Canada in the twilight zone

Canada in the twilight zone
    by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
A number of disturbing incidents have occurred in Canada lately, that make a mockery of our international reputation as a peaceful, welcoming society with freedom and equal justice for all.
The most recent one being the targeted killing of a family in London Ontario. Five members of a Muslim family went out for a walk on Sunday night. Before the day was done, four of them had lost their lives in what police described as a targeted hate crime. The only survivor - a nine-year-old boy - was seriously injured.
Then there was the Quebec City mosque shooting, a terrorist attack on the evening of January 29, 2017, at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City, Canada. Six worshippers were killed and five others seriously injured after evening prayers when a man entered the prayer hall shortly before 8:00 pm and opened fire for about 2 minutes with a 9-mm Glock pistol. 
The infamous Toronto van attack which was a terrorist vehicle-ramming attack that occurred on April 23, 2018, when a rented van was driven along Yonge Street through the North York City Centre business district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The driver targeted pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 16, some critically. The attack is characterized as misogynist terrorism because it was motivated by revenge for perceived sexual and social rejection by women. The incident is the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history.
Add to all this, the recent violent demonstrations motivated by various political agendas, that are creating instability in a country which has previously had a reputation for being peaceful and welcoming.
As Canadians across the country express their shock, horror and grief, about these events, the dark reality is that all kinds of hate crimes and terrorist attacks are on a dangerous rise in Canada.
While Canada has been preoccupied with a pandemic that seems to have affected everything, most of us have forgotten that the rise in hate crimes is a real danger against religious beliefs, racial communities and Canadians in general.
Hate crimes speak of a different level of humanity, which judges a person for who they are and not what they have done.  They affirm that you have no place in this country and don't belong because of your race, country of origin, faith, or skin colour.  Hate crimes like these are the very antithesis of what this country claims to represent on the global stage.
We need to ask why these things have been happening in Canada lately, and determine the root causes so we can find remedies.
This new racially and religiously motivated hatred, never before encountered at this intensity in Canada, known to be a tolerant and welcoming country for many people, is a new and a dangerous phenomenon. If they continue without an imminent and workable solution, Canada as a country is finished.
I do not want to be a pessimist but as of today the Canadian political elite is only focusing on their own self interest to hold or gain power. The interest of the people and the nation is put on the backburner. They are a bunch of hypocrites looking only for their own personal ambitions and interests.
At this point Canada is a rudderless country and soon anarchy will be the common denominator in the lives of Canadians, if things do not see a radical change. 
Calls to banish Canada Day following the discovery of the remains of 215 children, buried in unmarked graves at the Kamloops residential school is gaining momentum.
Statues of John A. Macdonald and Egerton Ryerson, architects of the residential school system, have been removed by both fiat and brute force. Demands for an apology from the Catholic Church are growing ever louder.
While the pain behind these terrorist and dark historical events are undeniable, and those terrible acts that inspired them are inexcusable, we still need to maintain our national identity and recognize Canada's creation.
We need to remember that the history of Canada is not one long march of oppression. Canada has fought bravely against tyranny. Canadian troops, including Indigenous troops, gave their lives in not one, but two world wars to preserve our freedoms. Canadians battled the regime of Nazi Germany, which committed the worst genocide of our era, in which six million Jews were slaughtered.
Over two centuries, Canada has also welcomed the downtrodden and oppressed to its shores. From Irish migrants starving during the Great Famine, to Doukhobors fleeing religious persecution, to refugees from conflicts in Vietnam, Rwanda, and Syria, Canada has taken in millions of people in search of a better life.
The reason was simple: Canada was a country that stood for freedom, equality and opportunity. Those values are enshrined in our charter and in the best of our history and we need to preserve and maintain them to be proud Canadians and keep our nation great.
Political correctness, lip service to justice and fairness and turning a selective blind eye only create more resentment while driving true emotions underground to fester and boil over in time.  We need to strive for a society where everyone can depend on the justice system to abide by the laws that created this country, and a police force to fairly enforce them.  A society where everyone has an equal chance to succeed based on the merit of his/her performance, not his/her color, creed, religion or origins.  And we need to teach our children that our precious individual freedom is not free.  It comes with the corresponding responsibility to stand up for it. 
As of now there is a lot of work to be done in this country, significant and essential work in order to eliminate hatred, bias, superficiality and to build a new confidence in our countrymen. It must be done not just in our legislatures but in our neighbourhoods and institutions, in our homes and our own heads.
It is a social pandemic that will outlast Covid-19, and the fate and reputation of Canada hangs in the balance.

NO PLACE IN SOCIETY FOR SAFE INJECTION SITES

 

NO PLACE IN SOCIETY FOR SAFE INJECTION SITES
By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”   

    Come on people where will the stupidity end.   This past week in conversation with a local politician.   They bragged on how much they are doing for addicts and the drug scene.  They had the audacity to state that safe injection sites are the answer to the drug addiction problem.   I could not believe my ears that someone could be that ignorant.   We are supposed to be at war with drugs.   How can the police arrest people for possession, sale and distribution if idiots in municipal government support safe heavens.
  How can the police do their job when our municipal elect deem it ok to shoot up in a warm safe place.   Their argument is that if we don’t supply them with a facility that these needles will end up in our parks and creeks as it is happening now.
  Really, do we live in such an ass backwards society that we can’t even understand the basic concept of common senses?
Common sense would tell you... that if we allowed safe injection sites that all we are doing is promoting drug use.  Something that is against the law.   By allowing safe injection sites we would indirectly be supporting the drug  trade as those dealing would find ways to make drugs more available to any of the patrons of safe injection sites.
 Common sense folks.  Common sense would tell me that instead of safe injection sites.   We need for police to have the authority to send anyone caught under the use of any drug to a government run detox facility and not one of those revolving door facilities.   A facility that would have the authority to keep addicts for indefinite period of time until it is assured that the person is not a threat to themselves or society.   If suffering mental health.  Keep them at the facility until such time as they can come back to society without been deemed a nuisance.
Let the police go after the drug dealers with a vengeance.   
Is it not bad enough that we have pot legalized.   What are we pushing for cocaine, heroine a meth to become legal.
  Imagine what society would become.  I think we have let our standards drop low enough.   I think we should take back our Country, our communities and our society.
No more rationalizing insanity in order to make it appears as we care.   If we care we do the right thing and grab the bull by the horns.   Deal with the real problem.  Not create bigger ones.
We in Canada need significant changes to  how we deal with many things.   We need to bring national pride to our country.  We need to unite for the right reason and not loosely use the word inclusive to patronize interest groups.    We need to have higher standards and stop compromising our national identity.  Canada for Canadians should be the new standard.

