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Midland businesses benefitting from shop local campaigns

Jul 29, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Businesses in downtown Midland are being kept afloat thanks to a community effort to encourage more residents to shop local this holiday season.

“We are seeing a lot of people that we’ve never seen before,” said Sarah Kenney, co-owner of Georgian Bay Books at 247 King St. “People are really making an effort to shop local.”

Sales at Georgian Bay Books have been steady since September and are now on par with last year. This comes as a welcome surprise for Kenney and co-owner Sandy Dunsford, who struggled through the spring and summer.

“It was a rough summer,” said Kenney. “But sales have been back up to normal from September through to December. Which is great. Christmas is always a busy time for book stores.”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and King Street reconstruction project dramatically affected sales for many businesses. 

and other businesses in downtown Midland, are relying on this holiday season more than ever before. Because of this, a variety of local organizations are encouraging residents to shop local in hopes of keeping more money in the community.

The has spent the last eight months pushing the shop local message.

“Small business owners pay taxes, they employ local people, and they most likely try and support local as well,” said Cathy Tait, executive director of the chamber. “Local business owners are also the ones giving back to non-for-profit organizations and sports clubs. So, when you support these businesses, you are supporting our community.”

For every $100 spent at a small business, roughly $68 stays in the community, according to Tait. For every $100 spent at a local franchise operation, $48.95 stays in the community.

“These operations are run by real people. They are our neighbours, our friends or our family. They really do have a vested interest in the business,” said Tait. “They keep our communities authentic and interesting by offering products and services that wouldn’t normally be available in big-box stores.”

One of these unique small businesses is , which carries Canadian-made clothing. Owner Nancy Spiker regularly gives back to the community, helping non-profit organizations.

This holiday season, Spiker is inviting a number of different local artists to her store and giving them space to sell their work. 

“There is definitely some cross-promotion. I think it works well for both parties,” said Spiker. “It gives the artist a very accessible public space to show their work.”

Sales at A Passion for Fashion have improved over the last few months. According to Spiker, sales in November were on par with last year. She credits that to a noticeable effort people are making to shop local.

“It’s important to shop local,” said Spiker. “Then money circulates within our community. If we continue helping out one another, we all have a great chance of thriving and surviving this pandemic.”

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Reporter Andrew Mendler decided to talk to businesses in downtown Midland about the importance of shopping local.

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Canada’s COVID-19 vaccines have to travel through the United States. Will Donald Trump take them?

Jul 29, 2021 , , , , by shlf

OTTAWA—The first shipment of a newly-approved COVID-19 vaccine destined for Canada departs Friday on a journey now more perilous because of President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring vaccines should go to Americans first.

That’s because the first 30,000 doses from Pfizer/BioNTech will be loaded on a UPS plane at Puurs, Belgium, which then flies through Cologne, Germany, and onto Louisville, Kentucky, before being divvied up on planes travelling on to Canada.

“If all goes well,” said Canada’s co-ordinator of the massive operation, Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the customized thermal shippers containing the precious cargo will arrive at 14 different sites across Canada Monday. And an unprecedented national vaccination campaign would begin with injections in Canadian arms starting Tuesday.

However, Fortin acknowledged there is a risk, although slight, to the Canadian vaccine shipment because of Trump’s order. “We’re looking at all the risks associated with transport,” he told the Star after a briefing.

A senior government official said the Trudeau government’s analysis is that the risk is low because Trump’s order does not mention the Defence Production Act — the law Trump invoked to try to block earlier shipments of 3M N95 masks to Canada. But it’s not zero, the official acknowledged.

Christina Antoniou, Pfizer Canada’s corporate relations director, in a written reply to the Star said, the vaccine “transits through the UPS hub in Louisville, Kentucky, in an international transit zone. It then gets redeployed to Canadian airports.”

“We are still assessing the implications of the executive order to determine its potential impact,” she wrote. “What we can reiterate at this time is that we are making vaccine doses available as quickly as possible based on the terms of current agreements with individual countries. We are committed to honouring our agreement with the Canadian government.”

International trade lawyer Lawrence Herman thinks the risk is low too, noting many analysts in the U.S. feel the president doesn’t have any legal basis for his order.

