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‘WARNING’: Multiple meat products sold at Sobeys and FreshCo and other grocery stores now recalled over Listeria fears

Oct 25, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has expanded its recall of meat products sold at Sobeys. FreshCo and other grocery stores.

The Agency said the has now been updated to include additional products. As of Dec. 7, there are now eight products that have been identified during the CFIA food safety investigation.

Levitts Foods (Canada) Inc. is recalling certain Compliments brand, Levitts brand, and The Deli-Shop brand deli meat products from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

“Consumers should not consume the recalled products,” the CFIA said in its

There has been one reported illness that may be associated with the consumption of these products.

“If you think you became sick from consuming a recalled product, call your doctor,” the CFIA and Health Canada said. “Check to see if you have the recalled product in your home. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.”

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick, the Agency writes, adding that symptoms can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness.

“Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Although infected pregnant women may experience only mild, flu-like symptoms, the infection can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn or even stillbirth. In severe cases of illness, people may die,” the Agency writes.

The CFIA is verifying that the industry is removing the recalled product from the marketplace.

Here are some photos of the recalled products:

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 8:45 p.m. om Tuesday, Dec. 8 to reflect that there has been an illness associated with this product.

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Collingwood photographer featured on CBS News for shining a spotlight on the plight of the homeless

Oct 25, 2021 , , , , by shlf

At 20 years old, Leah den Bok has made a difference around the world.

For the past five years, the Collingwood woman has gained recognition and acclaim for her photography and the “Nowhere to Call Home” series of books.

The books feature photos and stories of homeless individuals from around the world and all proceeds from sales are donated to charities that assist homeless people.

She was recently featured on national television in the United States on CBS Sunday Morning.

“I was very surprised and excited,” she said. 

And while the pandemic has brought a number of things to a halt, den Bok said she and her father, Tim, have continued to take photographs of homeless individuals in Toronto.

“We began to realize COVID is really affecting people experiencing homelessness,” she said. 

“It’s making their lives that have already been hard, almost unbearable.”

She said these individuals don’t have access to bathrooms as a result of COVID-19 and people are less likely to give them money because of physical distancing.

“It’s very important for us to go get their stories and get their perspective on how the pandemic is affecting them,” she said. “We’ve got really sad and striking stories.”

Leah has a unique connection to homeless people, as her mother Sara, was homeless as a child before she was dropped off by a police officer at Nirmala Shishu Bhavan (Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Calcutta).

“That’s a huge factor because Mother Teresa cared for people experiencing homelessness,” Leah said. “If she hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be alive because my mother wouldn’t have been saved.”

When she started photographing homeless people, she was trying to build her portfolio, but quickly learned that many of them were humble people who had a lot of misfortune.

“I had only been told negative things about these people,” she said. “I found it to be a huge eye-opener. Everything we had heard about these people was virtually untrue.”

She is currently working on her fourth book. For more information, visit .

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Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario reports new record high of 1,924 COVID-19 cases; Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani tests positive for COVID

Oct 25, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The latest news from Canada and around the world Sunday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

9:43 p.m.: South Korea’s health minister said Monday that the Seoul metropolitan area is now a “COVID-19 war zone,” as the country reported another 615 new infections and the virus appeared to be spreading faster.

The country has recorded more than 5,300 new infections in the past 10 days and Monday was the 30th day in a row of triple-digit daily jumps.

Most of the new infections were detected in the Seoul metropolitan area where health workers are struggling to stem transmissions tied to various places, including restaurants, schools, hospitals and long-term care facilities.

“The capital area is now a COVID-19 war zone,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said in a virus meeting, pleading for citizen vigilance.

He said the country may have to further increase social distancing to prevent the resurgence in the capital area from “exploding into a major outbreak nationwide and collapsing the health-care system.”

While South Korea managed to contain a major outbreak in its southeastern region in spring by channeling nationwide health resources and personnel, it’s less clear where the reinforcements will come if the virus wreaks havoc in the densely-populated capital area, where half of the country’s 51 million people live.

7:34 p.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday Dec. 6, 2020.

There are 415,182 confirmed cases in Canada.

_ Canada: 415,182 confirmed cases (73,379 active, 329,138 resolved, 12,665 deaths).The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.

There were 6,261 new cases Sunday from 71,793 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 8.7 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 43,146 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 6,164.

There were 76 new reported deaths Sunday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 601 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 86. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.23 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 33.69 per 100,000 people.

There have been 11,977,563 tests completed.

_ Newfoundland and Labrador: 351 confirmed cases (30 active, 317 resolved, four deaths).

There were four new cases Sunday from 234 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 1.7 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 14 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is two.

There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 0.77 per 100,000 people.

There have been 64,368 tests completed.