Your Resume Summary Introduces You

 Your Resume Summary Introduces You
By Nick Kossovan
    Your resume summary is your introduction-use it wisely. These 2 - 4 sentences will be the first impression your resume makes and your second opportunity (Your cover letter is your first opportunity.) to have your resume read.
Many people start their resume with an objective statement ("Marketing manager looking for a position with a mid-size manufacturing company.") - DON'T! An objective statement boils down to the obvious; you need a job. Such a statement focuses on your needs, not that of the employer. Concentrating on your needs can come across as you have a sense of entitlement, which is a turnoff.
When networking, composing your resume and cover letters, and especially during interviews, always communicate how your skills and experience can add value to an employer. Adopting a servitude mindset will set you apart from other job seekers.
It takes seconds for a hiring manager, HR manager, or recruiter to decide whether to discard your resume or give it some attention. It's no secret that it's raining resumes. There's no shortage of qualified applicants knocking on employers' doors and therefore employers can be choosy. Considering the cost of a wrong hire I can empathize with employers being picky throughout the hiring process. Therefore, your summary needs to answer the question the reader has: Should I take the time to read this resume?
Underneath your contact information, which I outlined in last week's column, you need to add a summary. This summary gives the reader a sense of how you may be the right candidate for the position you're applying for and can be an asset to their business or their client (if dealing with a recruiter).
For your summary to encapsulate your career, skills, and value, it needs to cover:
- Previous relevant jobs and experience
- Core skill sets and strengths relevant to the position
- Relevant accomplishments
You'll have noticed the word "relevant" is repeated. Keeping your resume's content and cover letter relevant is key to keeping your resume to 2 pages and having the employer envision you in the position/their company. Anything which isn't relevant is a distraction-often, distractions get you rejected.
Yes, you're rightfully proud of the 3 consecutive quarters you were employee of the month at the 7-Eleven you worked part-time to help pay for university, but 20 years later, you're searching to lead an IT help desk. The same with mentioning you have a golf handicap of 8, which I admit if I had, I'd find hard not to bring up.
Of course, suppose you're applying to lead the IT desk for a national retailer or a golf club manufacturer. In that case, your 7-Eleven achievement or your golf handicap may have value worth mentioning.
Only include in your resume and cover letter information that makes a strong case why you should be interviewed.
Here are examples of a well-written summary.
Example 1:
Dependable Executive Assistant with over 9 years of professional experience. Keen to support Acme Corp. with excellent organizational and analytical skills. At Stark Industries, I optimized travel costs resulting in an overall reduction of over 30%. In 2018 I saved $45K a year by redesigning and implementing an updated call system.
Example 2:
Chartered Accountant with 7+ years professional experience. Seeking to leverage budgeting, cost, and revenue-maximizing expertise for Oscorp. At Nakatomi Trading Corp. I saved $4.5M by identifying low-margin transactions. I also optimized the pricing policy at Globex, increasing the customer retention rate to over 85%.
Example 3:
Enthusiastic software engineer with 8+ years of experience participating in the complete product development lifecycle of successfully launched applications. Eager to join Wayne Enterprises to deliver mission-critical technology and business solutions to Fortune 500 companies. In previous roles, reduced downtime by 15% and warranty costs by 25%. Identified and resolved a process bottleneck, which increased coding efficiency by up to 30%.
These examples get to the point and show (note the percentages, monetary values) the reader how the job seeker can benefit their business.
TIP: Change your summary to speak to the job posting you're applying to, mention the employer's name, and the reason(s) the job exists.
Next week I'll cover presenting your professional experience (Think of the numbers that make a business successful.).

Low Standards

 Low Standards
Q My boyfriend of nine years and his two kids moved miles away today. He left because I asked him to. But now that he is gone, I feel lonely and confused. I want to live my life not having to explain to anyone what I do every minute of the day. I am getting what I asked for, yet I feel bad. I wonder if I’m scared because I worry about making it on my own financially.
I don’t want to answer to anyone anymore. I’m an adult. I shouldn’t have to ask to visit my friends. I shouldn’t have to ask to visit my family. But yet I think he is a nice guy because he is not physically abusive. But he can’t be all that good because he is so controlling.
I love him and care for him, but I am not in love with him. Is there such a thing, for me to feel this way? When we are together, I don’t want to be affectionate in any way and have no desire. So I thought to let him go. But I hate seeing him in pain and knowing I am the one causing all his hurt.  I think that is why I feel so depressed right now.
He left in hopes to come back in a few weeks, but I don’t think I want that. I’ve felt this way for three years, and I am barely realizing that I can’t always be responsible for the way he feels. Taylor

A Taylor, a saltine cracker looks different to a starving woman than it does to a woman who is not starving In the same way, people starving in relationships find odd things to be grateful for. You are grateful your boyfriend is not physically abusive, as if that is a positive aspect of his character. But when most people think of character, they think of things like honesty, loyalty, and compassion. No statement in your letter shows a genuine connection to him. You’re tempted to call it love because you have to call the last nine years something, but the only thing you miss about him is the money.  If you feel trapped with him because of money, he’s not the answer. Money is. If you stay together, the wheel will come full circle and you will be back where you started—once again asking him to leave.
You ended a nine-year relationship. Of course there is some emotional residue. People are sad when relationships fail, even bad relationships. But now you have the chance for something new to begin. Be the adult you say you are. Go to family and friends. In the next few weeks, enlist the help of people who care about you. Find a solution, because once the financial issue is solved, there will be no reason to look back.
People who are givers have a hard time saying no. When they are forced to say it, they feel bad. They think the pain of others is more important than their own pain.
What you feel is what givers feel, and like all givers, you have a hard time telling anyone what you need or want. Perhaps that’s how he captured you, but there is no reason to place his feelings above your own.
You did the first hard step. When you stand on your own two feet, your options will be vast. But for now you need the support of your family and friends. Don’t stay with him and make him feel better by making yourself feel worse. He’s a saltine cracker. His only appeal is to a woman who is starving.
Wayne & Tamara  
write:  Directanswers@WayneAndTamara.com

Go Natural to Debut Your New Hair Colour

 

Go Natural to Debut Your New Hair Colour


 W. Gifford-Jones, M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones
   The American star of the silver screen, Jean Harlow, was known as the “Blonde Bombshell”. She once remarked, “If it wasn’t for my hair, Hollywood wouldn’t know me.” But did the blonde hair come at a huge price? Harlow was dead at the age of 26.
Do you make a habit of dying your hair? Now that lockdowns are easing and you cannot wait to get a haircut, you might want to think twice about permanent hair dye and chemical hair straighteners. Some recent studies have raised health concerns.
            The practice of dying hair goes back to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome when terrible concoctions were used to alter hair colour, both for beauty and to show rank on the battlefield. In years past, animal studies questioned the safety of hair dyes. But research on humans produced inconsistent findings. More recently, studies are yielding findings that should be enough to make people pause.
            Researchers for a study published in International Journal of Cancer analyzed data from the “Sister Study”. This ongoing study involves more than 50,000 women between the ages of 35 and 74, all having a sister with breast cancer. Having a sister with breast cancer placed them at higher risk for developing breast cancer themselves.  But researchers used the cohort to study the cancer risk of hair dye. Although all participants share the same family history, only some of them used hair dye and straighteners, allowing for interesting comparisons.
            What did epidemiologist Dr. Alexandra White find? She is an investigator with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, studying risk factors for breast cancer.
            She found that white women who frequently used permanent hair dyes had a 7% higher risk of breast cancer and black women a 45% higher risk. For women who frequently used chemical straighteners the risk was 30%, with no race difference.

            What happened to Harlow? Apparently, Harlow insisted she was a natural blonde. But one Hollywood stylist, Alfred Pagano, knew otherwise. He reported that to make her platinum blonde, peroxide, ammonia, Clorox and Lux flakes were used. Whether his account is accurate, we will never know. But Clorox mixed with ammonia produces the noxious gas, hydrochloric acid, not a healthy mixture.
            The hair treatments took a toll, and when Harlow’s hair began to fall out, she turned to a wig. In short order, she was dead of kidney failure.

Today, hair products are not all the same, and they can contain any of more than 5,000 chemicals, some of which are known to cause cancer in lab animals being fed large amount of these dyes over time. White notes that “For chemical hair straighteners, one of the big concerns is formaldehyde, which is a known carcinogen.” Products that do not overtly contain formaldehyde may yet release this hazardous substance when the product is heated.

            The global market for hair dyes was US$29B in 2019 and is expected to grow to US$40B by 2025. White’s research will not slow this growth. Vanity too readily trumps prudence.
Should you be concerned? On current evidence, the risk is low compared to other known carcinogens such as tobacco and radiation. If you use hair dye, the risk is in all probability small. But remember, formaldehyde is used to embalm people for burial!
            Natural, vegetable-based hair dyes are available. So instead of going for permanent colour, what’s wrong with taking a less drastic approach.  Temporary and fading colours need not be a drawback. Set the tone with a positive attitude for going natural. And natural hair – meaning whatever Mother Nature gave you – is beautiful.