“That being said, you never know with Mr. Trump and his legal team. But I would think that Canada has every reason to believe that the legal arrangements we made with the supplier will be honoured.”

Anita Anand, the federal procurement minister who landed the deal for 20 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and secured early delivery last weekend, said she was “confident” based on assurances from Pfizer that “the company with whom we have contracted will ensure that those deliveries make it to our shores.”

It was a cautionary note on the day that Health Canada regulators granted a first formal authorization to Pfizer/BioNTech to distribute a novel mRNA vaccine, making Canada the third country to approve it, after the U.K, and Bahrain — news that brought an air of giddiness to Parliament Hill.

“This is a big deal and a good news day for Canadians,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, “but we are not through this yet. We have a tough winter to get through and I know we are going to be able to get through it together.”

Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said she breathed “a sigh of relief.”

For weeks she had no communication with regulators, just signals that they were close to a decision this week.

The company is expected to ship up to 4 million of Canada’s prepurchased 20 million doses by the end of March.

Anand said the Trudeau government is now looking at exercising its option to purchase up to an additional 56 million vaccine doses, especially if it can get assurances of early delivery dates for those options. “It makes sense,” she said.

Health Canada says all Canadians get access to a vaccine by the end of September 2021, but Hajdu said only that her goal is to see the campaign reach all Canadians by the end of the year. Government sources, however, acknowledge the public uncertainty around a new vaccine could mean only around 70 per cent of Canadians will get vaccinated.

Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser to the regulatory team, said, “Canadians can have confidence in our rigorous review process and that the vaccine was authorized only after a thorough assessment of the evidence demonstrated that it met Health Canada strict standards for safety, efficacy and quality.”

Sharma smiled when asked how Canada beat the U.S. to regulatory authorization, joking, “We’re just better.”

Turning serious, she said it wasn’t a race, but explained Canada got all the data it needed late Tuesday night, and issued an authorization that is broader than the emergency use authorization that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking at. The U.S. could issue its decision Thursday.

“The geek in me is amazed,” said Sharma. “No one would have thought even when we looked back at the first discovery of the virus that less than a year later we’d be authorizing and then distributing a vaccine.”

“At last we have a reason to feel optimistic … about to returning to the lives we led pre-COVID,” said Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer. “This has been a marathon, but now we are nearing the finish line.”

Health Canada says the vaccine is safe and effective for broad use in those aged 16 and over because the benefits clearly outweighed the risks. Sharma said regulators are still examining reports of two British health care workers who have had allergic reactions.

Clinical trials of the vaccine turned up just two allergic reactions out of nearly 44,000 people who were part of the trials — one received the vaccine, one received a placebo.

For now, only those with an allergy specifically to listed ingredients of the vaccine should not receive an inoculation, she said. The federal government has not yet advised people with a history of strong allergic reactions against getting vaccinated.

Sharma said Ottawa will make clear its recommendation on that before immunization begins next week.

Several terms and conditions including monitoring and reporting requirements have been put on Pfizer/BioNTech, to track expected side effects, like headaches, fatigue and sore arms, along with rare adverse effects.

At Queen’s Park, Premier Doug Ford called it “phenomenal news.”

“As soon as vaccines arrive on Ontario soil, we will be ready to deliver and administer them,” Ford said in a written statement. “Friends, the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter.”

The decision about who gets the vaccines first is up to provinces, which have responsibility for delivering health care.

Quebec has said it will start with long-term-care residents and workers, Manitoba said it will begin vaccinating health workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 response.

Ontario has not revealed which hospitals will receive, thaw and mix the vaccines but has said 21 hospitals are equipped with ultracold freezers to handle the vials from Pfizer, but is expecting about 40 per cent of the vaccines shipped to Canada.

With files from Rob Ferguson

Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Ontario’s COVID-19 testing system in upheaval as volumes drop at some sites, positivity rates rise and samples get shipped out of province

Jul 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The record high number of tests reported Thursday masks upheaval in Ontario’s testing system, with assessment centre volumes dropping, positivity rates rising, and other provinces bailing out Ontario’s backlog.

This week, Ontario Health directed some hospitals in Greater Toronto to reduce testing volumes at assessment centres, according to a memo seen by the Star, part of an effort to reduce the persistent queue of unprocessed tests.