_ Prince Edward Island: 80 confirmed cases (11 active, 69 resolved, zero deaths).

There were four new cases Sunday from 546 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.73 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of eight new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one.

There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people.

There have been 63,112 tests completed.

_ Nova Scotia: 1,368 confirmed cases (88 active, 1,215 resolved, 65 deaths).

There were four new cases Sunday from 849 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.47 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 78 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 11.

There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 6.69 per 100,000 people.

There have been 153,214 tests completed.

_ New Brunswick: 534 confirmed cases (82 active, 445 resolved, seven deaths).

There were four new cases Sunday from 502 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.80 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 39 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is six.

There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 0.9 per 100,000 people.

There have been 105,468 tests completed.

_ Quebec: 151,599 confirmed cases (14,326 active, 130,018 resolved, 7,255 deaths).

There were 1,691 new cases Sunday from 10,235 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 17 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 10,561 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,509.

There were 24 new reported deaths Sunday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 222 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 32. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.37 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 85.5 per 100,000 people.

There have been 2,248,348 tests completed.

_ Ontario: 127,309 confirmed cases (15,547 active, 107,990 resolved, 3,772 deaths).

There were 1,924 new cases Sunday from 57,313 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 3.4 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 12,563 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,795.

There were 15 new reported deaths Sunday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 124 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 18. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.12 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 25.89 per 100,000 people.

There have been 6,366,097 tests completed.

_ Manitoba: 18,806 confirmed cases (9,216 active, 9,195 resolved, 395 deaths).

There were 383 new cases Sunday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 2,323 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 332.

There were 14 new reported deaths Sunday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 94 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 13. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.98 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 28.84 per 100,000 people.

There have been 357,524 tests completed.

_ Saskatchewan: 10,139 confirmed cases (4,550 active, 5,530 resolved, 59 deaths).

There were 409 new cases Sunday from 2,114 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 19 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 1,900 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 271.

There were four new reported deaths Sunday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 14 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is two. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.17 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 5.02 per 100,000 people.

There have been 271,424 tests completed.

_ Alberta: 68,566 confirmed cases (19,484 active, 48,467 resolved, 615 deaths).

There were 1,836 new cases Sunday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 12,122 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,732.

There were 19 new reported deaths Sunday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 82 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 12. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.27 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 14.07 per 100,000 people.

There have been 1,502,472 tests completed.

_ British Columbia: 36,132 confirmed cases (9,982 active, 25,658 resolved, 492 deaths).

There were zero new cases Sunday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 3,490 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 499.

There were zero new reported deaths Sunday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 65 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is nine. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.18 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 9.7 per 100,000 people.

There have been 828,968 tests completed.

_ Yukon: 54 confirmed cases (12 active, 41 resolved, one deaths).

There were zero new cases Sunday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of nine new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one.

There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 2.45 per 100,000 people.

There have been 5,522 tests completed.

_ Northwest Territories: 15 confirmed cases (zero active, 15 resolved, zero deaths).

There were zero new cases Sunday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of zero new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero.

There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people.

There have been 6,511 tests completed.

_ Nunavut: 216 confirmed cases (51 active, 165 resolved, zero deaths).

There were two new cases Sunday. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 39 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is six.

There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people.

There have been 4,459 tests completed.

6 p.m.: Alberta is reporting 1,836 new COVID-19 cases and 19 additional deaths.

It’s the fourth straight day the province has seen new case numbers above 1,800.

There are 600 people in hospital with COVID-19 in Alberta, 100 of whom are in intensive care.

5:35 p.m.: A Staten Island pub owner slammed his Jeep into a sheriff’s deputy in a desperate effort to evade arrest early Sunday for continuing to serve patrons in defiance of coronavirus restrictions, authorities said.

Daniel Presti, owner of Mac’s Pub, hopped in his turquoise Jeep and hit the gas, sending the deputy flying onto the hood just after midnight when officers tried to arrest him outside his bar, officials said.

The sheriff’s deputy, identified by sources as Sgt. Kenneth Matos, suffered two fractured tibias. He was taken to Staten Island University Hospital.

“He just doesn’t care about people’s lives. That’s what this comes down to,” Bill Neidhardt, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, said Sunday.

“He doesn’t care if his pub spreads a deadly virus. He doesn’t care if a uniformed officer is clinging for life on the hood of his car. It’s truly horrible and unacceptable and the people of New York City will reject this disgusting way of thinking.”

The New York City Sheriff’s Office had been conducting surveillance Saturday night on the bar, which has been a rallying point for people angry over COVID restrictions.

5:15 p.m.: Nova Scotia is amending today’s COVID-19 case count to add one more.

Health officials say the latest patient is a student at an elementary school in Dartmouth, N.S.

