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‘We’re finding lunchrooms can be a problem’: Simcoe-Muskoka workers letting COVID-19 guard down during breaks

Aug 19, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Admit it. You may be getting a bit too close to your work colleagues on lunch break.

Well, those lunchroom interactions may be putting you at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Whether it’s letting your guard down for a chat, or employers providing inadequate personal protective equipment and hand-washing stations, workplaces throughout the Simcoe-Muskoka region are becoming a major source of transmission.

Right now, there are 12 active outbreaks in the region — at long-term-care and educational facilities (three each), retirement homes and workplaces (two each), and congregate and community sites (one each). Businesses currently affected by outbreaks include two manufacturing plants, a hair salon and a child-care centre, all located in Barrie. 

“Our cases have been driven by work environments, household clusters and social contacts,” Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner told reporters during a teleconference Nov. 10. “We’re finding lunchrooms can be a problem. People are distancing appropriately on the job, but then they can let down their guard when they go to the lunchroom. It’s really key employers and employees think through their work environment. (This is) based on our experience with outbreaks — the school exposures, the workplace manufacturing locations (and) the congregate settings.”

Many companies can do a better job of allowing employees to work remotely. If staff need to come into the office, physical distancing, staggered lunch breaks, symptom screening and one-way hallways and aisles should be enforced. There must also be easy access to hand sanitizer or washing stations, he said.   

If sharing a vehicle for work-related travel, keep a window partially open and wear a mask, Gardner said.

But there’s also evidence people are going to work and school while showing clear symptoms of the virus, he said.

“Those exposures have a big impact on people who end up having to go into isolation,” Gardner said.

On Tuesday, the health unit reported 17 new cases of the virus.

Of these, nine are in Barrie. Bradford (three) and Clearview, Essa, Innisfil, New Tecumseth and Orillia (one each) also have cases.

Eight people are 17 years of age or under — four in Barrie, three in Bradford and one in Essa. Everyone else is between 18 and 64 years old.

One case, involving a 35- to 44-year-old Barrie woman, is linked to a workplace outbreak. The source of infection in 11 incidents is still under investigation. The other cases were transmitted through “close contact” and community acquisition, Gardner said.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,560 local cases, though 1,360 people have successfully recovered. At the current rate of transmission, the region would hit 3,000 cases by early January, he said.

There are 143 known active incidents, including eight hospitalizations.

Fifty residents with COVID-19 have died, 34 of whom were living in long-term-care and retirement facilities.

The region’s active outbreaks include cohorts at Bradford District High School (three students) and Barrie’s Hillcrest Public School (two students). 

Long-term-care sites operating under outbreak protocols are Beeton’s Simcoe Manor (43 residents, 32 staff), the Baldwin Lane unit at Barrie’s IOOF Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home (one employee), and Collingwood’s Sunset Manor (one worker). Two Barrie retirement homes, Waterford (one resident) and Allandale Station (three residents, two staff), have declared outbreaks in recent days.

Also Tuesday, two Angus schools were linked to COVID-19 cases. Nottawasaga Pines Secondary School and Our Lady of Grace Catholic School each closed a classroom after a single incident was connected to their facilities.

The health unit will not post an updated case count on Nov. 11, due to Remembrance Day.

For more information on the local effect of COVID-19, visit .

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BEHIND THE CRIMES: Who murdered 28-year-old Kara Lynn Clark?

Aug 13, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Nearly three-and-a-half-years have passed since Eva Clark last saw or spoke with her younger sister.

In one of their last phone conversations, Eva’s sister, Kara Lynn Clark, said she found a grey strand in her hair just a couple days after celebrating her 28th birthday on May 11, 2017.

“She was a little bit upset about that,” Clark chuckled.

Two months later, Kara was dead — murdered and her body left to the elements. On the afternoon of July 21, 2017, Kara’s body was found in the brush near a creek on Castlemore Road in Brampton.

Her employer had reported her missing three days earlier.

“We found out she had been missing for two or three days at that point and then it was pretty much the next day, was when we were told they found her body,” recalled her sister.

Clark and her mother travelled eight hours from Timmins to get Kara’s body, only to learn three days later her remains were already on the way back to Timmins.

