New Brunswick’s largest beach will once again be open to the public starting Friday and visitors to Parlee Beach Provincial Park will notice some changes that include improved access for those with disabilities.
“We have been lobbying for years now to make the entire province accessible,” said Mathieu Stever, the manager of the ParaNB program with Ability New Brunswick
The provincial park is getting a $2-million facelift in advance of its second season in operation amid the pandemic. According to the province, funding for the upgrades is being applied from the capital improvement budgets from 2020 to 2022.
The work includes upgrades to roads, entrances, the canteen, restaurant bar and patio area as well as improved access to the beach, according to the park’s manager, Michel Mallet, who said they partnered with Ability NB on the project starting in 2019.
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“We call it a comfort station, which is basically an accessible washroom and accessible charging room and shower outside,” said Mallet.
Improved sidewalks and beach-friendly wheelchairs will also be available for visitors, said Mallet.
He said an accessible playground is also being installed in the coming weeks. The hope is to have the upgrades ready by the end of the school year, he said.
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“I think it is great having Parlee Beach set the example of how you can renovate the beach and make it accessible for everyone because our motto is that everyone plays,” said Stever.
Stever said he hopes the initiative will encourage other provincial parks in the province to do similar upgrades.
“It is everyone’s right to be able to access all recreation activities in the province”, he said.
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Parlee Beach opens on Friday with COVID-19 protocols similar to last year, said Mallet.
All washrooms and changing rooms, even the accessible ones, will remain closed for now, he said.
Access to the provincial beach for vacationers from outside of the province will also depend on the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions.
A Toronto woman has been charged in connection with an Airbnb rental in Innisfil, Ont., after gatherings were reported to be taking place at the address amid the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under Ontario’s current emergency orders, short-term rentals are only allowed for people who are in need of housing.
All gatherings are also currently prohibited in order to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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South Simcoe Police said they received complaints from the community about gatherings at an address in the 25th Sideroad and 9th Line area.
On Wednesday, the Toronto woman and Airbnb renter was served a provincial offences notice under the Reopening Ontario Act.
TORONTO — A claim that alleges Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout discriminated against the vulnerable raises important issues, Divisional Court said on Wednesday as it nevertheless tossed the case.
In its decision, the court declined to declare the rollout unconstitutional on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction to do so and not because the application was without merit.
“The broader issues raised by the applicant are important and pressing issues,” the court said. “There is nothing frivolous and vexatious about the issue of vaccine equity in the context of a global deadly pandemic.”
The constitutional challenge, launched in March by David Daneshvar, of Toronto, turned on whether vulnerable people have had fair access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Those include some people with disabilities, homebound seniors, residents of hot spot neighbourhoods and the homeless.
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Daneshvar, 28, who has several disabilities, wanted the government to ensure public health units made equity central to their vaccination plans, and to give them the necessary resources to do so. He also wanted the court to declare the rollout had violated his constitutional rights.
“The applicant’s concerns with accessing a vaccine and with ensuring that he and other Ontarians have equitable access to a vaccine are understandable and likely shared by many people in the province,” the court said. “However, the applicant has not established that the Divisional Court has jurisdiction to grant the broad declaratory relief he seeks.”
In a statement, Daneshvar’s lawyers stood by their assertion that the Ontario government had neglected its duty to provide fair and equitable vaccination access.
“For months, it has been clear the government had the scientific evidence but lacked the will to design a vaccine strategy that prioritized and protected the most vulnerable among us,” David Baker and Chris Holcroft said. “Repeated failures have increased the risk of infection and death for some people.”
The court hearing, they said, had demonstrated the government’s lack of plans to vaccinate people without internet or phone, or who faced language, mobility, or communications challenges.
Thousands book COVID-19 vaccine appointment within hours of expanded eligibility in Toronto
Thousands book COVID-19 vaccine appointment within hours of expanded eligibility in Toronto
In its legal filings, the province argued the application was premised on a “fundamental factual and legal misunderstanding” of how COVID-19 vaccines are administered in Ontario.
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While the government devised high-level policy directions, it is up to the province’s 34 public health units to administer vaccines and implement a rollout suitable to their local populations, the province argued.