The affected school will now be closed until Dec. 10.

4:30 p.m.: President Donald Trump

The 76-year-old former New York mayor has travelled extensively to battleground states in recent days and weeks in an effort to help Trump subvert his election loss. On numerous occasions he has met with local officials for hours at a time without wearing a mask.

Trump, who confirmed Giuliani’s positive test in a Sunday afternoon tweet, wished him a speedy recovery.

“Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!” Trump wrote.

Giuliani attended a hearing at the Georgia Capitol on Thursday where he went without a mask for several hours. Several state senators also did not wear masks at the hearing.

4:15 p.m.: Prince Edward Island has announced a two-week circuit breaker in an attempt to gain control of rising COVID-19 cases. Beginning Monday morning and lasting until Dec. 21, indoor dining at restaurants will be prohibited and there will be no organized or recreational team sports. Gyms, libraries, bingo halls and casinos will also be closed, retail stores must limit capacity to 50 per cent, and weddings and funerals will be limited to 10 people excluding officials. Organized gatherings, including faith services, will only be allowed to have 10 people, whether they are indoors or outdoors. Schools will remain open, except for four high schools in the Charlottetown area.

2:52 p.m.: Saskatchewan is reporting 415 new COVID-19 cases and four additional deaths. The province says that two of the people who died were in their 60s and were from Regina and the Far North zones, while the two others were in their 70s and were from the South zone. Their deaths bring the provincial total to 59 since the start of the pandemic. Saskatchewan reports there are 135 people in hospital with COVID-19, with 26 of those receiving intensive care.

2:10 p.m.: Manitoba is reporting 383 new cases of COVID-19 as well as 14 new related deaths today.

Health officials say many of the deaths were linked to outbreaks at care homes and involve patients who ranged in age from their 60s to their 90s.

But the province says one was a man in his 20s who lived in the Winnipeg region. The government says 348 people are in hospital with COVID-19, and 43 of those are receiving intensive care. So far, there have been 395 COVID-19 deaths in Manitoba.

1:54 p.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting four new cases of COVID-19, all of them in the province’s central region.

As of today, the province was dealing with 88 active cases, though no one with the virus has been admitted to hospital.

One of the new cases is related to travel outside Atlantic Canada, and the three others remain under investigation.

1:45 p.m.: Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are reporting four new cases of COVID-19, three of them men who recently returned to the province from Alberta.

The fourth case involves a man from the central region who was a close contact of a previous case.

The three travel-related cases include two men in their 40s, one of whom is not from Newfoundland and Labrador, and a third man in his 60s from the central region.

The province now has 30 active cases of COVID-19, though 317 people have recovered from the virus.

12:20 p.m. Quebec is reporting 1,691 new cases of COVID-19 today and 24 additional deaths linked to the virus.

Public health officials say 10 of those deaths took place in the past 24 hours.

The regions with the highest number of new infections are Montreal with 514; Monteregie south of Montreal, with 228; the Quebec City area with 143, and Lanaudiere, north of Montreal, also with 143.

Quebec has now recorded 151,599 total cases and 7,255 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

12:15 p.m. When Jenny Pitt-Clark first started hearing about COVID-19, like many Canadians, she began to stock up. But the expenses kept piling up. Printer ink was costly, and soon she needed more paper and pens. During a particularly challenging week, both of her monitors went kaput.

That’s why she was relieved to hear that next year’s tax filing season will be a little less complicated for Canadians, with the government announcing in its Nov. 30 a new work-from-home personal tax deduction of up to $400 for employees who have incurred “modest expenses” in 2020 due to remote working.

Pitt-Clark is looking into the T2200, a tax form filled out by employers, which would allow her to deduct more than $400 worth of expenses. But if that doesn’t happen, at least she has the new $400 deduction to lean on, she said.

on how the deduction works, who it will benefit, and what else you need to know before next year’s tax season.

11 a.m. Canada is poised to be the next country to deploy mass rapid testing for COVID-19 in a gambit that Harvard epidemiologist Michael Mina says could immediately stem the spread of the virus.

As an epidemiologist and assistant professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Mina has been leading research around COVID-19 testing throughout the pandemic.

Rapid at-home testing could be a COVID-19 game changer, he said.

Mina argues that government regulations should be changed to encourage manufacturers to develop the tests and public funding rolled out to assist companies with building them.

Other countries have had success with or are moving to use rapid testing to control the spread of COVID-19. In Canada, some rapid-testing systems, which provide results in minutes, are approved and being widely used. But the tests aren’t approved for household use and top public health officials remain skeptical since, generally speaking, a faster test yields less accurate results. However, when it comes to an effective testing strategy, Mina says accuracy isn’t everything.

10:20 a.m. (updated) Ontario has reached a record high of new COVID-19 infections for the second consecutive day.

