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Saturday, July 12, 2025

Proof of vaccination required for marriage licenses in Oakville

By
Jonathan Bradley
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Couples looking to tie the knot in Oakville, Ont. are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Town of Oakville said in a statement that starting Sept. 22, people have to provide identification and proof of vaccination or a valid exemption prior to an appointment for a marriage license or a ceremony. Appointments for marriage licenses and ceremonies that have been booked prior to Sept. 22 will not require proof of vaccination. 

While marriages will be able to be held inside Oakville Town Hall as of Nov. 4, the Town of Oakville said the request for proof of vaccination applies to indoor use of recreation and culture facilities and the ServiceOakville counter at Oakville Town Hall. 

The vaccine mandate applies to people who are 12 years old and older and individuals who do not show proof of vaccination or fail to provide an approved exemption will be barred from entering the facilities and participating in indoor programming. 

“The town’s requirements exceed the province’s proof of vaccination regulations in an effort to provide added protection to our community and town staff from COVID-19,” said the Town of Oakville. 

Residents of Oakville are not the only ones affected by the town council’s vaccine mandate. Town of Oakville employees, members of Oakville Town Council, any person representing or acting on behalf of the town, contractors and tenants are also required to be vaccinated.

In September, the Ontario government unveiled its own vaccine passport system, which requires Ontarians to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination to access certain businesses and settings.

The Ontario government also enforced a vaccine mandate for anyone entering Queen’s Park. 

Cambridge Member of Provincial Parliament Belinda Karahalios says the new rule will prevent her and other elected officials who are either unvaccinated or do not wish to disclose their vaccination status from criticizing the government.

“This is a disgraceful and undemocratic ruling that sets a dangerous precedent,” the New Blue Party MPP said. 

Unvaccinated Quebec nurses to have license suspended amid staffing shortage

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Source: Flickr

Amid a nursing shortage in Quebec, thousands of nurses in the province could be suspended without pay if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Roughly 15,000 healthcare workers could be suspended without pay beginning on October 15, 2021, according to Health Minister Christian Dube. 

Additionally, the Quebec Order of Nurses has said that it will be suspending nursing licenses of any nurse who is not fully vaccinated beginning on Friday. 

Unvaccinated healthcare workers in Quebec have banded together to challenge the law. According to Natalia Manole, a lawyer who is representing them in court, the nurses believe that alternatives like regular testing can ensure their workplaces remain safe. 

“Most of them are not going to go back to health care if it stays. Some love their jobs and are dedicated; they work so many hours and shifts,” said Manole. 

“(The order) is not reasonable. A decree is supposed to be made in the public interest; our position is that this is not in the public interest.”

At the same time, the Quebec government is hastily attempting to boost the numbers of nurses in the industry by offering bonuses as high as $18,000 due to an urgent staffing shortage. 

“We need you. Quebecers need you,” said Quebec Premier 

The province is currently short of 4,300 nurses and hospitals in Quebec are being forced to cancel surgeries to deal with the shortage. 

Other provinces, including British Columbia, are experiencing a shortage in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Recently, three BC emergency departments were forced to shutter their doors due to unspecified staffing issues.

Local residents attempting to access the emergency services were either told to dial 911 or attend an emergency room nearly an hour and a half drive away. 

No end date or target for Alberta’s vaccine passport program, Kenney says

By
Andrew Lawton
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Alberta’s vaccine passports will remain in place through at least the first quarter of 2022, at which point the Alberta government will reassess the program, Premier Jason Kenney says.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Kenney said the government will review its “restrictions exemption program” next year based on provincial and global COVID trends, though he was clear there is no specific target for case counts or vaccination rates that will automatically trigger the end of the program.

Kenney said the risk of winter case spikes and waning vaccine immunity make it premature to identify an off-ramp for the program, which requires businesses like restaurants and entertainment venues to check for proof of vaccination or a negative test result to admit patrons.

“We have not defined a particular criteria to end the program,” Kenney said. “I fully expect that we will have it in place through at least the first quarter of next year, because we are headed into an uncertain period.”

Kenney said declining case and hospitalization numbers in the fall are no guarantee there won’t be another spike as cold weather forces people indoors in December and January.