An autopsy revealed Kara, whom her sister described as “shy and quiet” and having “a strong connection with children and animals,” had obvious signs of trauma. Police started a homicide investigation.

Despite the Peel Regional Police investigation, nobody has been arrested or charged to date.

Today, police said all possible investigative leads have been “exhausted” and the case is now classified as “pending further information.”

“This means that investigators will act on any new information in relation to this investigation as it is received,” said Cst. Bancroft Wright.

In the weeks and months following Kara’s death, little information was publicly released. Police did not share details about potential leads or suspects. Only a single release identifying Kara’s body was published by the force.

According to police, “any leads or references to persons of interest would not be shared with general public unless investigators feels it necessary.”

Cause of death has not been shared with the public or family, Clark said.

“They said essentially, (revealing the cause of death) will entrap whoever caused it; it’s a key piece of evidence for them,” said Clark.

The family has some indication of what happened, but no concrete answers.

Since Kara was found with “little to no hair,” the family believed she may have been scalped. However, that theory on the condition of her hair was debunked by investigators.

Kara had recently moved from Timmins to Brampton and was working at a recycling facility. According to Clark, she was living with a boyfriend she met at work.

Clark said during that last phone call with her sister, Kara revealed she had a fight with her boyfriend.

Clark said police were called and charges laid.

Police said there are separate reports in which both Kara and her boyfriend were charged in relation to domestic related incidents, but they would not confirm if the incidents took place during the days leading up to Kara’s murder.

Now, Clark is beginning to wonder if police took Kara’s missing persons report seriously enough. Clark said she and her family were told when Kara’s boss called police to report her missing, the officer didn’t seem to understand the urgency.

It was very strange for Kara to miss a day at work and her boss was adamant to police that it was “completely out of her character,” said Clark.

Eva described her sister as a “shy and quiet” person who loved to sing and game. Eva Clark photo. 

As members of the Mishkeegogamang Ojibway First Nation, Clark noted the community has historically found law enforcement slow to act on cases of missing Indigenous women.

Clark also wonders if Kara’s and her boyfriend’s past interaction with the police played a role in the initial missing person investigation. Perhaps if police were aware of the fights, they thought Kara had left and was not necessarily missing, she said.

Despite this, Clark said once Kara’s body was found, a real effort was made by police to find her killer.

Eight detectives were assigned to the investigation.

“She had an awful lot of admirers, so they started narrowing down the (suspect) list and removing some people,” Clark said.

Almost a year had passed since Kara’s death when the police told her mother the case had no leads or suspects and that it was essentially “cold,” said Clark, who also believes the elements destroyed a lot or all forensic evidence in her sister’s murder.

Clark said police did not indicate they had a main suspect.

Police would not comment if Kara’s boyfriend was or is a suspect in the investigation.

Clark hopes a renewed interest in Kara’s story will get the investigation moving forward again; however, she believes there are just too many pieces of the puzzle for police to figure it out on their own.

“I think there’s too many factors; (the police) might have a piece of this, but they don’t have the complete layout.”

If there is anyone who has information in the death of Kara Clark, they can contact the Peel Regional Police’s Homicide and Missing Persons office at ext. 3205.

Anonymous tips can be left with Peel Crime Stoppers at  (8477) or can be submitted on the  website. 

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‘I can’t send her to school’: Simcoe County parents keep sick children at home longer

Aug 12, 2021 , , , , by shlf

There are a few more empty desks inside Simcoe County classrooms this year.

And it’s not just because of online learning.

Pandemic precautions are making parents like Debbie Vanzon keep their kids home longer when they get sick.

“On Saturday (Oct. 10), my daughter Emma woke up and wasn’t feeling well,” Vanzon said.

Emma felt worse the next day, but with a long weekend, she had time to rest.

“At that point, I decided to get us tested for COVID.”

Still waiting for test results, Emma stayed home from school on Oct. 13.

“I also found out the girls who go to Emma’s school next door to us, and another two girls in her class, stayed home as well – all with the same sniffles, cough and temperature. It got me worried.”

Both of their tests came back negative. However, Emma remained home the rest of the week.