At other hospitals in the GTA, testing “targets” have remained the same, but the number of people getting swabbed is dropping nonetheless — in some cases by nearly half. Doctors say the switch to appointment-based bookings is merely moving lineups online, and shifting the testing backlog to before swabs are collected rather than afterward.

Next week, Ontario’s public health agency will begin sending 1,000 specimens a day to Nova Scotia labs to be tested for COVID-19, and another 500 a day to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said Tuesday he and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have discussed “what we might be able to do to help” with Ontario’s testing needs.

Amid these challenges, the daily reported COVID-19 infections don’t currently provide an accurate picture of the state of Ontario’s epidemic, experts say — a particularly alarming situation as Ontario Thursday, with regional hot spots reporting rapidly rising rates of positive tests.

The numbers being reported by the province right now are “useless,” says Dr. Andrew Morris with the Sinai Health System and University Health Network.

“We’re not flattening the curve. We’re hiding it.”

On Thursday, the number of tests “currently under investigation” in Ontario was 58,000, after the backlog hit 91,000 late last week. Thursday’s record of completed tests was 48,500.

Ontario Health on Tuesday told some hospitals in its Central Region to reduce testing volumes at assessment centres, in part to better align tests with current lab capacity, according to a memo seen by the Star. Hospitals in this region include Mississauga’s Trillium Health Partners, Humber River Regional Hospital and William Osler Health System, which includes Brampton Civic Hospital and Etobicoke General Hospital, both in COVID-19 “hot spots.”

Ontario Health, the agency in charge of COVID-19 testing, did not respond to questions from the Star regarding testing volumes and targets.

At Trillium Health Partners (THP), the number of daily tests conducted at its two assessment centres has recently dropped by more than half.

In September, THP conducted an average of 1,200 tests a day, according to a press release outlining its plan to manage the pandemic’s second wave. On Wednesday, a spokesperson confirmed THP is currently testing 500 people a day at its assessment centres, adding that its “testing volume is aligned with guidance from Ontario Health.”

When pressed on the difference, a spokesperson said the hospital had in recent weeks “adapted its testing model” to include “testing by appointment only and testing symptomatic patients only.

“These updated guidelines have resulted in a change in the number of people being tested daily at THP.”

At William Osler Health system, which operates assessment centres in Brampton and Etobicoke, a spokesperson said average daily testing volumes had dropped from 1,648 daily (Oct. 1-3) to 1,292 (Oct. 4-7).

“Osler has aligned its testing capacity based on Ontario Health’s guidance,” Donna Harris said, adding that the hospitals support local partners doing testing in the community, “including neighbourhoods experiencing greater risk.”

Officials from Humber River Hospital, also located in Ontario Health’s Central Region, said the testing target has not recently changed at its two assessment centres — it remains 350 samples per day, with the ability to scale up to 500, said spokesperson Joe Gorman. But the new appointment-only model enables the hospital to “stay on those targets,” he said.

This week, testing activity has significantly dropped below targets, however, with a daily average of 270 tests compared to 520 last week. Meanwhile, the positivity rate at Humber is 11.5 per cent, Gorman said — an alarming statistic that suggests worrying levels of community spread in the surrounding area, which was the city’s hardest-hit region during the epidemic’s first wave.

In Peel, the rate of people testing positive for the virus is on the rise, according to Ministry of Health data provided to Peel Public Health. The positivity rate for the region was 3.05 per cent for the week of Sept. 20-26, and 3.49 per cent for the week of Sept. 27-Oct. 3. However, a spokesperson said the most recent provincial data representing the week ending Oct. 3 should be interpreted with caution as it is considered incomplete due to “lab lags,” meaning more positive tests may be reported in the coming days for this period.

Physicians who spoke to the Star are concerned online booking is creating yet another barrier for people who need COVID-19 tests, especially those in marginalized communities or elderly people who might struggle to navigate these Internet-based systems.

Dr. Lisa Salamon, chair of the Toronto district of the Ontario Medical Association, believes that the government’s shift to an appointment-only system was aimed at limiting the number of tests performed. “It’s directly capping it,” she said. “This is the government really wanting to reduce lineups, wanting to take away the media ops of long lineup pictures.”