“The jury is still out on exactly when, but we do know that both of those kinds of immunity, from prior infection and from vaccines, can wane over time,” Kenney said. “Between weather, seasonal patterns, more indoor activity and the potential for waning protection, we don’t want to let down our guard, let’s say in November if we get out of this fourth wave, only to potentially face a Christmas spike or a winter spike.”

Despite raising concerns about future decline in vaccine and infection-acquired immunity, Kenney said vaccines are proving effective, noting the majority of those in intensive care units with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

However, Kenney wouldn’t rule out possible expansion of third-doses – commonly referred to as booster shots – as requirements for full vaccination status under Alberta’s vaccine passport program.

Earlier this month, Israel started requiring a third dose for those wishing to maintain a “green pass,” which is required for entry to restaurants and bars, among other venues.

Kenney said similar action in Alberta is “not where we’re at now,” but wouldn’t take it off the table as a future measure.

“We will closely monitor the data,” he said. “We have the advantage – we and countries around the world – of closely watching the Israeli experience to study the impact of their widespread application of booster shots to the population. We’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. I wouldn’t rule that out, but it’s not something that is under current consideration.”

Heavy handed holiday rules for thee, trips to Tofino for me

By
Candice Malcolm
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We live in a society where our Prime Minister takes a beach vacation while our public health officials say ‘no’ to Thanksgiving gatherings for the unvaccinated and ‘no’ to beach vacations for all Canadians. 

Enough is enough, says Candice Malcolm.

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude and to pause and appreciate all the wonderful things in our lives: family, friends, faith, peace, stability and our great tradition of democracy and ordered liberty. But if we don’t remain vigilant, we may lose our ancient freedoms. 

If we let heavy-handed public health order and propaganda media erode our freedoms, we may never get them back.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CANDICE MALCOLM SHOW

Provinces are still running COVID snitch lines

By
Andrew Lawton
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“We’re all in this together” is but a distant memory now, as provinces make it easier to report “non-compliance” with COVID-19 measures. A number of provinces with vaccine passports are maintaining web portals to invite complaints about supposed public health rule-breaking. The Manitoba and Saskatchewan government websites even let you report someone for not wearing a mask. True North’s Andrew Lawton says it’s impossible to take things like “community” and “society” seriously when government pits people against each other.

Also, some cringe-worthy political theatre, plus Canada is once again cozying up with the Chinese regime.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

Vast majority of Canadians want more cooperation with allies on countering China

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Canadians increasingly have a negative opinion of China and think the federal government should take a tougher stance on the Communist county. 

New polling by Nanos Research conducted shortly after the release of Micheal Kovrig and Michael Spavor by Chinese authorities reveals that a majority don’t want to increase business ties with the nation. 

According to the poll results, 69% of Canadians think Canada should avoid reaching a trade deal with China in the near future. 

In comparison, two years prior only 47% of Canadians opposed the idea of a trade deal. 

The survey included over 1,000 Canadians who were polled between September 30, 2021 and October 3, 2021. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.1% or 19 times out of 20.

Additionally, 87% of Canadians want the federal government to increase ties with its traditional allies like the US, the UK and Australia “to contain China’s growing power.” Only 9% opposed the idea of a partnership. 

Following the release of the two Michaels, 43% of Canadians think that the country should be “unfriendly” to the Chinese government, while 42% stated that Canada should remain neutral with respect to China. Only 12% preferred that the two countries became friendly. 

“If the relationship between Canada and China was damaged in 2019 – now it’s severely damaged,” said pollster Nik Nanos. 

“When (Canadians) think of China. They see it as a problem.”

With regard to the question of whether Canada should partner with the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies to develop its 5G infrastructure, most Canadians were opposed to the idea.

In total, 75% of Canadians said that the Canadian government should ban the company from operating on its 5G networks. 

As reported by True North, Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government was “missing in action” when it came to confronting Chinese aggression. 

“The Liberal government has been promising a new framework for relations with China for years,” said Genuis in an emailed statement. 

“It is clear that the Liberal government is missing in action when it comes to responding to the domestic and international challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party.”

Three BC emergency rooms shutter their doors, locals told to drive over an hour away

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Three BC emergency departments have closed due to staffing issues and local residents in need of medical care are being told to look elsewhere. 

According to the Vancouver Sun, Interior Health hospitals in Ashcroft, Clearwater and Elkford have either closed fully or partially due to what health authorities are calling “unforeseen limited staffing availability.” 