Sign-up at www.docgiff.com to receive our weekly e-newsletter. For comments, contact-us@docgiff.com. Follow us Instagram @docgiff and @diana_gifford_jones

Gravitational Pull

 from Wayne & Tamara

Gravitational Pull
Q I am 34, a female adult child of an alcoholic father. He passed away when I was 12. I have three older brothers and an older sister. All four siblings still live at home with my mother, a classic martyr.
I moved out at 18. During the six months it took to save money to move out, my mother would guilt-trip me or verbally abuse me into staying home. These tactics worked on my older siblings, and my older brother is being groomed to continue the dysfunction after my mother passes on. Once on my own, I worked on myself and emerged as a moderately lucid person. I deal with my family on the usual holidays and birthdays, out of duty. I wrestle with doing the right thing. My mother and I were never close, and I do not expect or want a close relationship with someone who has been so selfish and controlling. I cannot have meaningful conversations with my siblings because it is like they are in a time warp, and I am the only one who is growing and changing. We have the same guarded surface conversations year after year. My husband and I recently purchased a home and are planning on having children. We have already talked about how much interaction we will allow our kids to have with my family—which will not be much. When I told my mother we were buying a house, she asked how many bedrooms. I replied, then out of the blue she said she did not want to go into a home when she gets older. I knew immediately what she was implying. But being a people-pleasing child of an alcoholic, I did not immediately respond. I changed the subject. In another conversation, she went on and on about how bad nursing homes are. This time I was more prepared. I said not all homes are bad, and if you check on your family member regularly, it should be okay.
She again said she did not want to be put in a nursing home. I finally said she was not going to stay with me. My husband and I both work, and we will be having children. Then she said she could watch the children.    Nothing in my dealings with my mother implies a closeness that would make her think this would happen. We never got on. We do not hug. We do not say “I love you.” I spend maybe 10 days a year with this person.  She has handicapped my older siblings who have no friends and never formed romantic relationships. This person thinks she is going to live with me, and I am livid. Since the time I said she will not be staying with me, she continues to say she does not want to go to a home. I thought, since I have been separated from the family unit for so long, the codependency and guilt would go away. It has not.  I need someone else’s insight to give me back my peace of mind. Short of outright saying, “We are not close, I will never live in the same house with you again, and my children will have limited contact with you and my siblings,” what does one say?  Tinsley
A Tinsley, you can’t let a door-to-door salesman talk on and on. If he’s selling something you don’t want, you close the door. You are looking for a champion to tell you what is blatantly obvious. But because of the way you were raised, you still struggle to claim your right to independence.  Visiting your mother allows her to deceive herself into believing she was a good mother. But she made your siblings perennial children, and that is why they are not able to care for her now. You broke free of her orbit once before. Now she wants to use that success against you. Mars is a tough environment to live in. There’s no air and the radiation levels are high.
 If you live there, you must create a self-sufficient environment, like a bubble or a geodesic dome, in order to survive. In effect, that’s what you did. You created a space where you, your husband, and family could thrive. Now she wants to suck all the oxygen out of your bubble.
 It’s time to sever ties with the mother ship. She wants to wheedle her way into the lifeboat you made for yourself. Enlist your husband’s aid to protect your family from the damaging radiation this woman will expose you to.  It is impossible to live on the red planet without a protective dome. It is equally impossible for you to live on this planet without protection from her.
Wayne & Tamara                                             write:  Directanswers@WayneAndTamara.com

THE HUMAN STUPID RACE

 

THE HUMAN STUPID RACE
By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”   

    What is it with human kind?   Why are we so bent over backwards and keep on making the same old mistakes.   In Ontario we are down to about 700 cases per day.   Instead of keeping what is working going.  No politicians get all ansey and decide to make plans for going back to the causation of another wave of COVID.
Come on people wake up.  This COVID is not going away all of a sudden.   The fact that we have  had a large number of people vaccinated it does not mean that those people can’t still become ill.  Or worst be a carrier and further cause sickness.  This false sense of security with the vaccine in my opinion is like putting a band aid on the crack of  a dam.   It may hold for a bit.... but the crack will eventually rupture and the after affects are obvious.
  Instead of rushing to open anything back.  Why not sit on it a little longer.   Why not truly see if we can get the numbers  under 10 per day.  That to me would signify reason for opening.
  In a radio report this morning.  A bar in Chicago was allowing patrons to come in only if they had a vaccination card.  Once inside patrons could mingle without masks on.   Really.   1st, what right does the bar have to refuse entry to anyone.  2nd Are bar manager now experts in COVID transmission and are they going to accept liability in the even someone becomes sick while in their bar?
Society today faces the worst governance problem ever.   We elect politicians to do jobs they are not qualified to do.   Way over their expertise and or intellectual aptitude.  This means that their decisions have to be based on advice from so called experts.
Common sense and rational thinking become clouded by influence, greed and money.   We the human race are  becoming the stupid race as we are ignoring past mistake and continue to commit the same one expecting different results.
We can’t afford to be stupid.... can we?

It is a sad day for Canada

 It is a sad day for Canada
    by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
   As we all know by now findings from a survey of the grounds at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School has uncovered the remains of 215 children buried at the site, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced last week.   This is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. It is a stark example of the deep wounds the Canadian residential school system inflicted upon indigenous peoples and how the consequences of these atrocities reverberate to this day.
Looking at a brief history of the residential school system we can see that the first residential school was opened in Brantford, Ont. in 1831, before Confederation, although there were a handful of schools run by missionary groups even earlier than that.
In 1847, Egerton Ryerson - the man Ryerson University in Toronto is named after - was superintendent of schools in Upper Canada, and wrote a report recommending the establishment of residential schools for Aboriginal students in the province. Soon after his report, in the 1850s, Methodist missionaries established a number of such schools in southern Ontario. Other schools were opened in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories in the 1860s.
Post-Confederation, the federal government became more involved in residential schools in the 1880s, and the number of schools expanded.
A total of 139 residential schools were identified in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, though this doesn't include those run by provincial governments and those run solely by religious orders, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The residential school system which functioned in Canada until 1996 has seen 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children placed in the name of integration into the society built by the settlers.  Children were taken from their families and placed in this schools scattered all over the country.
Their treatment was miserable and they were exposed to a lot of abuses which were ignored by the authorities of the day. There is a lot to say and a lot of things have come to light lately from the testimony of survivors.
Residential school students were subject to physical and sexual abuse by staff, were often malnourished or underfed, and lived in poor housing conditions that threatened their safety, according to reports. Infectious diseases like tuberculosis and influenza often ran rampant among the students, leading to many deaths. In addition to attending class, students at many schools also had to perform chores to maintain the school and sometimes even had to do farm work to feed the school. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which released a report six years ago following a lengthy investigation into residential schools, made six recommendations regarding missing children and burial grounds. It called on the federal government to work with churches, Indigenous communities and former residential school students "to establish and maintain an online registry of residential school cemeteries, including, where possible, plot maps showing the location of deceased residential school children."
The Kamloops Indian Residential School was in operation from 1890 to 1969, when the federal government took over administration, until closing it in 1978.
The discovery of 215 children's remains there confirms what community survivors have said for years, that many children went to the school and never returned. It is also a fact that federal agents often moved children around, so it is possible that some of the remains found on the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School were from other First Nations communities.  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified 3,200 deaths as part of its investigation. For one-third of these deaths, the government and schools didn't record the student's name. For one-quarter of these deaths, the government didn't identify the student's gender. And for around half, the cause of death wasn't identified. These numbers might not include students who got sick at school and were sent home, where they later died, or Métis students whose attendance at school wasn't funded by the federal government but who may have died there.
"Due to the limitations in the records, it is probable that there are many student deaths that have not been recorded in the register because the record of the death has not yet been located," the Commission wrote in its report.
Indigenous children in residential schools died at far higher rates than other Canadian children, the report notes. The recent discovery of unmarked burial sites containing 215 bodies at the site of the Kamloops Residential School in B.C. has highlighted that there is still a lot to learn about where these children are buried.
In a report attached to the Commission's work, anthropologist Scott Hamilton of Lakehead University noted that, "Most of these children died far from home, and often without their families being adequately informed of the circumstances of death or the place of burial."
For the most part, the cemeteries that the Commission documented are abandoned, disused, and vulnerable to accidental disturbance," wrote the TRC in its report. This issue certainly is not something that Canada as a nation should be proud of, particularly in light of certain Canadian leaders' penchant for systematically preaching and lecturing other nations about upholding democratic values.  Canada should look closely at its internal dealings with the first nations and have a sincere approach in working with them to build a healthy democratic society. Words and money thrown at first nations are not the solution. The solution is an open and clear approach to work together with all Canadians to build the future for a great nation. The things of the past are lessons for all of us and we should work to ensure that such things never happen again in our country. With all this said, we need to look at the more than 150 years of existence of the residential school system in Canada and must ask ourselves where the authorities, both political and civil, were all those years in allowing these abuses to be perpetuated on children?
Yes, there were the supporters of the residential school system including Canada's first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald and other contemporary political figures, but what did successive Prime Ministers, either Liberal or Conservative, do about this issue?  It seems easy to blame only the very founders of our nation for the residential school program without looking closely at their successors in perpetuating this abhorrent institution. We cannot be selective in meeting out responsibility. These successive Prime Ministers are to blame too.  Canada is a great historical achievement. It is an imperfect country, but it is still a great country and we should keep it that way. We need to be clear that the atrocities committed against first nations must be acknowledged and we must learn from them to ensure that such atrocities will never be repeated or imposed on any component of our society.  We must also be careful to avoid going to the opposite extreme in cancelling every historical figure who took a position on issues of their time that we now judge harshly in historical retrospective.
We should mourn the memory of those innocent souls who did not have a chance to live, and we need to reflect and avoid such gross neglect by officials in the future.