Salamon, an emergency room physician, works at an assessment centre in Toronto and said hospitals that already had an appointment-only model before the province’s policy shift were always seeing fewer people. “We were getting their overflow from the beginning.”

Since her testing site stopped taking walk-ins, volumes have dropped by roughly half, she said.

“It’s now a gong show,” Salamon said. “The hospitals worked all weekend long trying to figure out how to do (online bookings) because the government mandated it, and now people can’t get appointments … it just puts up more and more barriers for people to get the care that they need.”

“People who are symptomatic need free and open access to testing and we don’t have that right now,” said an emergency room physician who works at a hospital assessment centre in the GTA, and who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for the organization.

“I believe it was the government’s intent to manage access because they don’t want a backlog of tests because that is measured. They can have a backlog of people waiting for a test because no one measures that.”

A new phenomenon that seems to have been ushered in by Ontario’s new system of appointment-only testing is high cancellation rates. In Kitchener, says it’s seeing more than 100 no-shows per day this week; at Mackenzie Health in Richmond Hill, the assessment centre was recently testing up to 1,000 people a day but this week that dropped to a daily average of 700, about 10 per cent of whom end up cancelling.

At Humber River, 83 people cancelled Wednesday and 73 the day before, said Dr. Ruben Rodriguez, lead for the hospital’s assessment centres. “The phenomenon that is occurring with the change to appointment-only is that the public is trying to book at multiple facilities and whenever they find the soonest one, they forget about the other one,” he said. “That is taking away appointments from other people.”

The specimens being sent to Nova Scotia and Winnipeg for testing are part of a partnership struck by Public Health Ontario. The agency couldn’t confirm if other members of the provincial testing network are also sending samples out of province.

A spokesperson said the arrangement to send specimens to Nova Scotia — 1,000 on weekdays, 500 on weekends — and the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg — up to 500 a day — was created “to improve test turnaround times and to address the current backlog of tests.” The agency is hoping to get results back within three days.

“We are unsure at this point how long the partnerships will continue,” PHO spokesperson Janet Wong said, adding that the agency is building capacity at its own labs and once that is reached, won’t require out-of-province testing.

“The PHO lab works collaboratively with public health laboratories across the country, and this partnership is an example of that collaboration and support.”

With files from Kevin Jiang

Megan Ogilvie is a Toronto-based health reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

Kate Allen is a Toronto-based reporter covering science and technology for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

Jennifer Yang is a Toronto-based reporter covering identity and inequality for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Electrical fire causes roughly $50,000 in damage to ex-Huronia Regional Centre building in Orillia

Jul 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

An unoccupied and unused building at the former Huronia Regional Centre (HRC) property caught fire Friday night.

Orillia Fire Department crews were called by security staff to Building 17, located near the middle of the sprawling complex just off Memorial Avenue, Oct. 2. Once on scene, firefighters noticed the large building was full of smoke, Fire Chief Brent Thomas told Simcoe.com Saturday morning.

“On investigation an electrical fire was discovered,” he said. “To ensure the electrical fire was not smouldering in the walls, fire crews had to check in some of the walls for fire extension. We also had to clear smoke from a large building and underground access way.”

Damage is estimated at about $50,000. That number excludes destruction caused by smoke, which will be difficult to assess because renovations on the building are expected to start soon, Thomas said.

“Orillia Fire was able to determine the cause so the (Office of the) Fire Marshal will not be (called in),” he said.

No injuries were reported. At the height of the incident, there were four Orillia trucks on scene, as well as tankers from neighbouring Rama, Ramara and Oro-Medonte departments, Thomas said.

HRC was closed more than a decade ago; the property is presently operated by Infrastructure Ontario and home to a courthouse and OPP training facilities.

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Toronto steps up support of hundreds of local food businesses by offering two weeks of free delivery

Jul 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

With indoor dining banned and patio service dwindling as temperatures drop, Toronto is stepping up to help hundreds of restaurants bring in some extra money.

In May, the city announced the where businesses — not limited to food — could sign up for free to use Ritual’s mobile ordering tool for pickup, Ritual ONE. As an extension of the program, participating restaurants can now access delivery service through DoorDash Drive, where businesses are charged a flat rate rather than a percentage for each order.