Residents seeking to access the emergency room’s are being told to dial 911 or drive one hour and a half away to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, BC.

Interior Health has not provided details on what has caused the staffing shortages or whether it’s pandemic-related. However, the BC Nurses Union publicly voiced its opposition to BC’s order to mandate vaccines for those working in the healthcare sector. 

“We cannot support any order which will serve to remove even a single nurse or other health care worker from the health care system at a time of severe crisis,” said the union in a September 13, 2021 statement. 

According to the union, roughly 20% of nurses are not vaccinated for COVID-19. 

By the end of September, over 100 healthcare workers were removed from their positions because they refused to get their shots. 

Vaccination will be mandatory for all healthcare workers by October 26, 2021. Those who refuse to comply will be put on unpaid leave. 

“The union is not in a position to support an order which will serve to remove even a single nurse or other health care worker from the health care system at a time of severe crisis, it’s just not something that we can do,” said BC Nurses Union vice-president Aman Grewal. 

Drug buyers’ club receives Vancouver’s approval to secure a drug supply

By
Jonathan Bradley
-

Vancouver City Council voted on Thursday to support a program that would provide drugs to people at risk of overdosing. 

Vancouver City Council voted 10-0 in favour of the motion. Vancouver city councillor Colleen Hardwick did not vote because she was absent. 

Vancouver city councillor Jean Swanson said in the motion that the Drug Users Liberation Front (DULF) and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) have applied to the Canadian government for an exemption under Section 56(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) to allow them to distribute drugs in the city. 

“Almost six precious humans in BC die every day from toxic drugs, more than die from COVID,” said Swanson in the motion. “Current methods of providing safer prescription drugs do not work for the vast majority of drug users.” 

The motion requests that Vancouver City Council endorse the application of the DULF and the VANDU for a Section 56(1) exemption to supply people with drugs. It calls for city council to ask Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart to write to the Canadian government endorsing this application. 

Swanson said the preferable method for administering the drug supply program once approved would be for the DULF and the VANDU to run a “compassion club,” which would see these groups purchase pharmaceutical-grade cocaine, heroin and meth from a licensed producer. 

Since these groups do not have permission to obtain drugs how they want to at the moment, a DULF fulfillment centre searches for substances in the illicit market. 

This fulfillment centre takes existing illicit drugs, tests them, labels them and reintroduces them into the market without profiting off of them. 

People who want to join the “compassion club” will have to go through membership screening conducted by a current member of the DULF as well as a staff member or volunteer. The requirements to be a member are the person is at least 18 years old and is a current drug user. 

Swanson said in full operation, the screening process will be used to determine other needs not being met by club membership, such as assistance navigating social support systems and accessing recovery and detox services.

“This model could also reduce the impact of violence of the local street drug market, the cost of health care for people who take toxic drugs, and the costs of police,” she said. 

Vancouver was one of the first cities in North America to adopt a harm reduction approach to drug use. This city opened a needle exchange in 1988, and the first safe injection site launched in 2003. 

Most of these initiatives are located in the Downtown Eastside, a hotspot for drug overdoses. 

While Insite, a safe injection site in the Downtown Eastside, recorded 189,837 visits in 2019 without any deaths on the premises, the streets near this area saw more overdose deaths than ever before. About 3,000 overdoses have taken place within a block of Insite in a two-year timeframe. A secret recording from a safe injection site in the Downtown Eastside revealed it is possible for people to overdose at a facility, but die on route to the hospital or after they have returned to the streets. 

A study done by Simon Fraser University health science professor Julian Somers suggested despite the increase in safe drug use services to the Downtown Eastside, better outcomes did not arise. The study determined that out of the 433 drug addicts in a free housing and services program, members of the sample experienced significant personal decline rather than recovery, because of their involvements with crime, large increases in acute care, and prolonged homelessness.

Liberals “missing in action” when it comes to Taiwan, China escalation: MP Genuis

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis told True North that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was “missing in action” when it came to the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) towards Taiwan and the international community at large. 

According to Genuis, the Liberal government’s lack of response marked “a long pattern of inaction when it comes to China.” 

“The Liberal government has been promising a new framework for relations with China for years,” said Genuis in an emailed statement. 