“Neither the minister nor any other provincial official approved or purported to approve the individual vaccination plans prepared by Ontario’s 34 public health units,” the government said. “The applicant has simply sued the wrong respondent.”
A request from the government to bar Daneshvar’s lawyers from getting paid, including by legal aid, for presenting the “ill advised” case drew sharp rebuke from Divisional Court.
“This request is unprecedented and certainly not warranted,” the court said.
The Canadian Mental Health Association has launched a report that shows most Ontarians are continuing to deal with negative emotions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The report was released in time for Mental Health Week, which launched Monday.
The report, which surveyed roughly 3,000 people across Ontario in January, says 84 per cent of adults said they were feeling worried, anxious, bored, stressed, lonely, isolated or sad.
Data also suggests 76 per cent of Ontarians reported coping at least fairly well with the stress of the pandemic. Sixty per cent of participants also said their screen time increased and 31 per cent reported consuming more food.
“The pandemic is one of those situations where it causes so many different things,” Alec King with CMHA Durham said.
“Positive mental health isn’t about always being happy. It’s about being able to express your emotions in a way that’s healthy and good.”
Jamie Andrews was diagnosed with depression in his early 20s. He, along with many others who have struggled with their mental health, are sharing their experiences through a new mental health podcast called ‘Over Thinking.’
“We have feelings and those feelings are telling us something, but it’s up to us to look inside and see what it is,” he said.
“We need to normalize this conversation, and that’s one of the things that I hope our goal is for the overthinking podcast.”
Other mental health advocates, like Olabiyi Dipeolu, have been working tirelessly to ensure people of all income levels can access mental health services. Dipeolu’s online retail store, Maqoba, donates its net profits to mental health services like the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). It also navigates users towards free, accessible resources for those who are currently struggling.
“Even though we live in a wonderful country and we have access to mental health, not everyone knows how to find those resources,” he said.
“100 per cent of the net proceeds go to those who can’t afford mental health treatment. This is in the form of get well packages, therapy sessions, and housing opportunities.”
The CMHA encourages those currently facing mental health challenges to contact the organization. Mental health advocates encourage people to turn to friends and loved ones for additional support.
Eight people from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have been charged following a gathering that took place at a cottage in Gravenhurst, Ont., on Saturday night.
Under Ontario’s current stay-at-home order, gatherings with anyone outside of one’s household are prohibited in order to curb the spread of the third wave of COVID-19.
The fine for violating the rule under Ontario’s Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act is $750.
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At 10:30 p.m. Saturday, police say they responded to a complaint from a member of the public and found eight people who were in violation of the current coronavirus restrictions.
Officers say the individuals were charged accordingly.
Three men and five boys have been charged after trespassing at a vacant residence in Adjala-Tosorontio, Ont., and violating the province’s stay-at-home order on Thursday. The order was put in place earlier in the month in an effort to curb the COVID-19 health crisis.
Just before 4 a.m, OPP responded to a report of people trespassing at a property on 20th Sideroad.
Police attended the scene and found three men and five boys trespassing and in violation of Ontario’s stay-at-home order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act and the Reopening Ontario Act.
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All eight individuals, who were all from Peel Region, were charged with entering premises when prohibited and failure to comply with an emergency order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.
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When Tracy Odell experienced bleeding in her stomach last summer during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, she went to hospital but vowed she would not return.
“I don’t feel safe in hospitals and a lot of people with disabilities similar to mine, where you need this much assistance, don’t feel safe in a hospital,” she said.
Odell was born with spinal muscular atrophy and requires assistance to complete many daily tasks.
Now, amid the third wave and with critical care units filling up, Odell said she fears if she ever needed the care, she would not be able to get it.
“I, personally, wouldn’t go to a hospital. I would feel it would be a waste of time and I’d feel very unsafe to go there … It’s a real indictment, I think, of our system, that people who have disabilities, have severe needs, don’t feel safe in a place where everyone’s supposed to be safe,” she said.
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Odell is most concerned about a “critical care triage protocol” that could be activated in Ontario.
It would essentially allow health-care providers to decide who gets potentially life-saving care and who doesn’t.