STICK HOUSES

 STICK HOUSES
By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”   

    I look around and I keep scratching my head wondering what has gone wrong.   In the name of profit we are talked into all kinds of things that end up not being good for us.
   Corporate America/Canada stopped being about customer service/satisfaction and has become more about profits.
They treat customers like numbers and bombard them will false lies.  For example:  “for your convenience”, “for your safety/confidentiality” and so on.
From the fast food sector to construction and everything in between.   Look at what we pay for at McD’s for example.   Look what we get.
What happened to the Big Mac.  You open the box and it is the size of a silver dollar.   Where is the beef?
Under the guise of nutrition.  We are told we do not need to eat so much and a smaller portion has the same affect.   Yet, the price goes up not down to compensate for the smaller portion.
Or how about the ‘vegie’ burgers.... You pay a premium for not eating meat.   REALLY!!!!
   As you drive through construction sites.... Look at how they are erecting ghettos with nothing more than two by fours and plywood.
Then they sell it to you for over half a million dollars.
  Is that value?   Do these home even meet any building code... and if they do.
Have our standards been lowered so much that we allow homes to be built with sticks and compress wood chips?
I truly feel for the future of our kids as Canada is slowly becoming a third world nation.   Our jobs are going over seas and our youth are left filling jobs that are menial and poor paying.   
How are they to ever afford half a million stick homes?
  I think as a people we should put a stop to how corporations are allowed to rape and pileage our economy.
Companies like BELL, ROGERS and many of the Ghetto builders should stopped... but wait how?   We live in Canada.   We can’t put two thoughts together without a legal challenge.   In the land of equality and fairness we are fed the line that individual thought or opinion has no place in modern society.
Sad time we live in...

The lockdown and the D-Day anniversary

 

The lockdown and the D-Day anniversary
    by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
     As Canada continues to be in a fighting mood against the coronavirus pandemic, we also need to remember and reflect on the sacrifices that our forefathers have made for us to secure our freedom, to keep democracy alive in our country, to maintain the rule of law and the comfortable standard of living that we enjoy today. It is time to cherish their memory.  To ensure that their efforts to win over evil were not in vain and that, particularly during this new dark period that threatens our very existence, we keep up our courage and stand up against our adversaries as they have done.
We are currently facing a crucial time in our history in fighting the evil of the coronavirus pandemic and related societal malaises. In combination, the consequences of the pandemic and social dysfunction are similar to fighting a new kind of world war with worldwide consequences and yet unforeseen effects on Canadians.
On the 6th of June we mark the seventy-seventh anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of the Battle of Normandy, along a 100 km stretch of French coastline across the English Channel from Great Britain. This was the largest seaborne invasion in history and a crucial day in winning the war against evil; Nazi Germany.
The assault on the beaches of Normandy by British, American, and Canadian troops on the 6th of June 1944, who would then fight their way across Europe, has gone down in history as a memorable event. The codenames of where the troops landed - Omaha and Utah for the Americans, Gold and Sword for the British, and Juno for the Canadians - remain familiar today. The Normandy landings, Operation Overlord, marked the beginning of the end of six long years of conflict between Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany and Allied forces.
The development of the role for Canada in the D-Day invasion has a history going back a few years. Following the Dunkirk evacuation Canadians began to come over to Great Britain. They were well-prepared and took on the role of defending the British Isles. They built up around the south coast of England and operated in a defensive and anti-invasion role from May 1940 to July 1943. At that time the 1st Canadian Division was detached and sent to Italy, but the bulk of Canadian forces remained in Britain for all those years.
Canadian sailors, soldiers and airmen played a critical role in the Allied invasion of Normandy, beginning the bloody campaign to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation. Nearly 150,000 Allied troops landed or parachuted into the invasion area on D-Day, including 14,000 Canadians at Juno Beach. The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110 ships and 10,000 sailors and the RCAF contributed 15 fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons to the assault. Total Allied casualties on D-Day reached more than 10,000. By the end of the Battle of Normandy, the Allies had suffered 209,000 casualties, including more than 18,700 Canadians. Over 5,000 Canadian soldiers died.

From the D-Day landings on the 6th of June 1944 through to the encirclement of the German army at Falaise on the 21st of August this was one of the pivotal events of the Second World War and the scene of some of Canada's greatest feats of arms.
Juno Beach was the Allied code name for a 10 km stretch of French coast. It fell to more than 14,000 volunteer soldiers from across Canada, under Major-General Rod Keller, commander of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, to storm the Juno Beach coast line. They seized the beach and its seaside villages while under intense fire from German defenders - an extraordinary example of military skill, reinforced by countless acts of personal courage. The 3rd Infantry Division took heavy casualties in its first wave of attack but took control of the beach by the end of the day. There were 1,074 Canadian casualties, including 359 killed.
All things considered, the Canadian troops did very well on D-Day. The Canadians and the British in the Gold and Juno sector made it farther inland than any of the other invasion forces. They had managed to link up their forward units some distance inland, which was a measure of success. At the end of the day, the Queen's Own Rifles had actually captured its objective, which was short of the overall divisional objective but goes to show that some of the Canadian units were quite successful in the first hours.
Their sacrifices will be not forgotten even though their generation is starting to fade into the fog of history. For the time being D-Day still seems to be in the Canadian public's consciousness. Their memory must be preserved for the millennials and generations to come in order to eliminate the causes of further conflagrations.
D-Day embodied the courage and determination to prevail in that war. It was fought over issues that are still alive today - such as ideology, globalism, nationalism and injustice. It was an exceptionally difficult and hazardous military operation.
It was an operation in which Canadians took a major central part in the war to preserve freedom and democracy.  For these reasons and more, it's important to keep the memory of D-Day alive.
The dead, along with scores of other Canadians killed in the fighting during the weeks that followed, are buried in the serene and beautiful Canadian War Cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer, just behind Juno Beach. This, and numerous other memorials throughout Courseulles, Bernières and St. Aubin-sur-Mer, commemorate Canada's sacrifice on D-Day. A private museum, the Juno Beach Centre, overlooking the beach at Courseulles, also tells the story of Canada's role in the invasion of Normandy.

Every year on the 6th of June, the people of the villages along Juno Beach pay tribute to the men who fought and died there. They parade through streets festooned with maple leaf flags and hold services and vigils along parts of the seawall, in memory of their Canadian liberators.
Long live their memory! Long live the courage those men and women demonstrated.  May our current generations show just as much courage in our current hour of need.  We can't afford to wait for someone else to fight for our rights.  We must all take a stand against the tyranny of incompetent leadership, political correctness at the expense of merit, and the stripping away of our individual freedoms in the name of political expediency.  Wake up Canada!
Have we forgotten; what we are waiting for?