The province logged 1,924 new cases in the past 24 hours, pushing above the 1,859 case record hit a day earlier.

The province is also reporting 15 new deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says Toronto had the highest number of new cases at 504, while Peel logged 463 and York Region saw 198.

There are 1,574 more resolved cases, while the number of active cases rose to 15,547.

The number of patients in the province’s hospitals decreased to 701, with 204 in intensive care.

10:17 a.m. Six months ago, Apple and Google introduced a new smartphone tool designed to notify people who might have been exposed to the coronavirus, without disclosing any personal information. But for the most part, Americans haven’t been all that interested.

Fewer than half of U.S. states and territories — 19 in total — have made such technology widely available. And according to a data analysis by The Associated Press, the vast majority of Americans in such locations haven’t activated the tool.

Data from 16 states, Guam and the District of Columbia shows that 8.1 million people had utilized the technology as of late November. That’s about one in 14 of the 110 million residents in those regions.

9:35 a.m. The theft of 200,000 doses (or 75,000, depending on which story you read) of polio vaccine from the Micro-Biology and Hygiene Institute of Montreal more than six decades ago was then worth the princely sum of $50,000.

More concerning, it upended a provincial vaccination effort trying mightily to slow one of Canada’s last polio epidemics; a storm that had already infected more than 500 and left 29 dead in Montreal alone. Police were sent scrambling, desperate to uncover the doses before they expired.

With multiple candidates racing into the final stretch — Britain became the to authorize a vaccine for use this week — COVID-19 vaccines are about to become one of the hottest commodities on the planet. In seeking a distribution company, Canada’s government notes in its tender that doses must be trackable, and “safeguarded at all times as high value assets and high value targets for criminal elements.”

Around the world, everything from dummy shipments to armed escorts and elaborate GPS tracking are being floated as potential security measures.

9:27 a.m. Pope Francis says the Christmas season provides reason for hope amid the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic.

During his Sunday blessing, Francis noted that the Vatican’s Christmas tree had gone up last week in St. Peter’s Square, and that work is underway to build the life-size Nativity scene next to it.

Pointing to the tree from his studio window over the square, Francis said such symbols of Christmas “are signs of hope, especially in this difficult period.”

9:12 a.m. Each spring, near a south Florida seaside strip known as the Broadwalk, the grateful retailers and restaurateurs of Hollywood Beach gather for a

“Canadafest” has played out for nearly 40 years in the heart of a uniquely Canadian diaspora south of Fort Lauderdale, a way of saying thank you to the roughly 1.2 million people from north of the border who visit the state annually.

COVID-19, of course, had other plans.

It’s just one illustration of the looming “dark winter” the pandemic has wrought in the United States, where the number of single-day deaths and new infections have blown past earlier peaks established in the spring.

And in a part of the country that has come to embrace Canada’s seasonal visitors as family, the health risks and cross-border travel restrictions are sure to amplify the pain.

8:30 a.m. A new study, currently in pre-print and under peer review at a medical journal, shines a light on just how many long-term-care residents suffering from COVID-19 may have been denied the hospital care they desperately needed before death.

The study by researchers at the University of Toronto and Public Health Ontario looks at the number of people with COVID-19 who were hospitalized before death and finds that in March and April, when hundreds of long-term-care homes in the province were experiencing outbreaks, just 15.5 per cent of nursing home residents with the virus were hospitalized before they died.

This reached a high of 41.2 per cent in June and July when the first wave was ending. That compares to 81.4 per cent of people who lived in the community, a percentage that has held steady throughout the pandemic.

Looking at the pandemic as a whole, from March to October, the trend was similar: overall, just 22.4 per cent of nursing home residents with COVID-19 were admitted to hospital before death, compared to 81.4 per cent for community residents.

7:19 a.m. Italy had more than 21,000 daily coronavirus cases and added 662 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The 21,052 new cases raised Italy’s total to nearly 1.6 million. There’s been 59,514 confirmed deaths, the second-highest toll in Europe behind Britain’s toll.

This week, Italy’s Premier Giuseppe Conte signed a decree limiting travel between regions Dec. 21 to Jan. 6, national Epiphany Day holiday. Conte hopes that will prevent holiday vacations that could fuel contagion.

7:15 a.m. The Oregon Medical Board has suspended the medical license of a doctor who said at a pro-Trump rally that he doesn’t wear a mask at his Dallas, Oregon, clinic.

KGW-TV reported Friday that Dr. Steven LaTulippe also said at the November rally that he also encourages others not to wear masks.

A state order requires health care workers to wear a mask in health care settings.

The medical board voted this week to suspend LaTulippe’s license immediately due to concerns about patient safety.