As a special offer, starting Monday and running until Nov. 8, delivery will be free for the restaurants and customers.

The aim is to encourage customers to order directly from local businesses and for those businesses to increase their commission-free online sales.

A spokesperson for Ritual says both Ritual and DoorDash are covering the fees that are being waived.

The partnership is welcome relief for the struggling food-service industry, as third-party delivery apps charge hefty commission fees of up to 30 per cent per order. In response, some restaurant owners COVID-19 shutdowns took a swing at profits. In the U.S., cities such as New York, Denver, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle and Los Angeles have enforced a 10- to 15- per-cent cap on delivery fees from third-party apps such as Uber Eats during the pandemic.

In B.C., it has also become an election issue as both the NDP and Liberal parties if elected.

Skip the Dishes that it is offering a 25 per cent rebate on commissions for restaurants.

Later this week for the city to call on the province to implement a similar limit on commission fees. Toronto doesn’t have the authority to make these calls.

MPP Amanda Simard (Glengarry-Prescott-Russel) has for the province to cap fees at 15 per cent.

“Our restaurants need our support and they need it now … not photo ops of MPPs ordering takeout or the premier asking delivery companies to please, please, please reduce their fees,” Simard said at Queen’s Park last week.

The full list of participating restaurants is available through .

Karon Liu is a Toronto-based food reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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BEHIND THE CRIMES: Who mailed the bomb that killed Wayne Greavette?

Jul 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Mere seconds. That’s all the time it took for a bomb to detonate in the hands of Wayne Greavette as he sat in the living room of his home, killing him in the presence of his family.

It came in the form of a flashlight-turned homemade explosive device, mailed under the guise of a present, with a letter tucked inside that ominously signed off with, “Have a Merry Christmas and may you never have to buy another flashlight.”

The horrific moment when the father of two innocently pressed the on switch was over in the blink of an eye. But it changed the Greavette family forever.

Almost a quarter century has passed since that day, Dec. 12, 1996.

But police aren’t giving up hope that the case will ultimately be solved.

A $50,000 reward is still being offered by the provincial government, through the OPP, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) who took Greavette’s life.

“It is our goal to solve all unsolved crimes,” said Detective Insp. Randy Gaynor of the OPP criminal investigation branch. “We follow up on all information that becomes available.”

It was a chilly Thursday in December when the package arrived at the farm the Greavettes had recently purchased on Concession 11, between 15 and 17 sideroads, in the rural Milton area.

The land held much promise for Wayne and Diane, who had hoped to harness the artesian well on the property to launch a spring water bottling business.

His son Justin, who was 21 at the time, went out to get the mail that day, bringing in a package for his father delivered by Canada Post that appeared to be a present in white wrapping paper. Inside the box — an emptied cardboard wine container with the UPC cut off — was a Duracell flashlight and a letter written on a typewriter with a unique key flaw that inserted a back slash after each period.

As Wayne read the letter that detailed a business proposal from what turned out to be a phoney company, Justin tried to turn the flashlight on, but nothing happened.

When his 42-year-old father pushed the button, the bomb went off — a device filled with an emulsion-type explosive and nails that acted as shrapnel, according to the OPP.

Wayne was killed instantly in front of his son, brother and wife, Diane. Daughter Danielle wasn’t home at the time.

While decades have passed since that fateful day, the family has maintained the same mantra throughout the years — “somebody knows something.”

But who?

Gaynor couldn’t comment on possible motives or persons of interest in the case as it’s considered potential evidence, but the family did some investigative work of their own alongside CBC documentarian David Ridgen for his 2009 piece, “The Bomb That Killed Wayne Greavette.”

In the documentary, they considered many possible options: that perhaps someone was jealous of his impending spring water business, or it was a person he knew through the beverage and packaging industry, or a woman Wayne may have had a relationship with.

The packaging that came with the flashlight contained some local connections. Flyers were used to cushion the device, with at least one being sourced locally as it was for a Milton store — Copeland Lumber, which later became Rona on Main Street near Wilson Drive.

Wayne had worked in Milton for many years, leading his family to believe at the time that someone from that area may have information that could help solve the case.

Then there’s the potential ties to Halton Hills. A month before the murder, two men are said to have visited the Acton post office asking for Wayne’s current address.