Under the guidelines, as set out in a draft protocol circulating among hospitals, patients would be ranked on their likelihood to survive one year after the onset of critical illness.
“Patients who have a high likelihood of dying within twelve months from the onset of their episode of critical illness (based on an evaluation of their clinical presentation at the point of triage) would have a lower priority for critical care resources,” states the document.
Odell says it’s tough to predict who will survive an illness.
“They have to guess who’s going to last a year ... As a child with my disability, my projected life expectancy was like a kid … they didn’t think I’d live to be a teenager and here I am retired, so it’s a very hard thing to judge,” said Odell.
Disability advocates have been raising alarm bells over the triage protocol for months.
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David Lepofsky, of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, sent multiple letters to Minister of Health Christine Elliott demanding transparency, arguing “the Ontario government’s pervasive secrecy over its critical care triage plans has made many people with disabilities terrified, angry and distrustful.”
“People with disabilities have disproportionately had to suffer for the past year from the most severe aspects of COVID … People with disabilities are disproportionately prone to end up in intensive care units and die from the disease,” said Lepofsky.
“Now we face the double cruelty that we are disproportionately prone to get told, ‘No, you can’t have that life-saving care.’”
Lepofsky said the document that is circulating, while not finalized, is problematic, unethical and discriminatory.
“The rules that have been given to intensive care units for deciding who gets critical care and who doesn’t, if they have to ration, may look fine because they’re full of medical jargon, but they actually explicitly discriminate because of disability,” he said.
“We agree there should be a protocol, but it can’t be one that discriminates because of disability. That’s illegal.”
John Mossa, who is living with muscular dystrophy, has been homebound for more than a year, afraid he would contract COVID-19 if he went outside and not survive it.
“COVID is a very serious disease for me … if I do get COVID, I would probably become very ill and pass away because of my poor respiratory condition. I have about 30 per cent lung capacity due to my muscular dystrophy so COVID is very serious. It’s been a very scary time,” he said.
Never more frightening than right now, Mossa said, amid a surging third wave with a record number of patients in Ontario’s critical care units and the potential for triaging life-saving care.
“The people that would be affected the most are the least considered to get care … I’m afraid, I’m totally afraid to go to hospital right now,” he said.
A few weeks ago, Mossa said, he had a hip accident but he has avoided the hospital, even though he is suffering and should seek medical help.
“I should be considering going to hospital, but I’m not going to go to hospital because I know that I won’t get the care I need and if it gets any worse. I know that I wouldn’t be given an ICU bed,” he said.
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On Wednesday, when asked about the triage protocol, Elliott said it has not yet been activated.
That was echoed by Dr. James Downar, a palliative and critical care physician in Ottawa who co-wrote Ontario’s ICU protocol.
“I don’t think that there’s any plan to initiate a triage process in the next couple of days. I think a lot is going to depend on which way our ICU numbers go. They have been climbing at a fairly alarming rate,” he said.
On concerns by advocates that the protocol discriminates against people with disabilities, Downar said, “The only criterion in the triage plan is mortality risk.”
“We absolutely don’t want to make any judgments about whose life is more valuable, certainly nothing based on ability, disability or need for accommodations … If you value all lives equally, that, I think, is the strongest argument for using an approach that would save as many lives as you can,” he said.
Ontario to allow hospitals to move patients to long-term care, retirement homes to create room for COVID-19 patients
Ontario to allow hospitals to move patients to long-term care, retirement homes to create room for COVID-19 patients
A Toronto city councillor and a group of health-care professionals are calling on the province to open COVID-19 vaccine pre-registration to all Ontarians in a bid to improve the rollout of shots.
Coun. Josh Matlow and health-care professionals from the University Health Network and the University of Toronto, posted an open letter to Premier Doug Ford, Health Minister Christine Elliott, and the co-chairs of the COVID-19 science advisory table on Wednesday.
“While the vaccine rollout offers an end in sight to the COVID-19 pandemic, too many Ontarians who have yet to be eligible for the current phase of the vaccination plan are left feeling anxious about when, and how they’ll learn that their turn will finally come,” the letter said.
