA President Dr. Adam Kassam.
#onpoli
Gloves are off…from all sides. Liberals say tomorrow Scarborough-Guildwood candidate Mitzie Hunter and a special guest will ‘reveal a new Ford Conservative scandal involving sixteen Ford Conservative candidates and take media questions.’
#onpoli
NEW: As of April 4th, it will be mandatory for Ontario government employees to attend work in-person 3 days per week. This will impact some 60,000 employees.
#onpoli
The Ontario Nurses Association has released a new statement: “We continue to call for the government to sit down with ONA and other health-care unions. We cannot wait any longer to resolve this crisis that is harming Ontarians and their access to health care.”
#onpoli
Several doctors today, including Washington’s Dr. Ding,
@DrEricDing
(epidemiologist), and Ont’s.
@DFisman
,
@drmwarner
, have used these words to describe the current state of Ontario: humanitarian crisis, humanitarian disaster, humanitarian catastrophe.
#onpoli
Ontario Principals’ Council (OPC), representing 5,400 principals/VPs in public elementary & secondary schools, issues a letter opposing the government’s plan to lift the mask mandate in schools on March 21 and urges govt to immediately pause the lifting of masks.
#onpoli
#onted
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca is hold a news conference tomor at 9am about the govt decision to suspend COVID-19 case reporting in schools and daycares.
#onpoli
#onted
#Breaking
From University Health Network: After Oct. 8, if they are not vaccinated, they will be placed on unpaid leave for 2 weeks. If it is still their decision at the end of 2 weeks is that they won’t be vaccinated after that date, their employment at UHN will end.
#topoli
NEW: Niagara Health has formally acknowledged a significant staffing shortage, leading to long waits/ delays. With over 600 vacant positions, & a substantial number of staff/physicians in self-isolation …it appears the hospital system is being stressed to capacity.
#onpoli
This morning: Drs.
@AmitAryaMD
,
@NaheedD
and Professor/Advocate
@DrVivianS
w more than 215 of Ontario’s doctors and researchers have come together to form “Doctors for Justice in Long-Term Care.”
#onpoli
The Ontario Public School Board Association sent a letter to Premier Ford requesting that vaccines be mandatory in Ontario schools for all students, staff and visitors.
#onpoli
#onted
RE: fraudulent Ontario vaccine certificates:
Individuals providing inaccurate or falsified information to a business could receive a ticket for $750, or penalty up to $100,000, and up to a year in jail.
#onpoli
CTV’s
@EvanLSolomon
: A family with a child about age two brought their baby right in front of officers, the mother and father held the baby up to officers. “It is illegal to bring a child here now… according to the Emergencies Act.”
#onpoli
#cdnpoli
Following this chant, the
#antimask
#antivaxx
protestors began directly addressing the children in line:
“Don’t listen to your parents! They are aren’t keeping you safe!”
Which is a weird message, considering their previous stance was emphasizing parental consent.
Mayor Crombie: if the province does not move quickly on a vaccination mandate program I am ready to work with Dr. Loh to move forward with one in Peel.
#onpoli
Premier Ford will meet with Ontario Nurses on Feb. 3, after the Ontario Nurses Association said yesterday that Ford turned down a meeting request. Key topics: burnout, staffing shortages, repealing Bill 124.
#onpoli
NEW: Peterborough Police say the trailer sought in a theft of firearms incident in Peterborough along with a large quantity of the firearms has been recovered in Peel Region.
#onpoli
As PM Trudeau/Ministers push/defend the installation of the Emergencies Act ahead of a vote tonight, the
@cancivlib
is calling on all parties to vote against the motion, or at a minimum permit individual legislators to vote “according to their own personal conscience.”
#cdnpoli
Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden offers to drive Premier Ford to Ottawa to testify at the emergencies act inquiry…expressing that this is a ‘serious offer.’
#onpoli
#cdnpoli
Statement by MPP
@solmamakwa
:
“These children were taken from their parents, and never returned home. Their families never stopped searching for them, and never stopped missing them. They are not numbers. They are children.”