The package was labelled with an Acton return address that doesn’t exist.

Gaynor couldn’t say if the documentary, Ridgen’s later podcasts or the $50,000 reward have resulted in fresh tips for the police, citing confidentiality of the investigation.

But one thing is for certain — the case will remain on the OPP’s radar for as long as it takes.

“We never close a case,” said Gaynor. “Information that someone has about the murder may be the piece we need to put it all together.”

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‘It felt like I was trying to fit into someone else’s skin’: Barrie dancers perform better in shoes that match their skin tone

Jul 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Elize Harrylal feels much more like herself when she performs a dance number now.

That’s because the 13-year-old Barrie Dance Conservatory student can don attire that matches her skin tone.

It all started while watching a video playback of herself doing a lyrical dance two years ago, as she had to wear light-coloured shoes.

Harrylal noticed her feet were sticking out like a sore thumb.

“When you listen to a song in dance, you kind of connect with it. But the uniform I was wearing didn’t really make me feel like it was mine,” she said. “It felt like I was trying to fit into someone else’s skin.

“For a while, I didn’t really pay attention to it, because I’ve been dancing in pink stockings and shoes for so long. As I started to grow, I realized it.”

So she went to a dance store to inquire if there were other options, and learned there are several shades of skin-toned shoes and stockings to match her colouring.

Harrylal then approached her dance instructor, to see if she could veer away from the traditional pink uniform.

“A lot of people were surprised I had the confidence to ask,” Harrylal said.

“I opened up the book and saw they did come in different shades,” Barrie Dance Conservatory owner Jolenne Bradley said. “I had never thought of offering that.”

Now others are following in Harrylal’s footsteps.

“When I wore pink, I never really felt like myself, I never felt included,” 11-year-old Mya Hall said. “When I’m on stage, you see black arms and black face, a black body suit and white (tights) and white shoes. It was weird how I’m Black, but I’m trying to fit into white.”

She was so excited when she found shoes and tights to match her skin colour.

Both of the girls’ mothers agree their stage presence and confidence level has changed.

Bradley said conversations are also happening about hairstyles and makeup to suit every dancers.

“My hope is for our country to be more open and inclusive of all races, just a little bit more, so girls won’t be afraid to be themselves,” Harrylal said.

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‘Absolutely wonderful’: First year of New Tecumseth ATV bylaw proves to be smooth ride

Jul 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

There have been few bumps in the road when it comes to the bylaw passed one year ago allowing ATV riders to use local roads to access trails or do shopping in town.

New Tecumseth recently conducted a review of the bylaw it passed in November 2019.

In his one-year report, municipal law enforcement supervisor Chris Glanville said no charges were laid throughout the year by either police or the town — but that’s not to say things were perfect.

The OPP did receive 32 complaints and issue 13 warnings. Three accidents were also reported, but none resulted in a death.

The town’s bylaw department, meanwhile, fielded three complaints, but didn’t issue any warnings.

The cost for police to investigate the complaints was a little more than $3,300, while the town spent about $478. But the town did spend an additional $3,775 to place new signs around town.

There were also no issues to report from the Ontario ATV Clubs.

At the Nov. 2 committee-of-the-whole meeting, Glanville said he also spoke to the OPP detachment and was told the past year was “pretty much status quo” compared to others.

Glanville will be bringing additional information to the Nov. 30 council meeting, comparing this past year with other recent years. He will also report back on complaints as it relates to dirt bikes being used illegally on roads, which is an issue about which some members of council receive regular complaints.

ATV user and Tottenham resident Patrick Pyke created a petition in 2018 that helped convince council to pass the bylaw.

He said he is pleased with how the first year has gone.

“It’s been absolutely wonderful,” he said. “I can go into town and not have to take my truck if I need to go to the store or Timmies. It’s a lot easier to get to the trails, too.”

ATV users are permitted to use all municipal roads except for Industrial Parkway — the busy bypass used by dump trucks and transport vehicles — between Highway 89 and Young Street.

ATVs are also not allowed to use county roads, like Tottenham Road, or provincial highways like Highway 89.

Pyke encourages other municipalities that haven’t put rules in place to look at these results.