LaTulippe did not respond to a request for comment from KGW-TV and has previously declined to comment.

7:07 a.m. South Korea says it’ll further toughen physical distancing rules as recent restrictions has failed to curb a viral resurgence that threatens the country’s health care system.

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said Sunday recently elevated distancing rules haven’t showed much effect. Park says South Korea could face a shortage of intensive care unit beds if the current level continues for one to two weeks.

Under new restrictions effective Tuesday for three weeks, authorities will shut down karaoke rooms, fitness centres, indoor gyms and most of cram schools in the Seoul metropolitan area. Some high-risk facilities like nightclubs in the Seoul area have already been shut down.

Events must be under 50 people in the Seoul area and sports matches will be held without fans.

7:05 a.m. Eight people in the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli have coronavirus after everyone in the city was tested following the discovery of two locally acquired infections, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.

Authorities conducted nucleic acid tests on 203,378 people in the city on the border with Mongolia in two rounds starting Nov. 22 and Nov. 27.

The city had 24 locally acquired cases as of Sunday, Xinhua said. It said 1,239 people who had close contact with them were under medical observation.

Sunday 7 a.m. Coronavirus infections in Russia hit a new record on Sunday, as the country’s authorities registered 29,039 new confirmed cases, the highest daily spike in the pandemic.

Russia’s total of over 2.4 million reported infections remains the fourth largest caseload in the world. Russia has also reported 43,141 virus-related deaths.

Russia has been swept by a resurgence of the virus this fall, with daily confirmed infections and deaths significantly exceeding those reported in the spring. Nevertheless, Russian authorities have rejected the idea of another nationwide lockdown or any widespread closures of businesses.

On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin ordered a “large-scale” vaccination against COVID-19 to begin in Russia with the domestically developed Sputnik V vaccine that is still undergoing advanced studies needed to ensure its safety and effectiveness. Doctors and teachers will be first in line to get inoculated, Putin said.

Saturday 7:30 p.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday Dec. 5, 2020.

There are 408,921 confirmed cases in Canada.

_ Canada: 408,921 confirmed cases (71,450 active, 324,882 resolved, 12,589 deaths).The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.

There were 6,352 new cases Saturday from 79,671 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 8.0 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 43,361 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 6,194.

There were 93 new reported deaths Saturday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 598 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 85. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.23 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 33.49 per 100,000 people.

There have been 11,905,770 tests completed.

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Martin Regg Cohn: Money is distorting Ontario’s democracy. Here’s how Doug Ford can fix that

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Pandemics are bad for politics.

Fundraising dinners are suspended and ordinary donors are upended. That leaves the major parties desperate for fat-cat developers to make up the difference.

Money politics is the ugly underside of democracy — outstretched hands and greasing of palms. But .

Yes, the crisis is straining campaign financing. But it is also constraining campaign spending.

Quite apart from the sudden shortfalls in fundraising, it’s the sharp limitations of physical distancing that have redrawn the map for politicians, who can no longer roam far and wide to reach voters, let alone hit up donors. Which is why the pandemic is, paradoxically, a prescription to cleanse our politics of accumulated toxins.

We tried once before. Back in 2016, after a the wild west of Ontario fundraising, the previous Liberal government abuses — so that politicians from all parties could cater to voter interests, not .

But Doug Ford’s Tories unilaterally after they took power two years later, revoking public financing of political parties (modest “per-vote” subsidies based on most recent election results). Now, COVID-19 has changed the equation.

Fundraising is falling on deaf ears because ordinary Ontarians are out of pocket. Which leaves deep-pocketed developers whispering in the ears of desperate politicians.

With the benefit of hindsight, the premier has every reason to restore the “per-vote” allocations that he unilaterally phased out (scheduled to end next year). And with a little foresight, Ford could go even further in leading a cleanup of dirty money.

The perfect storm of a pandemic is the ideal time for the premier to curb excessive campaign spending, better reflecting the virtual world of COVID-19. Why allow parties to spend (and therefore raise) as much as $10 million for a provincial election campaign that amounts to overkill?

Amid COVID-19, we are entering a new world of political outreach and campaign marketing that is more digital than ever before. The premier could make the best of a pandemic by forcing all politicians to collectively clean up their act — with sharp new limits on how much they spend to grease their lumbering campaign machines.

The major parties already spend too much money to raise money. All those sumptuous fundraising dinners are obscenely inefficient ways to attract donors — with big sums (and fine wine) poured down the drain to keep the cash flowing, while politicians waste time prostituting themselves.