#onpoli
CUPE’s Natl Secretary-Treasurer: lf our members get fined…they need to notify us & we'll give them instructions. If the govt wants to tie up courts by fining everybody $4000… that's up to him (or them), we are deciding what kind of union we want to be.
#onpoli
#onted
FOUND! Thank you for sharing tweets re: missing emotional support dog Bentley. His owner advises he has been found! There was a sighting, his family went to the spot, he was retrieved from the
@TorontoPolice
K9 unit. Tx T.O! (I’ll delete old tweets now to avoid any confusion) 😀
Why is there no action to allow healthcare workers to do their job/enter/exit their workplaces without harassment and intimidation- while allowing protesters…. to protest?
BREAKING: Sources tell
@CP24
/
@CTVNews
updated modelling to show 12,000 – 18,000 cases a day, based on current trend.
ICU
#s
could be up to 1,600 – 1,800 by end of May. This as case # reaches all-time high today: 4736 COVID-19 cases.
#onpoli
Don’t normally post bout these things but: Had bad day, THEN car stalls in live lane on busy T.O road. Service can’t come for 1 hr ! 4-ways on. Drivers honking- I was stuck 🤯 Then two construction workers see me after 15 min, come to direct traffic around me. I was touched! 1/2
Peter Silverman was an incredible person, broadcaster, and former
@CityNews
ombudsman- Who in his off hours worked to help people whose stories he knew we couldn’t get to air. He was 90 years old. He’s married to his amazing wife, who I call Mama, for app. 50 years.
I thanked them profusely (and later called their company- who were happy to get the compliment!) Their kindness made all the difference in my day! Txfully- service came at 30 min. But even so- I’m so grateful. When I asked-foreman told me his mother taught him to be kind. ☺️ 2/2
.
@CBCLorenda
asks “Is this the disaster you predicted two months ago?” Steini Brown: “Yes, this is what we expected...if we relaxed public health measures.”
#onpoli
NEW- All 4 of Ontario’s education unions have co-signed a letter asking the govt to convene an advisory table re: a plan for return to school...which includes them at the table.
#onpoli
As of today, a bank or financial services provider can freeze an account - personal or corporate- if acting in good faith, the bank suspects account is financing illegal blockades. “This is about following the money.” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says.
#cdnpoli
JUST NOW: Independent MPP Randy Hillier received a ticket from Toronto Police, TPS Sgt. on scene confirmed its’s re him organizing the assembly of the gathering (protest on the lawn of QP) in contravention of the ‘Reopening Ontario Act.’ No set fine on ticket.
#onpoli
#topoli
Toronto Police Staff Super Mark Barley says it was “a mistake” that enforcement did not take place at Adamson BBQ today...And that if the restaurant reopens tomorrow there will be enforcement, and that includes against patrons who choose to visit.
#topoli
#onpoli
Based on this Star reporting, Ont. NDP leader Marit Stiles writes: “I will be immediately pursuing all options to get to the bottom of what exactly happened here. That includes submitting a further complaint with the Integrity Commissioner...”
#onpoli
Video shows man driving company vehicle tearing down Liberal elx signs. Elections Ont. records show Camp Forming has made previous donations to PC party. "A full investigation will be conducted… the company will take the appropriate action."
#onpoli
Liberal Leader Del Duca echoes ETFO concerns that there is no clarity yet re what Ford govt has done in last two weeks to make schools safer.
#onpoli
#onted
Hi! I’m honoured to be assigned part-time over the next 2 months as a trainer with •Journalists for Human Rights: Canada World, Voice for Women & Girls• Through
@CTVNews
, I will train female journos in Kenya, Tunisia, and Syrian Journalists in Gaziantep, Turkey. (1/4)
@jhrnews
OSSTF Toronto
@OSSTFtoronto
has sent a letter to TDSB saying “Pivot now” (to online learning.) “Many, many are contemplating work refusals for Tuesday which, if they happen in the numbers we are hearing from, will place the system into further havoc.”