“I can’t send her to school. She still has a bit of a cough. I’m scared if I send her back, they’ll send her home. I don’t want her waiting in that isolation room.”

That decision means Vanzon is also staying home.

She worked from home this summer, but once Emma returned to school, Vanzon headed back to the office. She’s thankful her employer understands.

“If this had happened last year, Emma would have been home for a day and I definitely would’ve sent her back to school,” Vanzon said. “Now, there’s so much caution, and I don’t blame them.”

An October showed that 16 per cent of parents had missed work to tend to their sick kids, with at least one of their children getting a COVID-19 test.

“A startling number of parents have missed work and had to quit or change their work,” Children First Canada CEO Sara Austin said in a press release. “We are talking about potentially hundreds of thousands of Canadians who are dealing with reduced incomes and increased risk of food insecurity and homelessness.”

On Oct. 1, the province changed the rules to deal with sick kids. Children with sniffles don’t need a COVID-19 test, but must stay home for at least 24 hours and can only return to school if symptoms improve. Visit for the latest screening test.

“We’re happy families are conducting the self-screening and following the directions,” Simcoe County District School Board spokesperson Sarah Kekewich said.

She acknowledged that many students had already missed class this year.

But when asked for attendance figures to compare last September to this year, Kekewich requested that Simcoe.com file a Freedom of Information request.

The Catholic school board was also asked for their attendance records on Oct. 8, but information has not yet been provided.

“We do expect with flu season and back-to-school, there’s always illnesses going around,” Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board spokesperson Pauline Stevenson said. “The difference is this year, if you have symptoms, we’re asking parents to keep their children home.”

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‘Bleeding was quite significant’: Woman injured during downtown Barrie mugging

Aug 12, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Police officers are searching for two suspects after a woman was hit on the head and robbed in downtown Barrie Friday night.

“The bleeding was quite significant,” Barrie police spokesperson Peter Leon said.

The women, who was treated for her head injury in hospital, was robbed of her purse, limited-edition hot pink Doc Martens boots, and a velvet GAP jacket.

Leon said the robbery was an “isolated incident” and officers are still investigating.

Police said they believe an “edged weapon” and an airsoft rifle may have been used in the street robbery, near streets, at about 10:25 p.m. Oct. 16.

Both suspects – a male and a female – were wearing COVID-19 masks during the robbery so police are working with limited descriptions. But the female suspect did pull her mask down at one point, revealing gaps between her teeth, Leon said.

The male suspect is described as 5-feet, 8-inches tall, with short blond hair. He was wearing a dark hoodie. He was carrying a backpack.

The female suspect is described as Indigenous, 5-feet, 4-inches tall, with a heavier build. She has brown shoulder-length hair, possibly in a ponytail. She was wearing a light-coloured hoodie, possibly a jacket, and had a backpack.

If you have information, call Barrie police at.

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COVID-19 outbreak declared at Georgian Bay General Hospital

Aug 5, 2021 , , , , by shlf

An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at Georgian Bay General Hospital.

The outbreak was confirmed on the hospital’s 2 North inpatient unit Dec. 3 after one admitted patient and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19.

The patient has been moved to the hospital’s dedicated COVID beds on the 2 East inpatient unit.

In a press release, the hospital said contact tracing was also underway to determine the origin of the infection and the risk of exposure among staff and patients.

“GBGH is working closely with public health to manage and control this outbreak so we can declare it over as soon as possible with limited transmission,” COVID medical lead and chief of emergency medicine Dr. Dan Lee said. “Our infection prevention and control measures have been very successful throughout the pandemic to date, and our hospital has all the preventive measures in place to ensure the continued safety of our patients, staff and credentialed staff.”

Effective today, all visitation to the hospital has been restricted with the exception of special circumstances, such as palliative care or the birthing unit.

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Martin Regg Cohn: Doug Ford says he’ll do democracy differently from Donald Trump. Let’s hold him to it

Aug 3, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The webcam in the premier’s office caught doing a mock gag reflex — tongue out — before he recovered with a defensive chuckle. At our , carried live on thestar.com, he’d just lambasted the American president — so it hurt to be lumped in with (even in the past tense).