Your Contact Information: Make It Easy to Reach You

 Your Contact Information: Make It Easy to Reach You
By Nick Kossovan
   Last week I mentioned the 5 must-have sections your resume requires:
1. Contact information
2. Resume summary
3. Professional experience
4. Skills/Certifications
5. Education
This column will deal with the first section, your contact information.
Regardless of how you design your resume, your resume begins with your contact information, which creates your resume's first impression. The question: What information should you include?
Answer: Information that will make it easy for the reader to reach you, along with easily being able to view some of your digital footprints.
A great resume will contain the following contact information:
- Full Name
Use the format [first name] [last name]. Don't abbreviate or add "aka" (also known as), which I've seen done several times. Just 'Nick Kossovan.'
- Professional title
Right under your name, include your professional title. This will help your resume pass the ATS.
IMPORTANT: Your professional title should mirror the position you're applying for. Let's say you're applying for a "Project Manager" position, but your last/current professional title is "Junior Project Manager." Whoever reads your resume will most likely discard it, assuming you're underqualified for the position.
As a rule, avoid words like "junior," "senior," and "level 2". Simply state your professional title without creating what I call experience bias.
- Home address
Career coaches tend to advise not including your home address. I'm of the school of thought job applicants should be upfront regarding their current physical location. Besides, even in 2021, many hiring managers expect to see it, I am one of them. Not including your address may trigger a red flag, making the reader question why you left it off and wondering if you'd have a lengthy commute.
The last thing you want is for your resume to trigger red flags!
There's also the employer's ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to consider. Often an employer will program terms found in an address's anatomy (cities, province, postal codes). You want your resume to be as ATS friendly as possible.
Understandably you may be uncomfortable providing your home address. If this is the case, at least provide your city, province, and postal code.
- Professional Email Address
Your email address needs to be professional, not something you created back in the day (CheesyPete33@gmail.com). Ideally, your email address should be formatted along the lines of [first name] [period] [last name] @email.com (nick.kossovan@gmail.com). If your first name, period, last name isn't available with your current email provider, try other email providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, AOL, to name a few). Also try removing the period (nickkossovan@aol.com) or try your first initial, period, last name (n.kossovan@yahoo.com), or your last name, period, first name (kossovan.nick@outlook.com).
- Phone Number
Use the format [area code] [7-digit telephone number] - (403) 555-1234.
Besides basic contact information, you should include links to any relevant Internet presence you have. As you know, your digital footprint will be scrutinized before deciding whether you're interview worthy. Making it easy for the reader to find you online can only earn you a few points.
- LinkedIn
Make sure your LinkedIn profile is current, however, not merely a repeat of your resume. Job titles, dates of employment need to match those on your resume.
- URLs to your personal website/portfolio/blog/video channels
If you have a website or personal blog that's relevant to the job you're applying for and positions you as an expert in your field, include it! The same goes for an online portfolio you may have. Then there are video channels, such as YouTube. Suppose you're applying for a job as a chemist or science teacher. In that case, videos of you explaining organic chemistry will give you a competitive advantage, and therefore belong on your resume.
Only put relevant social media profiles/URLs on your resume. If you're applying for a Java Developer position, your Stack Overflow profile will be more appropriate than your Twitter account. However, if you're applying for a social media management position, including your Twitter account, which has over 25,000 followers, would be beneficial.  
Never include social media accounts that are more personal than professional, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, however, presume employers will seek these accounts out.
Next week I'll discuss writing a resume summary that will make the reader want to read your resume.

Taking a Hint

 

Taking a Hint
Q I’ve had a long and rocky road with a friend who reminds me we’ve known each other over 20 years. Recently, during my two-year engagement, I had a revelation about how much of a dud my “friend” truly is.
     We live in different states. Although she offered her help and had enthusiasm about my upcoming wedding, she tended, as per her usual behavior, to want to dominate conversations and refer to her own wedding and planning experiences.
     When she did have questions, they were often critical or questions attempting to put her back in control. For example, and this was annoying but not the worst incident, when I called to vent about my mother, all she said was, “If your mom is acting this way, why are you having a big wedding in the first place?”
     Why? Many women dream of a big wedding (rightly or not) as a way to celebrate and show the world how happy and in love they are. Why wouldn’t I want a big wedding if I can afford it?
     Alas, I persisted in seeking her advice, though it was peppered throughout with how the money could go towards a down payment on a house. (That’s what she thought when she got married.)
     Even when she tried to pretend she was there for me, she was flippant. When I needed hardcore advice—like when I called her from the dressing room where I bought my dress—she didn’t have anything substantial to ask, like, “How does it fit? Is this your dream dress?”
     When I expressed unhappiness after buying it, her initial response was “It’s just a big, white dress,” instead of saying something uplifting or helpful. She even bailed at the last minute on the bachelorette party, which was scheduled in the middle of winter to accommodate her! That ticked me off because it echoed a letdown that occurred in the very beginning.
     She was going to join me on a trip to look at reception venues—a big deal since I was having a destination wedding. But she added restriction after restriction until finally I told her she didn’t need to come, I was taking someone else!
     More and more, as the planning proceeded, I saw how selfish and single-minded she was. We’ve known each other for over 20 years, but she didn’t even know my parents’ first names until she received the wedding invitation!
     I tried to minimize contact at the actual wedding, but she still managed to annoy me. First, though she claimed she would be devoted to me “on your big day,” she brought her dog. Then, when I had the coordinators track her down to help me go to the bathroom (in my big white dress), she went to our suite and cleaned it, which she probably thought was the best surprise. Meanwhile, I had to pee!
     She also left the wedding early and didn’t help me with my veil, as she promised.
     Doing what she wants when she wants has been her trademark behavior since high school. Instincts tell me, since we live across the country from each other, this would be an easy friendship to fade out.
     At the same time, I feel like someone’s got to be honest with her. She seems to adapt well and make casual friends easily enough. In high school, other girls used to complain about her, but I guess I was oblivious. What do you think? Let it fade quietly, or let her know what’s up?
Brandi

A Brandi, this woman did everything possible to show you how disinterested she was in your wedding, and you did everything possible not to hear it.
     When she heard, destination wedding, she might have thought, An overpriced extravaganza with Brandi as the star. When she laid down condition after condition about going on the trip to check venues, did you hear what she was not saying? “Now I have to go twice to her wedding destination. I can’t afford that, in time or in money.”
     Some people don’t want to tell you, I don’t want my vacation to be about your wedding. They may feel you haven’t given them an invitation. You’ve given them a debt. You didn’t say you offered to pay her expenses, and apparently the bachelorette party was just one more expense for her.
     The only fault we find in her is that she didn’t tell you directly. But some people would rather talk about their sex life than about money, and you shouldn’t be forced to admit your financial situation to a casual friend.
     The source of the problem is the 20 years of familiarity. Because you two go way back, she didn’t feel she could say no to you, and you kept asking.
     There is no reason to tell her off. She already told you off, only you weren’t listening.
Wayne & Tamara  

write:  Directanswers@WayneAndTamara.com

How Diet and Inflammation Affect Colon Cancer

 How Diet and Inflammation Affect Colon Cancer

 W. Gifford-Jones, M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones

  It’s been said “We are what we eat,” or “garbage in garbage out.” Less catchy advice might be “Eat an anti-inflammatory diet, rather than a pro-inflammatory one.” It could make the difference in the likelihood of developing a malignancy of the large bowel. Not many people realize that if you take away skin cancers, colon cancer is the third most common malignancy in North America.
            A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Oncology, points out a strong association between chronic inflammation and the risk of colon cancer.
            Researchers at Harvard University discovered that people who had dietary patterns that triggered chronic inflammation were 32 percent more likely to develop colon cancer than those who followed a lowered inflammatory diet.
            Dr. Joel Mason, Director of the Vitamins and Carcinogenesis Laboratory, Tufts University, says, “This study adds to previous evidence that inflammation is an important factor in colon cancer and that a diet with less potential to cause inflammation can decrease the risk.” How did Harvard researchers determine what foods were associated with inflammation and what foods fought it?
            They analyzed the health and nutrition habits of 120,000 people over a 26-year period. This involved 18 food groups and tracking how they affected inflammatory markers in the blood.
Diets with the lowest level of inflammatory potential were tea, coffee, dark yellow vegetables, dark and leafy greens. In contrast, diets with the highest level of inflammation included processed meat, red meat and sugar-sweetened carbonized beverages.
            Overweight or obese males did not fare well. They were 48 percent more likely to develop cancer of the colon over the course of the study than those who consumed a low inflammatory diet. But even lean males were at higher risk, although not as much as the obese ones.
What about women? It’s strange that being overweight or obese did not increase or decrease the risk of colon malignancy in females. But in lean women who had the most pro-inflammatory diet, there was a 31 percent greater risk of colon cancer than those who consumed the least inflammatory diet. Researchers were not certain if these findings were related to hormonal changes in women.
            So, what’s the message? It pays dividends to stay active and not gain weight. This is not the first time nutritionists have told us that leafy green vegetables are more conducive to a longer life and it’s prudent to decrease the amount of red meat consumed. Hopefully it will help make everyone realize that the use of sugar sweetened beverages is not a healthy habit.
            An equally strong message remains that North Americans are needlessly dying from colon cancer due to a fear of having a colonoscopy performed.
            We know that colon cancer begins in a polyp that remains localized, providing ample time for colonoscopy and removable of this lesion. This procedure should be done regularly starting at 50 years of age or younger, and usually ending at 75 years. Discuss with your doctor whether this is the age for you to end colonoscopy.
            If several colonoscopies have been done over the years without any polyps being detected, the decision is usually to stop. The reason being that it’s unlikely one will form after the age of 75 and if it does some other event will end life long before a slow growing polyp causes trouble.
            The discomfort of colonoscopy is miniscule to the suffering of terminal colon cancer. For those dead set against the procedure, stool card tests done at home are an option. So, never, never, fall into the trap of skipping these life-saving tests.  