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“That is why we recommend the province offer a specific category on their call-in and online booking systems that gives Ontarians an opportunity to pre-register for the vaccine.”
The letter said residents should be able to enter their date of birth, postal code, and contact information and get onto a registration list.
Ontario Premier Ford defends vaccine rollout, says it’s simple to book appointment
“Once eligible, Ontarians could receive an email and/or text message outlining the next steps on how to officially book their vaccine appointment and applicable location(s),” the letter said.
They said this could improve the management of vaccine supply, offer insight into vaccine hesitancy, and give residents the feeling of being closer to overcoming the pandemic.
Ontario residents are pushing back against big box and discount stores cutting off access to in-store items the province has deemed ‘non-essential’ as part of the the new COVID-19 stay-at-home measures.
They argue that many of those items are essential, especially for low-income households who can’t afford to buy supplies online or at pricier retailers.
“There are a lot of things people think are everyday essentials that are roped off and I think that’s a mistake that the government overlooked,” said Sarah Colero, a person whose income relies on the Ontario Disability Support Program.
She claims the ODSP only provides her with just under $1,200 a month and she depends on stores like Dollarama to get her supplies.
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Colero claims Dollarama has closed off access to aisles with many supplies she needs and can’t afford to purchase elsewhere.
“Cleaning supplies, menstrual products, paper towels, tissues, tin foil,” she said. “I love Dollarama because everything there is a good price and that’s really what we need, because on ODSP, we have to budget so carefully.”
Dollaramas across Toronto have signs outside stores listing items that the province had deemed ‘non-essential’ and it could no longer sell in-store, including supplies related to school, office, kitchen, hair accessories and closet and bathroom.
Dollarama also doesn’t allow for curbside pickup.
Ulisse Aiello is a caregiver to his brother with autism and said he desperately needs art supplies to keep his sibling occupied.
“He has the mentality of a five-year-old so you have to do a lot of things with him to keep him busy,” Aiello said.
Aiello adds that, with their budget, he can only afford art supplies at places like Dollarama and Walmart.
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“It’s not fair that you’re closing down sections of a store that are absolutely essential to many people,” he said.
Meanwhile, many others took to Twitter to criticize Walmart for closing off areas of their stores, including some who claimed they were denied access to child supplies and diapers.
Walmart really blocked off pretty much everything in the store except groceries… so me buying diapers for my daughter isn’t essential??? pic.twitter.com/u1ey5g85Ci
@WalmartCanada@BonnieCrombie@fordnation why is Walmart prohibiting the sale of baby and child supplies? Have you lost your damn mind? Mr Ford, I hope you resolve this.
Dr. Andrew Boozary suggests the government should be more flexible when it comes to what is deemed ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential,’ especially to those in marginalized and low-incomes communities.
“It’s a really tough line to draw between what is essential and non-essential,” said Boozary.
“We just have to listen to the community in things that they need, things that are essential through this stretch — because we really need to know that there’s that solidarity as to which kind of neighbourhoods are at risk and which neighbourhoods are going to have the least access to support and help.”
In response to Global News’ request for a statement, Ontario’s ministry of health said the rules only allow big box and discount stores to sell certain items.
“These categories are limited to: grocery items, pet care supplies, household cleaning supplies, pharmaceutical items, health care items and personal care items,” said ministry of health spokesperson Alexandra Hilkene.
“Given the vast number of types of items that big box/discount retailers sell, the prescribed categories ensure that retailers have the flexibility needed to categorize all items sold,” she added.
“Should a big box/discount store wish to sell other items, they must comply with any applicable conditions that other retailers that sell those items comply with.”
Meanwhile, a Dollarama spokesperson told Global News in a statement: “We are committed to maintaining this essential role while also adhering to evolving government orders in the face of a persistent virus.
“We moved quickly (Wednesday) following the announcement of new emergency measures effective (Thursday), and we sincerely thank all our customers for their patience and understanding in what continue to be extremely difficult circumstances for Canadians from all walks of life.”
“We thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we implement the new guidelines,” said Walmart Canada media relations representative, Adam Grachnik.
“In this case, diapers are permitted for sale in our stores.”