As for those costly and clunky whistle-stop campaigns, they are whistling past the political graveyard. Just ask Ford, who ditched the traditional “leader’s tour” in the 2018 election, forsaking the customary chartered aircraft and customized bus, while eschewing the companion “media bus” laid on (for a hefty fee) for travelling reporters. The leader’s tour tends to be a “loss leader” for parties keen to get “earned media” (coverage), but most cash-starved outlets dropped anyway (the Star was often one of the few organizations to tag along).

Prohibitively expensive television advertising is fading as rival parties opt for more targeted social media channels and other digital vectors. Today’s technology allows campaigns to harvest hundreds of thousands of cellphone numbers for a song, identifying potential voters with a simple text message.

Large election rallies are today populated mostly by weary campaign volunteers trying to create the illusion of support (those Donald Trump rallies are an anomaly and anachronism). Spared the expense of renting large halls, chartering transportation, and spending on big media buys, provincial campaigns are overdue for downsizing — while rightsizing “per-vote subsidies” to shore up the gap.

The 2016 campaign finance reforms belatedly and wisely banned corporate and union donations, but compensated the parties for the funding gap with a “per-vote” public subsidy of $2.71 per ballot cast. Based on the results of the 2018 election, the victorious Tories were in line to receive $6.3 million annually while the NDP would get $5.2 million, the Liberals about $3 million, and the Greens around $700,000 — until Ford overruled his own party by phasing them out.

Oh, and let’s stop calling them subsidies — an outdated misnomer — and refer to them more accurately as voter “allocations.” In fact, we already heavily subsidize contributions from the most affluent Ontarians thanks to generous tax credits (starting at 75 per cent of the donation), so why not level the playing field by letting every taxpayer’s vote count with a “per-vote subsidy” rather than a “rich voter subsidy?”

The premier should restore those public funding allocations (even if it means dialing down the old “subsidies” that enrich the most affluent donors), while also reducing campaign spending limits. A true populist would ensure that all political parties wasted less money at campaign time — and wasted less time on raising money at other times.

Just as COVID-19 is upturning the economics of business, it is changing the business of politics. Ontario needs to finish what it started in 2016, responding to the recent strain on private fundraising with a new constraint on party spending — and a matching increase in public funding.

The virus of dirty money can distort democracy in the best of times. Now, in the worst of times, the deadly COVID-19 virus can disrupt our democracy for the better.

Martin Regg Cohn is a Toronto-based columnist covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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Orillia’s new Canadian Tire superstore welcomes customers

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

History buff, Ed Lukezic — the owner of Orillia’s new Canadian Tire superstore — has turned your shopping trip into an experience.

“We have certainly done an awful lot to make it not just a place to buy a hammer, or a saw, or a toaster,” he said.

Walk through the automotive accessories department and you’ll see a 1930 Model A Ford pickup truck and a 1926 Texaco gas pump.

“That’s my signature,” Lukezic said of his collection of historical pieces. “Instead of them sitting in a garage or whatever, it’s nice when a lot of people get to see them.”

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The superstore officially opened Sunday, Nov. 1 beside Orillia Square Mall, .

At just over 140,000 square feet, the store is twice the size of its predecessor. In the 80,000 square feet of retail space, you’ll find an extensive variety of products.

“We basically designed the building to cater to the demographics of the community: hunting, fishing, marine, camping, patio, automotive, (these are) significantly larger than the typical store,” Lukezic said.

Gesturing toward an aisle dedicated to motor oil, Lukezic talks about “trip assurance.”

“We need to do our best to ensure when a customer comes in here, we have what they’re looking for,” Lukezic said.

The automotive service shop features 20 bays and is loaded with state-of-the-art, high-end technology, Lukezic said. Mechanics here can do everything from 15-minute oil changes to precise realignment of vehicle sensors. There is even a hoist strong enough to lift a fire truck.

Customers who don’t want to go in-store can and choose a contactless pick-up option. Your purchase is placed in a lock box that opens when you scan a code sent to your phone. A garden centre is set to open next spring.

Lukezic and his wife Valerie have lived all over the country as associates of different Canadian Tire stores. He said it’s a dream to settle in Orillia, as they fell in love with the community years ago while renting a home on Sparrow Lake.

“I honestly couldn’t imagine a better place to live,” Lukezic said.

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Thousands of Toronto students switch to virtual school as COVID-19 case count rises

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Thousands of students in the Toronto District School Board opted to move from in-person to virtual school this week as the number of cases in schools continues to rise.

The TDSB’s first deadline to switch from online to in-person classes and vice versa on Wednesday saw about 7,500 students move from in-person to , while 3,000 students opted to switch from virtual to in-person classes, according to spokesman Ryan Bird.

The changes take effect Oct. 13.

As of Friday afternoon, the board is also reporting COVID-19 cases in 82 school, with 68 cases among students, and 29 in teachers.

The switch, the first one of the year, comes at a time when thousands of students who signed up for virtual in the summer have yet to be assigned a teacher.