#onpoli
#onted
NEW: The emergency wait time numbers are out for June 2022.
The average time a patient spent in an emergency room in Ontario was 19.1 hours, down an hour from May.
#onpoli
Restaurants Canada: Last week’s abrupt move to shut down all dining so soon after easing restrictions has cost Ontario’s restaurants more than $100 million in reopening and closing costs alone.
#onpoli
I've been stuck in the Metro grocery store parking lot in Liberty Village for an hour with no hope of escaping, traffic jams at every corner, TPS say soccer/events letting out now. I've never been trapped in a grocery store parking lot before. There is no way out!
#topoli
You live east? I live west. In Toronto’s gridlock that means we can’t be friends.
Relationships and gatherings are falling victim to the city’s divide, which is getting too hard to bridge without hours in traffic or transit.
“I’m scared too. We don’t have 6 feet amongst each other here...We are all breathing on each other. Where are you eating facilities? Are they sanitized? Do you have water to wash your hands when you eat your sandwiches?”
#onpoli
CTV News has learned “restrictions at the Canada-US border will remain until it is felt that the pandemic is under control, and the restrictions are likely to last until November, according to senior government sources.” via
@CTVNews
#cdnpoli
#onpoli
….For all patients admitted to hospital from emergency rooms, just 24 per cent were admitted within a target time of eight hours. Their avg wait time in Emerg: was 20.1 hours.
#onpoli
credit to
@Josh_F
.
Some solid work from our
@Josh_F
fact-checking Ford’s 9/10 claim from today: Ford said that 9 /10 patients who visit emergency rooms for ‘high urgency care’ complete their visit within a target time of eight hours.
That appears to be correct.
BUT….
#onpoli
The Ontario Liberals announce that they support the call
for a full investigation into whether “individuals received inside information regarding the opening up of Greenbelt.”
#onpoli
First Q re Roberta Place. “People are dying. Why haven’t you asked the Military to come in...and will you?” Premier Ford: “When I asked that question, I was told we should say we don’t need them.”
#onpoli
BREAKING Ontario govt to send
50% of its vaccine supply to Ont. hotspots, 50% of vaccine supply to all Ont. PHUs (this after a push from doctors and others to get the majority of vaccines to where there is greatest need.) This is for the weeks of May 3rd and May 10th.
#onpoli
On Friday, Premier Ford said on a Peterborough radio show “I’ve always supported truckers- but I’ve always supported vaccines too.” CP24 has reached out twice since then for a comment from the Premier, with no response.
#onpoli
Despite the Ont. Science Table’s support for vaccine certificates aka vaccine passports- govt reiterates: Nope! Health Min. Christine Elliott: “Our government has been clear that the COVID-19 vaccine will not be mandated for Ontarians.”
#onpoli
#cdnpoli
Today- from Toronto Star Editorial Board: In the end, what was in Ford’s mind isn’t as important as the effect of his words. He managed to insult a lot of people, even if that wasn’t his intent..say you’re sorry, & next time think before you speak
#onpoli
I’ve been off for a few days vacation and was completely tuned out until my husband said to me yesterday “the Premier told a story about a boy named Arthur!” and I knew that was the end of my temporary social media hiatus 🤣🤣🤣 Ok...back to vacay now.
.
@StevenDelDuca
re: Oosterhoff partaking in anti-abortion event tonight: “If anyone on my team attends an event hosted by someone as deplorable as a group who compared a woman’s right to choose to the Holocaust, I would fire them on the spot. Where is
@fordnation
on this?”
#onpoli
Toronto Public Health is reporting that, since May 1, 98.7 per cent of hospitalized COVID-19 cases with known vaccination status were not fully vaccinated.
#onpoli
#topoli
Now Premier says vaccinating teachers over April Break “is an option” although this was NOT the case/message in the hour long tech briefing that just wrapped with reporters.