“It is clear that the Liberal government is missing in action when it comes to responding to the domestic and international challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party.” 

Recently, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said that her country won’t back down or bow to Chinese aggression after a record number of CCP jets buzzed Taiwan’s air defence zone a week prior. 

“The more we achieve, the greater the pressure we face from China,” said Tsai.

“(We will) ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us”. 

Tsai’s remarks were immediately denounced by CCP Chairman Xi Jinping who said that China would “safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” 

Critics have been calling on the Trudeau government to take a stronger approach to the Chinese regime now that Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig have been set free following a last-minute deal struck by the US Justice Department and Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in September. 

“Our allies, including the United States under President Biden, have taken steps to demonstrate their commitment to defending the Indo-Pacific region. Canada must stand clearly with our democratic allies to deter the Chinese Communist Party’s escalating aggression against Taiwan,” Genius told True North.

“This means strengthening our ties with democratic partners in the region, reasserting our role in our security partnerships, and actively participating in new security initiatives.” 

Genuis is not the only Conservative MP who has recently called for more action on China. Both MPs Michael Chong and Melissa Lantsman made similar statements on social media last week.

MALCOLM: Equalization in Canada is fundamentally broken

By
Candice Malcolm
-

Canada’s system of fiscal federalism, specifically the program of equalization that divides the country into “have” and “have-not” provinces and transfers revenues from the former to the latter, is fundamentally broken. And, for the first time in my lifetime, some Canadians are finally being given the chance to do something about it.

During next week’s municipal elections, Albertans will have the rare opportunity to participate in direct democracy and vote on the fairness of Canada’s equalization program.

Specifically, they will be asked whether equalization payments should be removed from the constitution.

A “yes” vote will not change the program immediately, but it will send a strong message to the political class that the people are not on board with a program designed to syphon tax dollars away from provinces with diversified economies and funnel them to provinces that are chronically mismanaged and refuse to develop their natural resources.

Dr. Bill Bewick, who runs Fairness Alberta (EqualizationReferendum.ca) tells me that a “yes” vote is the most powerful tool ever given to Albertans.

“Albertans have a hard time getting heard in Canada. One major party takes us for granted, the other writes us off and sacrifices Alberta for the rest of the country. It’s tough for Albertans to get heard,” said Bewick.

“So we need to be creative. It’s far more powerful for the people to speak up. It’s a lot harder to ignore the expressed will of the people, and we hope this will elevate this issue to the top of the agenda in Ottawa.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I’ve been writing about the broken equalization system in the pages of Sun newspapers for nearly a decade. My first column on the topic came in 2013, when I wrote: “equalization should not be a federal welfare program. Instead, it should be a temporary fiscal recovery program to help provinces transition and diversify their economies. Equalization should provide bridge funding to “have-not” provinces on the condition that they bring their fiscal house in order.”

In 2015, I wrote that provinces who refuse to develop their natural resources despite proven oil reserves  — notably PEI, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec — are rewarded through equalization, while the provinces with the initiative to develop their resources — namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, BC and Newfoundland — are punished.

A few years later, in 2016, I got into a back and forth debate on these pages with former Finance Minister Joe Oliver. We both agreed that the system was outdated, that it punished the “have” provinces and that it was time for an overhaul of the system.

The reason I say it was a “debate” is because I told Oliver that he should have reformed the system when he had a chance.

“(The Equalization program’s) flaws were as self-evident when Oliver was finance minister as they are today. But when the old equalization agreement expired in 2014 and was renegotiated by the feds, Oliver and company cowered to the recipient provinces. They quietly renewed the status quo rather than making the difficult but important changes Oliver acknowledges today.”

Once again on these pages in 2018, I wrote about how even though Alberta was struggling and its economy was in decline, the punitive system still took money from Alberta and distributed it to the other provinces.

“Unemployment levels in Alberta are the highest in decades, one of four Calgary offices sit empty, investors and Canadian energy firms are fleeing the country, and, all the while, Albertans are still being forced to pay equalization transfer payments to the rest of the country.”

I no longer live in Alberta and thus do not get to vote in the upcoming referendum on Oct. 18, but I hope readers of this column in Alberta will send a message to the political class: the free ride is over, Albertans (and indeed many Canadians) are no longer willing to fund this fiscal dysfunction.

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