Sign-up at www.docgiff.com to receive our weekly e-newsletter. For comments, contact-us@docgiff.com. Follow us Instagram @docgiff and @diana_gifford_jones

The Political Crystal Ball

 

The Political Crystal Ball
By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”   

 How else do you explain it if not to assume they use a crystal ball and consult the same guy that is responsible for setting out what people should pay in fines for the many vehicular infractions.
   Number out of a hat perhaps.  No I still like my assumption of a crystal ball of sort.... cause you are never going to sell me on the fact that there is any science involved in irrational mentalities.
   Men and women that have no medical training yet had the fortunate opportunity to be elected to a position that they clearly have no clue what they are doing.
    With all due respect.  You can’t blame he or her that pulls the trigger.  We got to blame all of us that put the gun in their hands to begin.  If we use the analogy of a gun...   Remember guns do not kill people.  People kill people.
Just this week our beloved politicians once again have gone public and attempted to tell us how to live our lives.
The report read:  What you can do and when under Ontario’s new 3-phase COVID-19 reopening plan
The Ontario government has unveiled a three-phase COVID-19 reopening plan that will gradually guide the province as it emerges from a weeks-long stay-at-home order imposed on all regions.
Premier Doug Ford, Health Minister Christine Elliott and Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams revealed the long-awaited blueprint at Queen’s Park Thursday afternoon.  (Have the three amigos not learned from the last time they opened to fast?   Just because numbers are dropping a bit.  It does not mean to take a leap backwards again.   How long are these politicians going to tug at the same old yo-yo?)
Before the first phase begins, the Ontario government will permit outdoor recreational amenities (restrictions will be in place) to reopen as of 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. (how did the government come to that time and date?  Random science?  Calculations based on the same principles as just ‘DO IT’ and vaccinate without giving it enough time to see the actual side effects?)
Phase one will begin as soon as 60 per cent of all eligible Ontario residents have received their first of two COVID-19 vaccine doses, which is estimated to begin around June 14 based on trends seen in mid-May. This phase is primarily focused on resuming outdoor activities where there are small crowds.
Here are the highlights of what’s allowed under the first phase:
– Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people
– Patios with up to four people at each table
– Retail will begin reopening with a 15-per-cent cap for non-essential businesses, 25 per cent for essential retail
– Outdoor religious ceremonies and rite with capacity limits and two-metre physical distancing requirements
– Outdoor sports and training for up to 10 people allowed
– Day camps, campgrounds, Ontario Parks, horse racing, speedways, outdoor pools, zoos, splash pads allowed.  (How do they come up with these numbers?  What science has gone in these  calculations.  How do they justify their plan.  10 people, 15 people, 20 people a million.  They go as far as telling us that retail will open... What do the 3 amigos know about retail?  About health? What study was conducted by the chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams.  Or is it just another foretelling of the magic crystal ball?   Hell they are even experts in recreation.  Day camps, campgrounds, Ontario Parks.   I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer.   But for xmas I want my own magic crystal ball.)
A minimum of three weeks will need to pass and 70 per cent of all eligible Ontario residents will need to have their first COVID-19 vaccine dose and 20 per cent of residents will need to have the required two doses. At that point, here’s what else will be allowed:
– Outdoor gatherings for up to 25 people, indoor gatherings for up to 5 people
– Outdoor patio tables will be able to have up to six people
– Non-essential retail capacity will be increased to 25 per cent
– Personal care settings with face masks worn at all times
– Outdoor meeting and event spaces, amusement parks, water parks, boat tours, county fairs, sports leagues and events, cinemas and arts venues will be allowed to reopen
Story continues below advertisement.  (Dorothy said another three weeks.... why not four or five or hell ten.  Could they have got this advice from the same guy that sets fines for auto drivers?   No seat belt 200.  Speeding over the limit $200.  Random numbers thrown out to make it look like their is any validity or significance.   I call on the government to prove their so called path to insanity.  All I see is hit and misses and yet another huge wave.  Vaccination or not.  We are being led right into another suicide mission for many.)
After another three-week minimum period, along with up to 80 per cent of residents receiving their first vaccine dose and 25 per cent receiving their second dose, more indoor activities will be allowed where masks can’t always be worn. Here’s what can operate under phase three:
– Large indoor, outdoor gatherings and indoor dining
– Greater expansion of capacity for retail businesses
– Larger indoor religious services, rites and ceremonies
– Indoor meeting, event spaces
– Indoor sports, recreational facilities
– Indoor seated events, attractions, cultural amenities
– Casinos and bingo halls
– Other outdoor phase two activities will be allowed to operate indoors
At the end of each phase, health system indicators will be reviewed before moving to the next step.
You got to laugh at the last part of the news release.    After another three-weeks minimum period.   Like really.  Dorothy stop clicking your heels we are far from Kansas.   The release it read like a school boys essay.  At the beginning attempting to rationalize something he clearly has failed to do his research to the middle where he attempts to rationalize it by the element of chance and at the end with clear wishful thinking.
Casinos and bingo halls....  Other outdoor phase two activities will be allowed to operate indoors.  
Some scientific explanation.  Some well out thought plan.  To me it reads like.  We need to do something and something is better than nothing.   They say you find everything in  nothing and nothing in everything.   The three amigos have done a great job in bringing to light that philosophy.  
We live in changing times.   We are living through a huge social transformation that could in theory be the end of democracy and in turn the end of civilization. I don’t have a crystal ball.
I have for humanity that we awaken before it is to late.

Covid-19 and the Ontario pandemic mismanagement

  Covid-19 and the Ontario pandemic mismanagement
     by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East