“Give it a shot,” he said. “It will bring a lot more tourism in to the area. It’s a big plus all around for the town and for us as ATVers.”

Prior to New Tecumseth passing the bylaw, Adjala-Tosorontio was the only local municipality with a bylaw allowing ATVs on municipal roads.

Essa Township has been studying the issue, and council is expected to consider putting a trial bylaw in place in the spring.

Other municipalities in Simcoe County that allow ATVs on roads or select roads include Innisfil, Wasaga Beach, Clearview, Springwater, Severn and Tiny. The specific rules vary in each municipality.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Simcoe.com wanted to revisit the ATV bylaw that council passed one year ago to see how things went for the municipality and local riders.

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Time for a stop sign? Wasaga committee considers traffic-calming options for Golf Course Road

Jul 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Traffic-calming measures on two Wasaga Beach streets have noticeably reduced speeds, according to data collected by the public works department.

In a report to council’s co-ordinated committee, public works director Kevin Lalonde noted speed humps installed on Dunkerron Avenue had reduced speeds from 58 km/h to 27 km/h.

Permanent speed tables on Golf Course Road also had an appreciable effect on speed, according to the data, reducing the speeds of drivers in the 85th percentile for speed from 74 km/h to 55 km/h.

Residents living along Golf Course Road, notably near the intersection at Marlwood Avenue, say the speed tables have done little to slow drivers. In an email to councillors, and shared with Simcoe.com, resident Frank Steele said the tables have merely increased noise as vehicles travel over them.

That has some councillors suggesting a stop sign might be in order. Coun. George Watson said his neighbourhood on Old Mosley Street was faced with the same issue until the town put in a stop sign at 16th Street 20 years ago.

Prior to that, he said, there was frequent speeding — and some vehicles that would leave the road and ending up in front yards or taking out fences and decks.

“(The signs) really did the job,” he said, adding the collisions that had been taking place were “almost eradicated” and the signs have had a calming effect on speed.

“We need to listen to the people who experience the traffic issues on a 24-7 basis, and arrive at a solution that is satisfactory to all,” he said. “You can’t put a price on public safety … I don’t think you need to rip up the speed tables; you just have to add an enhancement to make it work for these people.”

Manager of engineering services Mike Pincivero said the department had intended to conduct a traffic count on all three legs of the intersection during peak times of use of the Marlwood course, such as during a tournament, with the idea of collecting enough data to justify a sign.

With no tournaments taking place in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the department has pushed that to 2021.

However, Pincivero pointed out, “The intent of stop signs is to control the pace and function of an intersection. It’s not intended to mitigate speeding.”

He said council could give that direction if it desired, though it might not conform to guidelines set out by the Ministry of Transportation.

Watson noted that “sometimes you have to throw the book out and make a decision.”

“If the stop sign rectifies it,” added Coun. Joe Belanger, “maybe it should be a consideration.”

However, the committee stopped short of directing staff to take further measures to control traffic on Golf Course Road. For the time being, it merely accepted the director’s report for information.

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Front-line and low-income workers would benefit most from paid sick days, advocates say

Jul 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

When Toronto Mayor John Tory asked the province Wednesday to increase restrictions in Canada’s largest city to help curb the spread of COVID-19, among the recommendations was support for workers, so they can take time off to isolate and get tested for COVID-19 without fear of losing their incomes or jobs.

Labour advocates say this sounds like yet another call for paid sick days — something they’ve been asking for since the onset of the pandemic.

Deena Ladd, executive director of the Workers’ Action Centre, has been calling for the province to implement job-protected paid sick days for months. The people who don’t have paid sick days are often the most vulnerable — meaning they may choose work over health and safety because they can’t afford otherwise, she said.

“The provincial government has absolutely ignored this issue,” Ladd said.

Kate Hayman, an emergency physician, assistant professor at the University of Toronto and member of the steering committee for the Decent Work and Health Network, has also been calling for universal paid sick leave.

It’s our most precarious workers who are most likely to not have paid sick days — low-income workers, essential workers, people who can’t work from home, marginalized workers and many health-care workers, she said.

And with contact tracing weakening under the growing weight of cases in Ontario — multiple regions have had to on contact tracing because of the sheer volume — it’s time for a sick leave policy that covers everyone, Hayman said, so that workers don’t go to work sick and cause further outbreaks that can’t be properly traced.