#onpoli
#onted
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique
@OPPCommissioner
is reviewing NDP Leader
@AndreaHorwath
’s request re a criminal investigation into neglect at Ontario’s long-term care homes.
#onpoli
Retyping: Repeated requests for Health Minister Sylvia Jones to come on CP24/CTV News re: ICU closure/ER closures/nursing shortage DENIED.
Instead fed the same statement from days ago. This as 14 hospitals will close emergor icus this weekend due to staff shortages.
#onpoli
Repeated requests for Health Minister Sylvia Jones to come on CP24 re: ICU closure/ER closures/nursing shortage DENIED.
Instead fed the same statement from days ago.
NEW: Ontario NDP files formal letter of opposition to Orchard Villa's application for new licence & expansion. 71 residents died at home, home was assisted by the military who provided scathing report in spring 2020: cockroaches, residents in soiled diapers, dehydration.
#onpoli
NEW: The Ford government formally filed an appeal today, appealing a recent court decision that struck down Bill 124- a controversial bill that limited wages for public sector workers.
#onpoli
#onted
Minister Elliott did not stop to speak to Dr. V. I told her about him… and he advises he was told the Minister was aware he was outside waiting. Dr. V will be back on the campaign trail.
#onpoli
Outside St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto’s west end, where Minister Elliott is scheduled to speak now, emergency room doctor, Dr. Venugopal, wants to speak to Minister Elliott. “I work with nurses. Doctors didn’t need a pay raise.” Calls Bill 124 a slap in the face.
#onpoli
In Toronto: St. Michael’s Hospital/St. Joseph’s Hospital now vaccinating ages 50+:
#onpoli
#topoli
•St. Joseph’s: Postal codes starting with M6K, M6N, M8V, M9A, M9B, M9C, M9R, M9V and M9W
•St. Michael’s: Postal codes starting with M4X, M5A and M5B
Not sure who this is, but his message is not consistent with any Christian denomination I’m aware of. Calls out media (CBC), asks for protection of independent media (Rebel News.)
#RollingThunderOttawa
#cdnpoli
I don’t think there has been one (major) Ontario police force that has accepted the new government order, which took effect at midnight (the OPP being the exception.) Toronto Police: “We will not be doing random stops of people or cars.”
#onpoli
#topoli
New emergency orders announced yesterday to help limit the spread of Covid-19 are now in effect. The Toronto Police Service will continue to engage, educate and enforce, but we will not be doing random stops of people or cars. 1/2
I had a man write to me on Wed. about his father-in-law who lives in a LTC home due to a past stroke. Dad contracted COVID. Man wrote:
“What happened to our health care?”
“How does a man confined to his room with no visitations develop COVID-19?” Father-in-law passed this morn.
The Ontario science table has important modeling work that projects a grim fall. I don't understand why they're not releasing that. It's important for people to understand what lies ahead, and what the stakes are.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce sends a letter to federal officials re the planning and procurement of vaccines for children and students. BUT- There are no COVID vaccines approved for children in Canada. Pfizer is approved for those 16 and up.
#onpoli
Canadian Press reports
#BREAKING
: - The federal government will announce this afternoon the provision of military medical personnel to help Ontario's beleaguered health-care system with a third wave of COVID-19.
#onpoli
#cdnpoli
Liberals: “There is no excuse for this government’s inaction.” “As the Premier & Minister of Health, they should be standing front and center to fix this ongoing crisis, yet Doug Ford and Sylvia Jones are … nowhere to be found.”
#onpoli
Tomorrow at 10 am. Interim Liberal leader/MPP John Fraser (Ottawa South) & MPP Dr. Adil Shamji (Don Valley East) will hold a news conference to call on the Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones, to address ER/ICU closures.
#onpoli
#onhealth
“I’m not right, I’m not left, I don’t belong to a political party.” Mayor John Tory just now. (just an fyi he was the former Ontario PC Leader and former PC MPP)
#topoli