It is well known that crisis of any kind breeds uncertainty and it is important for leaders to make sound decisions and not half measures based on the advice of network teams and area experts.
To exercise true leadership, a leader must learn to pause, think and assess before acting, be transparent, demonstrate empathy to the human tragedy and be on top of the action.
In the case of Ontario, the results thus far are not encouraging. The province is the most locked-down entity in all North America. How did we arrive at this deplorable state of affairs?  Frankly, it is by the lack of sound leadership.
Now in the third wave of the pandemic, Ontario finds itself in a precarious situation. Testing and vaccinations are being applied chaotically, and there is no coherent, long term plan. Of course, some of the blame can be made on the Federal Government responsible for the procurement of vaccines and testing materials.
However, the administration of the vaccine and testing to the population is fully the responsibility of the province. It seems that in this regard Ontario has not performed at all well. In justifying their poor performance, the Premier and the rest of the politicians in power tried to shift the entire blame onto the Federal Government. It is a poor defence based on poor performance.
As the political leadership has failed in its duty, so have the provincial health experts. Otherwise how can we explain the sore state of Ontario, which looks to be the worst in North America?
Premier Ford has tweeted, "From day one, I said I will always listen to our health care professionals. It's very simple; they are the experts when it comes to health care. I want COVID-19 to end as much as you do. Until then, I will rely on our health & science experts to keep Ontarians safe."
Unfortunately, Premier Ford, you were elected leader, so the ultimate decision and responsibility is yours. And you have failed!
Stay at home orders implemented, lifted and implemented again are half way measures and not a solution. The solution is to test and to vaccinate. Once you do that the pandemic is under control, at least. This is an elementary action and the province has failed royally.
It is well known by now that in Israel and the U.K. the vaccine has ensured that you only suffer mild symptoms of the illness if you get exposed to Covid-19, and will be protected from getting a serious and life-threatening infection.
The European Union countries as well as the United States are opening again for business. Here in Canada, where the province of Ontario should be at the forefront of economic recovery, we are in deep lockdown. Fear and fear mongering are not the solution to beating the pandemic. Good leadership is.
Ontarians are looking to Premier Ford to manage this crisis better with the path he now chooses. This is his last chance to prove to us that even though he might not be superhero material, he can at least be the sidekick we need.
On the other hand, our political leaders have leaned too heavily on a message of fear rather than hope, and it is high time to change their tune on the subject of reopening the Canadian economy.
While other countries offer specific details around reopening, the federal and provincial governments risk falling behind and stifling the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Ottawa and other levels of government, need to be much more hopeful, much more optimistic, in order to encourage people to get vaccinated and abide by common sense rules.
Positive reinforcement by political leaders might help ensure that Canada's health measures aren't undermined just as the majority of the public is about to be vaccinated.
There's no shortage of anger, frustration and fear among the public, we see it with each passing day.  Day in and day out. What we need is to give people hope, and to say to them that if we all do the right thing, if we get our shots, if we take proper measures to protect ourselves and others, we can reopen safely and more quickly.
Enforcement by police and health police enforcers will only generate more frustration and anger, because the Canadian people still believe in democracy, not autocracy.
Meanwhile, Canadian Western allies have provided hard timelines for recovery. In February, the U.K. laid out its roadmap out of lockdown, a four-point plan that detailed a gradual reopening over a series of specific dates and according to certain thresholds like vaccinations and COVID-19 case counts. The European Union is also working toward harmonized guidelines for reopening, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has outlined specific rules for vaccinated Americans, like not forced on wearing masks in public.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is the only provincial leader to provide his own detailed plan on reopening, and laid out specific thresholds last week for when certain activities like public gatherings would be allowed in the province. The Saskatchewan leader said he wouldn't wait on the federal government to reopen, saying his province's vaccine campaign has long remained ahead of schedule.
"The fact of the matter is we're not going to have a Trudeau summer here in Saskatchewan," Moe said last week.
So where is your plan and leadership Premier Ford?
Canada's federal health agency recently updated guidelines that provide some general information on the pandemic, like how Indigenous people can access COVID-19 health services or suggested safety protocols for truck drivers. However, industry groups warn that the documents do nothing to provide clarity to the public and to major corporations around the measures by which a reopening would be permitted.  These guidelines are typical of public service bureaucrats, working in a dream world out of touch with reality.
Recommendations that fully vaccinated international travellers need to be exempted from Canada's mandatory 14-day quarantine, as in other countries, is still far from the mind of sanitary bureaucrats and politicians.
A lack of clarity around reopening could also complicate supply chains, which could become a costly shortfall if it happens, seriously jeopardizing economic recovery.
Industries like tourism and hotels will continue to bleed cash in the absence of a plan to reopen. Canada, and Ontario in particular, is likely to lose its tourist season this summer. The United States will still have one. And we're seeing what's happening in other jurisdictions as vaccination rates go up, and infection rates come down.
There is now a proof that Canadian officials have been passive and not keen on engaging with the U.S. on reopening the border, as American officials have been calling for an easing of the restrictions.
So wake up, Premier Ford.  Stop hiding and blaming the feds. Do your job and give people a real plan for their lives and livelihood!

Paid Sick Days: Are You Outraged Enough to Pay for It?

 Paid Sick Days:
Are You Outraged Enough to
Pay for It?
By Nick Kossovan
   As a part of the solution to get out of this COVID19 pandemic mess, which keeps sticking to us like sidewalk gum to a shoe on a hot July day, we need universal paid sick days.  
   On Monday, April 26th, for the 21st time since 2016, the Ontario Conservatives voted against provincial paid leave. Michael Coteau (Don Valley East, Liberal MPP) had put forward a bill that would have guaranteed 10 paid sick days for all workers in Ontario. Coteau's bill was voted down 20 - 55.
Pandemic or no pandemic, should all workers in Ontario have easy access to paid sick days? Of course! All Canadians on a payroll, working full-time (no less than 35 hours per week) regardless of whom they work for, the industry they work in, or their employer's size, should.
 The lack of paid sick time is a public health concern. Long overdue is universal paid sick days. Workers need to be able to stay home and not bring sicknesses into the workplace.
However, as with any social program, especially when birthing a new one, who pays is the thorny question. The last time I checked, Canadians don't like tax increases or any increase in living costs. It's as if Canadians, many at least, believe the many social services and social safety nets Canada offers don't have any expenses attached to them.
For universal paid sick days, permanent and adequate, to happen in Ontario, taxpayers will have to pay. This can be equated to the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), which provides universal healthcare regardless of income, place of employment or any other factor other than being a resident of Ontario, being funded by taxpayers. I feel sick leave should be part of OHIP, where the government absorbs the cost up to a daily limit. This can only be achieved by increasing taxes while businesses absorb lost productivity.  For the record, I'm okay with my taxes being raised to make universal paid sick days a reality. Yes, you read that right. I was brought up if you want something, you must pay for it. As a taxpayer, I want universal paid sick days (10 days annually), and I'm willing to have my taxes increased to pay for it.  
That's the "who pays" side of the equation. However, there's also the political side to entertain.  
It's not a stretch to consider because Coteau's bill was an opposition bill, the vote result was a juvenile rejection. If Coteau's bill had passed, that would've been a massive win for the Liberal. The Conservatives couldn't have that.
A few days later, this past Thursday, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton tabled a bill that was quickly passed through the legislative process. The legislation gives Ontario workers 3 paid days of emergency leave. Businesses are expected to foot the upfront cost, which will be reimbursed up to $200 per day, per employee, through the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB).
This program has an expiry date of September 25th, as if at midnight on Saturday, September 25th, COVID will suddenly become history. Therefore, on Sunday, September 26th, workers in Ontario with no paid sick days provided by their employer will be back to square one.
Michael Coteau's bill and Monte McNaughton, now legislated bill aren't even remotely comparable!  Political partisanship has its place governing economic direction, but not when it comes to public health. COVID has taught us many deadly lessons, including how dangerous it is to approach a health problem as a political problem. Ford's handling of this pandemic, which undeniably has been guided by appealing as much as possible to his voter base, is a case in point. As well, to deflect, Ford has been leaning heavily on the federal government's Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) program to claim an Ontario paid sick leave program would be redundant.
The debate around paid sick days has been made into a political issue by politicians of every political stripe. There isn't a political party that can claim not to have been leveraging the social injustices COVID has bubbled up to serve their political agenda.
The largest private-sector union in Canada, Unifor, recently conducted a poll to gauge the level of support for paid sick days (Never judge public appetite by social media posts. Most "social justice" posts are virtue signalling.). Unifor's poll found 70 percent of Ontarians support 5 days of paid sick leave, and 64 percent support 10 days of paid sick leave.
Business interests are often touted as the main reason behind the lack of action on measures like paid sick days. There's much truth to this. Not one person reading this doesn't benefit from profitable businesses populating Canada's landscape. While the yin yang between political power and economic health is complex, it boils down to people wanting good-paying jobs.
For good-paying jobs to be created and exist, a business-friendly environment needs to exist-an environment that's conducive to do business in. Providing businesses with a competitive "cost of doing business" environment, when compared to conducting their business elsewhere (e.g., other provinces, overseas and let's not forget our next-door neighbour, the USA, where most states don't have paid sick leave.), will be the spark for rapid economic growth post-COVID.  Then there's also automation, contracting out, et al., to consider which businesses migrate toward as ways to look after their profit margins. Mandating businesses to take on the financial cost and productivity loss of providing paid sick days will be another incentive for businesses to move elsewhere, outsource work to contractors, fast-track implementing automation, or simply close shop. The common narrative, born from a sense of entitlement, is that because a person owns a business, they are rich and living off the back of their employees. That perception is completely incorrect. Many small business owners-owners of restaurants, convenience stores, mom and pop travel agencies, dry cleaners, coffee shops, retailers-can't afford the financial cost (paying people not to work) coupled with the production loss (work not being done) to offer their employees paid sick days. Imagine the negative impact, financially and productivity-wise, on a flower shop with 5 employees and 2 call in sick or an autobody shop with a staff of 7. The application of economic principles and the ecosystems they create for businesses to thrive can't be dismissed.   Ford has said, "he will not impose any additional burden on the backs of Ontario businesses." This is a fair statement, especially from a conservative perspective and given how most businesses are struggling to stay alive under the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Many businesses are on the brink of permanent closure.
You don't need to be an expert to see the economic damage the pandemic lockdowns have caused. Whenever any meaningful "recovery" happens (my guess that it'll be mid-2023), it won't be fair or straightforward. An environment that's attractive to businesses starting, expanding, or entice to come to Ontario will be crucial post-COVID for any type of healthy economic recovery to take place. Keep in mind all provinces will be on the same mission. So will countries worldwide, including our southern neighbours, who are the world's most adept capitalists and possess high energy of self-interest.     
My empathy for employers who can't afford to offer their employees 10 paid sick days annually, especially during a pandemic and with consumers constantly demanding cheap, is why I'm willing to pay more taxes.  Adding to my empathy is my enormous respect for anyone who takes on the financial risk, a risk most people won't take, to start a business that creates jobs.
Due to pandemic spending, Ontario now finds itself with a historic deficit (forecasted to be about $33.1 billion for the 2021-22 fiscal year based on four percent growth in the economy). I'm surmising Ford is reluctant to raise taxes. Inevitably somewhere down the line, taxes will need to be increased-the piper always needs to be paid. Right now, increasing taxes would be political suicide, thus permission needs to be given.   I suggest the message to Doug Ford's government be: "The people of Ontario are demanding permanent paid sick days! Let us help you help every worker in Ontario regardless of whom they work for. Increase our taxes if need be."  All Canadian political leaders should hear such a message.
If such permission were granted, no political leader would have any excuse not to provide universal paid sick days. Call it reverse protesting. Currently, those of us, the 70 percent according to Unifor's poll, who favour universal paid sick days, are just sitting idly by watching politicians playing politics.
Ontario taxpayers offering to put their money where their mouth is might be the protest required for Doug Ford's government to finally provide universal paid sick days. I'm outraged enough to be willing to pay more taxes to bring universal paid sick days to fruition in Ontario, are you?