Toronto parent Angela Matich, who opted for virtual school in August questions why the board would have allowed students to switch when so many kids — like her two children — are still waiting for a teacher.

“My attitude is you couldn’t handle what you have right now. Clear the backlog, and then move forward,” she said. “I understand there was a demand to move to virtual, but the problem is the TDSB has not been clearly telling those parents that we can switch you, but we have no teachers, we have no class, and your kids could be home one month or more doing nothing.

“The problem is that once they keep allowing people to switch, they have to constantly reorganize not just virtual but also in-person classes.”

Matich said one of her sons was connected to a teacher on Monday, but has yet to actually start the class.

“Just because you have been assigned a teacher that doesn’t mean you have started learning, and if you have been assigned a teacher, that doesn’t mean you actually have that teacher because teachers are getting pulled at the last minute … and then you are in this never-ending revolving door where we don’t actually know what we have,” she said.

Earlier this week, the TDSB said it was still short 80 French teachers and students in the French immersion/extended French program online could not be guaranteed they would be able to continue in French.

Currently, the board says 58,500 of its 174,000 elementary students are learning from home and 18,000 of 73,000 high schoolers are enrolled in online learning.

High schoolers have until Oct. 15 to decide whether they’ll make the switch. That decision would take effect on Nov. 23. The next opportunity to switch will be Nov. 6.

The development comes as Toronto deals with a surge in COVID-19 cases. On Friday, the city recorded an additional 311 cases and two more deaths. It was also reporting four schools with active outbreaks. (The province defines an outbreak as two or more lab-confirmed cases within a 14-day period with at least one case connected to the school, including busing and after-school programs.)

Toronto’s top public health official, Dr. Eileen de Villa, said she respects parents’ decisions to pull their kids out of the classroom.

“I think they should make the choices that make the most sense for their own unique circumstances, what makes sense for their children and what makes sense for their broader family,” she said, noting some kids or their families may be at greater risk of serious COVID-19 symptoms.

“That doesn’t take away from the fact that, from a public health perspective, we completely appreciate the value of schools to our children and to their overall health, so we’re doing everything we can in concert with our school board partners … to create environments that are as safe as possible for our children.”

York Region District School Board’s deadline to switch was on Sept. 22, at which time 5,854 decided to move from in-person to virtual. At the same time, 766 moved from virtual to face to face.

Peel Region District School Board saw a huge influx of 10,000 students move from in-person to virtual in September, delaying the start of school. The next switch date for PDSB students is Oct. 14.

With files from The Canadian Press

Noor Javed is a Toronto-based reporter covering current affairs in the York region for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Purple fentanyl seized by police during Penetanguishene drug bust

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Police have charged three people after a raid on a Penetanguishene home Oct. 22.

Officers with the Southern Georgian Bay OPP community street crime unit executed a search warrant at a Yeo Street residence at 9:30 p.m. The search was part of an ongoing investigation into recent drug-related incidents in and around Penetanguishene and Midland.

Local police, along with members of the OPP Central Region emergency response team, seized a quantity of purple fentanyl, drug-related paraphernalia and more than $8,000 in cash.

A 28-year-old Georgian Bay Township man, 30-year-old Penetanguishene man and 50-year-old Tiny Township man are all facing charges.

The younger men have both been charged with possession of an opioid, possession of an opioid for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of property obtained by crime.

The 50-year-old has been charged with possession of an opioid.

All three are slated to appear in court in Midland in late November and early December.

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Ontario reports 821 new cases of COVID-19, allows dance studios to reopen in hot zones

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Ontario reported 821 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, an increase of more than 100 from the day before, and is allowing dance studios in Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa to reopen.

Owners of dance studios had been pushing for change since the four hot zones went into modified Stage 2 restrictions, and a government review determined they are at less risk of transmission than gyms and fitness centres, which were closed in addition to indoor dining at bars, restaurants and food courts.

“They informed us that they were able to keep enough distance, that they were able to do that in a safe way,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said of dance studios.

“I know it is really difficult for some business owners to understand why they can’t be open,” added Elliott, who acknowledged “we’re still having conversations with other groups.”

Premier Doug Ford said there are many “boutique” fitness operations coming forward to plead their cases. “We’ll be reviewing that,” he said.

Alex Kucharski, who owns an F45 Training studio in Richmond Hill and is a director of the Ontario Independent Fitness Studio Association, accused provincial health officials of making “arbitrary” decisions and putting thousands of businesses to the brink of failure in the pandemic.

“Fitness studios offer the same services as dance studios — aerobic exercises performed indoors — and are able to operate safely with the same restrictions,” he told the Star.