During the pandemic, the province is guaranteeing unlimited unpaid, job-protected sick days related to COVID-19. In 2018, Premier Doug Ford cut the two paid days the province once offered. Ontario was one of just three provinces that guaranteed a small number of paid sick days. Now only Quebec and Prince Edward Island require employers to provide paid sick leave, two days and one day respectively. (Federally regulated employees are entitled to three days paid sick leave.)

Patty Coates, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, said though Doug Ford was praised earlier on in the pandemic, his popularity is now waning among labour advocates, who have been asking for paid sick days since the beginning of the pandemic.

“This government has done the bare minimum,” Coates said.

The organizations Ladd, Coates and Hayman represent all want the same thing: for the province to mandate seven permanent days of sick leave for all workers, plus 14 extra days during the pandemic.

The seven days should be provided by the employer, Ladd said, adding that the province should look at subsidizing the other 14 for those businesses struggling to get by right now.

Though the federal government is offering a yearlong emergency benefit for people isolating due to COVID-19, Ladd said the time it takes to access the benefit is prohibitive to many low-income workers.

Coates added that the benefit offers no job protection, meaning employees may feel intimidated or risk losing their jobs if they take it.

Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work, thinks offering provincially mandated paid sick leave is a “no-brainer,” especially during the pandemic, and says the government should carry at least some of the cost.

Less than half of Canadian workers have access to paid sick leave through their employer, he said, and among low-wage workers it’s closer to 11 per cent.

“The overlap between COVID-19 and precarious work is frightening,” Stanford said. It’s “undermining the public health battle” as low-income workers are more likely to get COVID-19.

Ladd said the workers most likely to not have paid sick leave, and therefore to go to work sick, are those in the hardest-hit zones, such as Peel, “an area where temp agency work is rampant.”

Another sector where precarious low-paid work is common — again, without sick days — is long-term care, where Canada has seen a number of deadly outbreaks, she added.

Advocates say a provincial paid sick leave policy would prevent workers from going to work sick and be a key part of an economic recovery.

For Kim Bradley, who supervises a daycare facility in Curtis, Ont., the pandemic has highlighted issues she and her colleagues have always faced: if they get sick and have to stay home, they won’t be paid.

So far, her staff has been lucky, as they aren’t in a COVID hot spot. But if she were working in Peel or Brampton, Bradley said she would be “terrified.”

Many people in this occupation live paycheque to paycheque, Bradley said. They can’t afford to take time off work, nor wait for the federal emergency benefit to arrive.

Having paid sick days would alleviate a lot of anxiety in her workplace, she said, and would remove the health risk many workers face.

“People could die because of this,” she said.

Nita Chhinzer, an associate professor of human resources at the University of Guelph, said more organizations have increased paid sick leave since the pandemic began, according to a survey by the Conference Board of Canada. But many employees who have paid sick days aren’t the ones being exposed to the pandemic on a daily basis, she said.

Chhinzer acknowledges that not all companies can afford to pay for sick days, but says the provinces can. She points to the $19 billion of federal funding announced in July for the provinces to subsidize pandemic emergency measures, including paid sick days, as proof.

One industry that does not often provide paid sick leave is food service. Restaurant industry leaders say that right now, their industry doesn’t have the funds to pay workers for sick days, and that the government would need to fund sick leave if they mandated it.

James Rilett, vice-president for Central Canada of Restaurants Canada, said the organization would consider supporting such a measure, depending on what it looks like.

“Anything that makes it easier for employees and employers to meet … the restrictions in the guidelines, would be something we could support,” Rilett said.

“In our industry employers just can’t afford to take on additional costs.”

Larry Isaacs, president of the Firkin Group of Pubs, said his restaurants are not allowing staff to work sick, but if the government required paid sick days, he would want government funding to help ease the burden.

“There isn’t any money in our industry right now,” he said.

Correction – Nov. 20, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said that during the pandemic, the Ontario government is guaranteeing 10 unpaid, job-portected sick days related to COVID-19. In fact, the province is guaranteeing unlimited, unpaid sick days.

Rosa Saba is a Calgary-based business reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: