When it comes to combatting the coronavirus, some medical experts are saying lockdowns do not work while other experts are pushing for further lockdowns. Who are you supposed to believe?
One thing is clear – the lockdowns have had a societal impact on Canadians – deteriorating mental health, increase of eating disorders and much more.
Anthony Furey says if there is conflicting data, then there must be a better approach than the option that is most harmful to Canadians.
According to transition briefing documents obtained by CTV News, US President-elect Joe Biden will kill the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day of office.
The US will hold its 59th inaugural ceremony to swear in President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Wednesday January 20, 2021.
The Keystone XL pipeline extension builds upon existing infrastructure which transports Canadian crude oil into the U.S. The extension would’ve delivered 830,000 barrels of oil from Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska. The project had a price tag of approximately US$8 billion.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney expressed his disappointment in the announcement.
“Doing so would kill jobs on both sides of the border, weaken the critically important Canada-US relationship, and undermine US national security by making the United States more dependent on OPEC oil imports in the future,” Kenney said in a statement.
Kenney reiterated that the Government of Canada once said building the extension was “top of the agenda” with President-elect Biden.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought up the project in a congratulatory phone call with Biden following the US election.
According to sources, they spoke for around 10 minutes and agreed to continue discussing later down the road.
Biden’s campaign has promised to block the extension since the Democratic presidential primaries. In May 2020, Biden’s campaign policy director Stef Feldman said that Biden would cancel the Trump Administration’s approvals for the pipeline.
In response, the Business Council of Alberta threatened a “multibillion-dollar lawsuit” if Biden followed through with his promise.
Biden has also promised to rejoin the controversial Paris Accord, which President Trump withdrew from in 2017.
The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns are having a devastating impact on the mental health of Canadians. Canadians from across the country are reporting record high levels of anxiety and depression as health restrictions continue to mount.
The results from the fourth part in an ongoing series of 13 polls by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC,) show surveyed Canadians are reporting the highest levels of mental stress since the peak of the first wave of the virus.
Social isolation and working from home have proven to have a negative impact on Canadians as guidelines restricting movement stay in place, becoming the leading cause of mental stress.
The MHRC found that 22% of respondents have been diagnosed with depression and 20% received a diagnosis for anxiety, both levels are at the highest the MHRC have ever measured.
Over time, the impact of lockdowns on anxiety has not lessened and is four times higher than pre-outbreak levels. Canadians report feeling they are not handling stress and managing their mental health as well as before the pandemic.
While Manitoba and Saskatchewan reported the highest levels of anxiety and depression, the report shows an increase across the country.
MHRC board member Dr. David Dozois says that the high levels of anxiety and depression are a serious concern.
“Canadians are not receiving mental health supports at the same rate as before the pandemic,” said Dozois.
“Not only are Canadians less likely to be getting in-person support from a mental health professional, they are also less likely to be speaking to their family physician.”
Respondents reported high levels of resiliency to the challenges they face during the pandemic months, with 65% of Canadians indicating they are remaining highly resilient to the challenges they face during COVID-19.
Resiliency does not necessarily mean that the reported decline in mental health is not serious. The report from the MHRC indicates that these cases would be classified as moderate to severe on the Kessler Scale, a survey which measures psychological distress.
The latest poll for the MHRC was conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights and surveyed 2.761 Canadians online. The December data was gathered before provincial governments issued stringent lockdown protocols for the holiday.
Anyone who is experiencing struggles with their mental health are encouraged to seek advice or services.
A fourth-year journalism student at Ryerson University says he was fired from his position at a campus newspaper over his strict Roman Catholic beliefs and has applied to have the case brought before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.
21-year-old Jonathan Bradley had been covering on-campus news and events for the Eyeopener, Ryerson University’s independent student newspaper, since 2017.
On June 3, 2020, a former classmate of Bradley’s posted screenshots of private messages between the two where Bradley said that homosexuality is a sin. The former classmate tagged the Eyeopener’s Twitter account and urged the newspaper to get rid of the young journalist. Bradley didn’t shy away from acknowledging that he follows the Bible’s teachings.
Days later, on June 9, 2020, Eyeopener editor-in-chief Catherine Abes allegedly sent Bradley an email firing him from his position as contributing journalist.
“Recently, The Eyeopener’s Twitter was tagged in a thread involving screenshots of a conversation in which you defended the notion that homosexuality as well as being transgender is considered a sin. I see that you have tweeted this sentiment in the past and also defended it in the present day,” Abes wrote to Bradley.
“…we are responsible for ensuring that our Eye community— including sources, contributors, readers and editors—feel safe and comfortable in working with The Eyeopener and coming into our space. I fear that since you’ve made your opinion public, members of our community, especially queer, trans and non-binary folks, would no longer feel safe if you are associated with the publication.”
“It’s for these reasons that I’ve come to the decision that you can no longer contribute to The Eyeopener.”
A couple of months prior to his firing, Bradley had also been censured by the Eyeopener’s editorial team.
In March 2020, Bradley contributed an op-ed to The Post Millennial in which he criticized equity, diversity and inclusion offices at Canadian universities for promoting social justice ideology and political correctness. The day after the piece was published, then-editor of the Eyeopener Sarah Krichel pulled Bradley aside at a staff dinner and told him his Post Millennial article could make other Eyeopener staff members feel “triggered” or “uncomfortable.”
Krichel told Bradley that he would not be permitted to write about diversity and inclusion issues for the Eyeopener, and that if he were to write about those issues in another forum, he would be disinvited from the staff pub night that week because his presence could make his colleagues feel unsafe. Bradley was compensated for his work at the newspaper by receiving free dinner and drinks at these weekly staff pub night events.
In his application to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, Bradley claims he was terminated from employment on the discriminatory basis of creed. He is seeking $20,000 in compensation for loss of opportunity and harm to reputation, in addition to reinstatement at the Eyeopener, among other remedies. The allegations have not been proven in court.
The Eyeopener did not immediately respond to request for comment.
A total of 340 million Christians around the world will live with high levels of persecution in the following year, according to advocacy group Open Doors USA.
In their 2021 watch list, Open Doors USA found that the biggest concern for Christians globally was rising oppression during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic was the event of a generation. And in addition to the pain felt by people all over the world, it also exposed the ugliness of Christian persecution in a new way,” the group wrote.
The five most dangerous countries to practice Christianity in 2021 are North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya and Pakistan, but the pandemic has made many more places more dangerous.
Christians in countries like India, Bangladesh and Myanmar all reported being refused aid because of their faith. During a food aid program organized by Open Doors in India, 80% of Indian Christians said they were overlooked by other assistance programs.
“Sometimes, this denial was at the hands of government officials, but more often, it was from village heads, committees or other local leaders. Some Christians even reported that their food ration cards were torn up or waved away.”
Despite the risk of coronavirus, terrorist actors still left their homes to murder Christians in many countries, particularly in Nigeria where Islamist violence skyrocketed in the past year.
Countries in Africa where Islamist violence was previously rare like Burkina Faso, Mozambique, and the DR Congo all made it on the list for increasing violence in the past year.
In India, ranked 10th on the list, Christians fear that surveillance introduced under the guise of contact tracing will actually be used for future persecution, while in China surveillance is already used to prevent Christians from worshipping and the sharing of Christian content.
“The global pandemic made persecution more obvious than ever—simply because so many people needed help,” Open Doors wrote.
“The clear discrimination and oppression suffered by Christians in 2020 must not be forgotten, even after the COVID-19 crisis fades into our collective memory.”
Canadian medical expert Dr. Ari Joffe recently published a cost-benefit analysis on the government-mandated lockdown restrictions, estimating that the harms caused by lockdown measures are at least five to 10 times greater than the benefits. After all, a population plagued by economic downturn, unemployment and loneliness is at risk of early mortality, reduced lifespan and chronic disease.
Further, the World Health Organisation is urging governments not to use lockdowns as the primary method of combating the coronavirus, warning that we could see a doubling of global poverty and child malnutrition.
And yet, Ontario and Quebec have entered second lockdowns, with respective premiers Doug Ford and François Legault shutting down physical recreation facilities, retail stores, restaurants, salons and many other services. Schools and universities have not offered full in-person learning for almost an entire year.
More and more health experts are asserting that lockdowns are deadlier than the COVID-19 virus, so True North has compiled the facts.
Children’s wellbeing
According to pediatric disease specialist Dr. Ari Joffe, children living through the COVID-19 lockdowns are often facing family financial stress, family violence, loneliness, hunger, inactivity, and disrupted educational opportunities. This will result in “permanent profound impacts on their future quality of life, educational achievement, earning potential, lifespan, and health care utilization.”
In addition, eating disorders are on the rise among youth. “Our eating disorder unit has very high numbers that we have never seen before,” Dr. Ronald Cohn, President and CEO of SickKids hospital, told the Toronto Sun.
Cohn, who notes that COVID-related anxieties are often exaggerated, recommends that parents reassure their children the coronavirus is not a threat to younger demographics.
Drug overdose
In Alberta, 2020 was the worst year on record for opioid overdose fatalities: an average of 90 people died each month from January to October.
In British Columbia, there were over 100 overdose deaths each month from March to August.
Ontario’s chief coroner estimated there were 50–80 accidental overdose deaths per week in 2020. There was a 38% increase in opioid-related deaths in the first 15 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the same 15-week period in 2019.
According to Public Health Ontario, the increase in drug-related deaths is being driven by an increasingly contaminated drug supply from dealers looking to stretch their product, and physical distancing requirements are leading more people to use drugs alone.
Health services
During the first four months of the pandemic, nearly half of all planned surgeries were postponed across the country in order to free up hospital resources for an anticipated surge of COVID-19 patients.
In April 2020, the University Health Network in Ontario released a study indicating that as many as 35 cardiac-care patients likely died after their heart surgeries were cancelled to free up hospital beds in the initial weeks of the pandemic.
By May 24, 2020 in BC, 2,184 hip and knee surgeries, 597 dental surgeries, and 14,295 “other” surgeries were cancelled.
Surgeries are still being delayed and cancelled today.
Cancer specialists are speaking out about the decreased number of cancer screenings, referrals and diagnoses since the pandemic began in March 2020 – they fear cases could be going undetected and untreated.
The director of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto Dr. Keith Stewart told the CBC he and his colleagues are worried that “there may be a tsunami of cancer out there that’s going to suddenly show up.”
Hunger
A report by Daily Bread Food Bank found there was a 200% increase in new clients accessing food banks in Toronto from May–June 2020.
76% of new clients began accessing food banks due to job loss or a cutback in hours caused by the COVID-related lockdowns.
Loneliness, social isolation, and mental health
40% of Canadians say their mental health has deteriorated since March 2020, a Canadian Mental Health Association study found.
Prior to the pandemic, more than half of Canadians (55%) reported they had a good social life. As of an October 2020 poll, that number is down to 33%.
Social isolation and loneliness can lead to depression, anxiety, alcoholism, obesity, family violence, chronic disease, psychiatric illnesses and early mortality.
Small business
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) estimates between 160,000–225,000 small businesses across Canada will permanently close down due to COVID-19.
According to a Statistics Canada report, 25,614 Ontario businesses closed down between February and September 2020.
Suicide
The Canada Suicide Prevention Service, which operates a crisis hotline, claims between 15–20% of callers they’ve talked to during the pandemic have mentioned COVID-19.
According to a December 2020 study by the Canadian Mental Health Association, one in 10 Canadians (10%) have experienced recent thoughts of suicide. Pre-pandemic, that figure was 2.5%.
Some researchers are predicting increases of suicide in Canada as a result of the economic instability, social isolation and job losses brought on by the government-mandated lockdowns.
Unemployment and poverty
Nearly one in 10 Canadians reported losing their job in 2020.
A loss of income has serious health effects: the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada states that those dealing with financial stresses are twice as likely to report poor overall health; four times as likely to suffer from sleep problems, headaches and other illnesses; and more likely to experience strain in personal relationships.
“We in the World Health Organisation (WHO) do not advocate lockdowns as the primary means of control of this virus,” WHO official Dr. David Nabarro said in an interview with The Spectator.
“Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer.”
In 2007, four RCMP officers responded to a disturbance call at Vancouver International Airport which resulted in the tragic death of Polish traveller Robert Dziekanski. While the officers did absolutely nothing wrong in their response, the RCMP allowed the YVR 4 to be prosecuted for perjury.
This week, there were two big developments. One of the YVR 4 members Kwesi Millington reached a settlement with the RCMP, proving the police force has been wrong throughout this process. Further, the BC government appointed a central figure of the YVR incident Wayne Rideout as BC’s Director of Police Services.
True North’s Leo Knight has the latest developments.
The Fraser Health Authority is moving to evict an end-of-life care facility after it refused to provide assisted suicide services to its patients.
The Delta Hospice Society has been operating to provide palliative care since the early 1990s and had previously signed a 35-year lease and service agreement with Fraser Health.
However, last year BC Health Minister Adrian Dix announced that the society would have until February 25, 2021 to clear out the premises and terminate its contract. The decision by the BC government was prompted by a decision by the hospice society’s board of directors to not provide medical assistance in dying to their patients.
“Our Palliative Care facility refused to offer euthanasia as it is against our medical discipline and standard of care. For that stand we lost our $1.5 million year funding and our assets will be expropriated ($15 million),” the president of the Delta Hospice Society Board, Angelina Ireland, told True North.
“We will continue our palliative care support services like we have always done. We just lose our clinical operations. As we are being evicted from our own buildings we will have to find alternative premises to operate those services from.”
Earlier this week, employees at the society were handed layoff notices by their employer. According to Fraser Health, all unionized staff at the society have been offered a chance to relocate to another place of employment if they choose to do so.
“Fraser Health is working with the appropriate unions to ensure all unionized hospice staff who received layoff notices from the Society will have employment opportunities within Fraser Health should they want them,” said a Fraser Health press release.
On Friday, it was also announced that Fraser Health will transfer patients housed in the Delta facility to five hospice beds at Mountain View Manor, which will eventually be increased to 10 beds by April 2021.
“To reduce any disruption for patients through this transition period, transfers to the Irene Thomas Hospice (a Delta Hospice Society facility) have been temporarily paused. Any person seeking hospice care between January 11 and February 24, 2021 will be admitted to another hospice. For the duration of the notice period, patients currently at the hospice will continue to receive hospice care services with no interruptions in care,” said the press release.
According to Ireland, however, this transfer to long-term-care facilities will endanger the patients.
“With COVID, that happens to be a dangerous place for these vulnerable people,” Ireland told True North.
An annual report by Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam found that 80% of all Canadian coronavirus deaths took place in long-term care facilities.
A new not-for-profit group seeks to challenge the activist-driven push going on at some university campuses and at other organizations to divest from the Canadian energy sector.
The upstart InvestNow was launched in December by former Toronto Stock Exchange market intelligence head Gina Pappano, with a mandate to combat energy sector divestment and promote investment in it.
In an interview on The Andrew Lawton Show, Pappano said her organization hopes to raise awareness on why the activists seeking to keep capital away from the energy sector are off-base both economically and environmentally.
“We decided to launch InvestNow to challenge the divestment narrative – to say that divestment is wrong,” Pappano said. “It doesn’t achieve what it’s purported to achieve, which is it doesn’t reduce emissions, and Canada has some of the best energy companies in the world. It doesn’t reduce demand, so the supply will come from elsewhere.”
Pappano pointed to efforts by the US-based 350.org to lobby boards of governors of Canadian universities, urging them to divest their endowments from Canada’s energy sectors for ideological, not financial, reasons.
Last year, the University of Guelph announced that it would pull tens of millions of dollars in investments from the fossil fuel sector after extensive lobbying from activists.
“Last year, they voted for divestment and only three people voted against it on the board of governors. So we’re realizing that the other side is not being told,” said Pappano.
“We’re trying to write our own letters to the boards of governors and university presidents to say, ‘Consider this, especially for Canada.’ We don’t think people realize how important the Canadian energy sector is to the economy, to running universities, to running everything in our cities, and we want to get that message out there.”
According to Pappano, the groups pushing the divestment narrative are “very well funded,” whereas the pro-energy sector side of the debate has a lot of catching up to do.
The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan has been the recent target by environmental activists to divest from Canadian fossil fuels.
A coalition of groups, including Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, Fridays for Future Toronto and a number of current and former Ontario teachers have so far led the charge.
Last week, Durham Regional Police arrived at a Whitby home and broke up an allegedly “illegal” outdoor minor hockey practice.
According to Durham Radio News, the police received a complaint on Sunday about a gathering in the home.
Twelve children and coaches were found to be using an outdoor ice rink in the backyard and parents had also gathered to watch their children practice hockey. The police claim those in attendance were not socially distanced.
Prior to Ontario’s second state-of-emergency, the outdoor gathering limit was 10 people.
Each attendee may receive a ticket of $750 and the organizer may be fined $10,000 for non-compliance. The homeowner was also charged under the Reopening Ontario Act and received a court summons.
Since the pandemic began, Durham Police have issued 13 tickets and eight charges under the Reopening Ontario Act. In addition, 16 tickets and 11 charges have been laid under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.
On January 14, in light of a spike in coronavirus cases, the Ontario government plunged residents into a further lockdown. All residents of Ontario are advised to stay at home as much as possible while outdoor gatherings are limited to 5 people.
The Government of Ontario is also recommending people to wear masks while outdoors if they can’t follow appropriate physical distancing.
Under the new order, the province has given all law enforcement officers the ability to issue tickets to those found not to comply.
While police in Durham say officers will continue to enforce compliance, they acknowledge that officers don’t have the authority to enter a dwelling or stop a vehicle in order to check compliance.