In a statement, the government said “dance styles such as ballet, hip hop, and ballroom can still be taught and practised safely when certain public health measures are followed.” Zumba classes remain shuttered.

At least 80 cases have been , which has prompted the government to review COVID-19 guidelines for gyms and fitness centres.

Opposition parties said Elliott’s explanations were less than clear, with Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca calling them “very confusing.”

“This government has a real problem with mixed messages,” NDP Leader Andrea Horwath told reporters. “It doesn’t seem these decisions are well-thought out.”

The 16 per cent increase from 704 cases Monday came with a drop in testing to 24,049 nasal swabs processed at provincial labs, but Elliott said it’s “too early to say” if the rise could be blamed on Thanksgiving weekend gatherings.

Tuesday marked the fourth day with more than 800 new infections since a record 939 cases were reported on Oct. 9.

There were three more deaths, raising the toll to 3,053.

Toronto had 327 new cases and Peel 136, both increases from the previous day, while York had a decline to 64 and Ottawa was up more than two dozen to 79.

Cases doubled in Durham and Halton to 32 and 46 respectively, while Hamilton had 36, up from 17.

Across the province, hospitalizations increased by 22 people to 274, with 72 in intensive care and 45 ICU patients requiring ventilators to breathe.

The number of outbreaks in nursing homes increased by one to 87, with 23 more residents and 17 staff testing positive for the virus. At 59 nursing homes, the outbreaks involve only staff isolating at home and no residents are sick, said Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton.

and 508 schools with infections, which is just over 10 per cent of the 4,828 schools in the province. Four schools are closed because of outbreaks.

is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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Keep your pets away from bay if you see this: Simcoe Muskoka health unit

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The regional health unit is urging caution among residents and visitors to a portion of Sparrow Lake following the discovery of a blue-green algae bloom on the west side of Deep Bay.

Many species of blue-green algae can produce toxins that are harmful to the health of humans and animals, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit said in an Oct. 27 statement.

The health unit is asking residents and visitors to exercise caution where blue-green algae is visible and to take the following precautions:

–    Do not use the lake water for the preparation of infant formula.

–   Do not allow pets or livestock to drink or swim in the water where an algae bloom is visible.

–    Be cautious about eating fish caught in water where blue-green algae blooms occur.

–    Do not use herbicides, copper sulphate or other algaecides that may break open algae cells and release toxins into the water.

–   Avoid swimming and other water sport activities where an algae bloom is visible.

Blooms may make the water appear bluish-green, or resemble green pea soup or turquoise paint.

The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks will further analyze samples to determine the presence of any toxins, the health unit said.

Symptoms from consuming toxins from a blue-green algae bloom can include headaches, fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and can be more serious if water is swallowed in large quantities.

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Canadian Down Syndrome Week Celebrated in Simcoe County November 1-7

Oct 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

In Canada, we celebrate our loved ones who are living with Down syndrome a little extra throughout the week of November 1-7.

“Canadian Down Syndrome Week as a great opportunity to both raise awareness about Down syndrome and thank our communities for being inclusive and seeing the abilities of those living with Down syndrome,” notes Jennifer van Gennip, Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Association of Simcoe County (DSASC).

Like everything 2020, Canadian Down Syndrome Week looks a little different this year. Instead of gathering for the annual Step UP for Down Syndrome Fun Walk at the Tiffin Centre, DSASC member families will walk separately to raise money and awareness. The association has also provided lawn signs to members, to help them mark the week from home.

The DSASC is a volunteer-driven charity supporting individuals living with Down syndrome and their families all across Simcoe County. They offer a broad range of social events, programs, and bursaries for their 75 member families. While many programs are on hold due to COVID-19 precautions, members enjoy participating in the Club 21 all-ages social club, the bowling and dance programs, the Young Adults Day Program, and events like the Christmas Party and the World Down Syndrome Day Dinner and Dance. The association also provides children’s therapy and recreation bursaries, as well as young adult independence bursaries.

About the Down Syndrome Association of Simcoe County

The Down Syndrome Association of Simcoe County (DSASC) is a charitable organization serving the county’s vibrant Down syndrome community. We work together to raise awareness and encourage the inclusion of people with Down syndrome, while also supporting our members and their families. Learn more at .

About Down Syndrome

Down syndrome is a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement that has always existed and that is universal across racial, gender, and socioeconomic lines. The effects from the extra genetic material (3 copies of chromosome 21 instead of 2) vary from person to person, and the degree of resulting developmental delay also varies. Down syndrome occurs in approximately 1 of 781 live births, and there are an estimated 45,000 Canadians with Down syndrome.

People with Down syndrome are people first. When children and adults with Down syndrome or other disabilities are given opportunities to participate, all children and adults benefit, and environments of friendship, acceptance, and respect are created.