COVID Means Double Trouble, and Worse

 

COVID Means Double Trouble, and Worse
 W. Gifford-Jones, M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones
If ever a time to act on your health, this is it. Study after study in leading medical journals reports compounding troubles from COVID-19. What was described as a lung disease early in the pandemic is now better recognized as an attack on health systems – your own body’s systems involving multiple organs as well as societal systems of disease surveillance and care delivery. Whether you have been infected or not, chances are high your health is becoming worse.
New research should raise alarm bells.
In the journal, Nature, Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research at Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System, reported on deteriorated health of COVID-19 survivors. To his amazement, the disease was not just deadlier for people with underlying conditions like diabetes. Data show that people are seemingly developing metabolic disease as a result of the infection.
How this happens is yet to be understood. Some scientists think SARS-CoV-2 not only damages the lungs, but other organs too. The pancreas which produces insulin needed to convert blood-sugar to energy might be affected by the infection. Another concern is the sedentary lifestyle brought on by the pandemic. Late or missed diagnoses of health issues among people skipping or unable to maintain medical appointments could be a factor.
Obesity and poor lifestyle issues are leading ever more children down the path to avoidable chronic disease. COVID is compounding problems for children who develop Type 2 diabetes. A study of such youth published in Diabetes Care showed a troubling and unexplained increase last year in diabetic ketoacidosis, a dangerous buildup of acid in the blood due to inadequate insulin supply.
Pregnancy is another area of concern. Research published in JAMA Pediatrics involving 18 countries found COVID-19 in pregnancy was associated with consistent and substantial increases in severe maternal morbidity and mortality and neonatal complications when pregnant women with and without COVID-19 diagnosis were compared. This underscores precautions to prevent COVID illness during pregnancy by following public health measures.
But how is COVID making you sick, even if you don’t catch the virus?
For one, the pandemic has caused a sharp decline in preventative care and screening, particularly for breast, colon, cervical and lung cancers.
One study in California, conducted by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that between March and June of 2020, the rate of cervical cancer screening among 1.5 million women decreased by roughly 80%, compared with the same period in 2019.
Another study at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre found that in March 2020 alone, more than 800 appointments for lung cancer screening were postponed. Upon resumption of screenings two months later, the percentage of people tested who had lung nodules suspicious for cancer had increased from 8% before the pandemic to 29%.
In some health care systems, a rapid switch to at-home screening tests, such as the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) for colorectal cancer, has kept pace with pre-pandemic testing. But in most places, individuals need to take the initiative to request the test kits and get it done.
Delays in screening, especially among people at risk, can mean missing early diagnosis. Cancers may grow larger and more deadly before they are detected.
Delays in all kinds of surgeries are yet another concern.
Research has only begun to emerge regarding the tsunami of mental health problems that have crept or crashed into the lives of many. An echo pandemic of mental illness will almost certainly follow.
So do not wait for trouble. Prevention is key. Make lifestyle changes to improve your health. Get tested where advisable or do at-home screening. Read past articles at docgiff.com if you need reminders.

Sign-up at www.docgiff.com to receive our weekly e-newsletter. For comments, contact-us@docgiff.com. Follow us Instagram @docgiff and @diana_gifford_jones

PLEASE HELP - WE ARE NOT THE PROBLEM BUT THE SOLUTION

 By Raymond Bond
Co-founder of Durham Dignity for the Homeless.
At CAMP we were feeding many in need.  We had two servings.  All food was free and donation based.  This has now come to conclusion due to complaints by cowards.   Political entities working to get rid of the poor and homeless from the core.   This is not about good citizens helping less fortunate.
This is about political greed.  About pleasing complainers that because they think they have it good that they can never be the ones at the end of need.   Sad.
Oshawa and Durham Region spends millions per year pushing the homeless from the downtown and into other adjacent communities.
For instance, if you're homeless or undesirable and you set up shop in Memorial Park, you won't last long before private security pushes you to the next phase of your journey.
Perhaps you head west, cross Centre Street and stop to rest at the Robert MacLaughlin Gallery, the library or City Hall. Nope, pan tilt zoom cameras will have you identified and accosted by private security from those properties in no time. A fence is even being constructed at the Gallery to keep the public out.
Will the journey west across the walking bridge and onto the path leading from the beer store to Brick by Brick Park bare any fruit? It depends if you walk south of the John Street bridge, where G4S seems to have the contract to patrol the park from the bridge south.
The natural instinct for someone being herded in this manner would be to find an available plot of land where no one is forcing them to leave. In this case, that would be the path that borders Midtown Mall, where heaps of people congregate to drink beer in eye shot of a Beer Store with no apparent social responsibility for its neighbors.
I get the feeling that our city is more interested in damaging the reputation of our meal program than they are about getting people drug and alcohol free. Using this type of selective enforcement, they can keep the downtown cleaner, build a case for revoking our permit, and ultimately, swoop in like the hero and clean it up after the problem has been allowed to exacerbate.
Midtown Mall has written letters to the Chief of police and the mayor to no avail. All that's happened so far is an increased presence of complacent police and bylaw, at least one of whom have offered suggestions for the crowd to at least put the beer in a Timmies cup and be more discrete. Idle threats include charges for stolen shopping carts and fines that would be used as toilet paper.   
One person I talked to at this location would love a place where they could go to dry out and get off of even Methadone (among the other things). It seems the synthetic heroin is interfering with their ability to be hired for the type of employment that interests them.   
Of course, sending scores of agencies to use private Midtown Mall property to hand out needles and crack pipes didn't work out well along this strip of the path defined as a park. It only led to the mall writing letters instructing municipal and regional services to NOT provide goods and services on their private property.
This does remind me of 101 Quebec street 2 years ago, when the homeless set up on undeveloped, vacant private property and the city used threats of zoning law infractions and fines for the property owner to coerce them to file trespass orders enforceable by police or municipal by-law.
I guess I'm wondering if we'll be doing the right thing this year or if merely pushing the homeless and undesirable out of the downtown and select parks and trails will be the ritual we stick to this term.    
we just cancelled our dinner program to mitigate the complaints that are coming. First Light Foundation will be attacked in the next council meeting as well from what I understand. More complaints for them I hear.
For everyone reading this.  I want you to know that no matter what the politicians may tell  you.  We are not the problem.  We are the solution to the homeless and those in need.   The fact that some have chosen out of not choice to set camp near our set up and subsequently cause us to shut down.  Should be a policing and or bylaw.   Instead they sit idled as if to protect an agenda that will bring public opinion into the formula of making it look as a good deed is the causation for all of downtown problem.  WE ARE NOT.