Ford doesn’t ordinarily do 45-minute sit-downs with university students, hosted by a Toronto Star columnist who is not his preferred reading material. But — and deserves credit for sitting in the hot seat, keeping his cool and listening up.

has turned our world upside down. And the pandemic has changed the way Ontario’s premier does politics.

The question — both from me and a followup from a student named Suzanne — was forward-looking: How long can Ford stay on his best behaviour without reverting, post-pandemic, to the pugnacious politics of his past — and dragging the province down with him?

“This is the way I’m going to be,” Ford insisted. “I’m going to be this way moving forward. I’m not going to roll back.”

But how do we know, Suzanne wanted to know.

The premier vows that he now understands Ontarians prefer the new, more modulated Doug Ford 2.0 — after all, shows he’s among the most popular politicians in Canada today. Ford toppled the last Liberal dynasty in a landslide two years ago (and then suffered a downward slide) but if an election were held tomorrow the landslide would likely be even bigger, with his Tories winning .

But Ford also understands that popularity numbers, like pandemic numbers, go up and down, and that it’s easier for pundits to point fingers at a local politician than a global virus.

There is no cure for COVID-19. But Ford knows he will be held accountable, and is watching the U.S. president pay the price for his wilful incompetence on all fronts.

“He’s not on my Christmas card list. I’m ticked off at him,” Ford said of Trump.

When a student raised the mental health challenges for those stuck at home in mid-pandemic, Ford opened up personally — and then turned again on Trump:

“I’m passionate about this. There’s no secret, you know, my brother (the late Toronto mayor, Rob Ford) had an addiction. And until you live it, until you live it and a family member has it, you don’t realize, and it’s tough.”

When I asked about Trump’s cruel mockery of rival candidate Joe Biden’s son for his addiction problems in the first presidential debate, the premier pulled no punches.

“I get so frustrated. There’s an unwritten rule and … and every politician knows this: You never attack someone’s family,” Ford fumed.

“I thought it was terrible, it was disgusting, I thought, honestly, the whole debate was disgusting.”

Which it was. But can Canadian politicians behave differently?

That was the inspiration for our , just before the last provincial election, when I invited all four major party leaders to come together onstage — not to tear each other down, but to compare notes about how to connect with voters. Ford wasn’t yet leader, but we saved a seat for him all this time.

So can Ford behave better as premier? That’s what Suzanne wanted to know.

“Prior to COVID, you were regarded as the Trump of Ontario, for what Martin already described as a combative style,” she began. “How do you propose we hold you to account — to continue on your path away from a Trump style to a more collaborative path putting Ontarians first?”

Good question, judging from the chastened premier’s reaction. Good answer, too.

“Boy, that was a real slap calling me Donald Trump,” he chuckled. “I’m anything but Donald Trump.”

That’s undeniably true today. The president’s reckless mishandling of COVID-19 and his racist misanthropy placed him in a league all his own.

While Ford spoke well of Trump in the past, and his Tories borrowed shamelessly from Trump’s playbook in the last campaign — playing wedge politics to divide Ontarians — Ford doesn’t play the race card. And he long ago dumped the Trump road map.

“I think it’s important that we work together,” Ford persisted.

In fairness, he’s now doing his fair share. Last week, he surprised the legislature by as premier, Kathleen Wynne, and later invited opposition leaders to meet him privately in the premier’s office.

“I like it better when we talk to each other instead of shouting,” he told students. “I want to continue on speaking with them, collaborating with them, coming up with ideas. I understand what they have to do. They’re in opposition, they have to go after me — that’s politics.”

I countered that politics needn’t be a dirty word, nor poison — it’s a prerequisite, not a counterpoint, to democracy. The question is how politicians disagree, disrespect, dismiss and diss each other.

Journalists, too. The usual Twitter trolls seemed to expect we’d punch Ford in the face at the forum, even if only figuratively.

But this wasn’t a news conference or confrontation over COVID-19 (though the topic kept coming up) — the premier takes pandemic questions most mornings from the opposition, and almost every afternoon from reporters. It was a forum on democracy, post-pandemic — and a learning experience.

Most students didn’t seem to know that Ford doesn’t eat red meat or drink — always a fun fact (though I didn’t reveal that I usually see him sneaking a smoke outside the legislature). Nor did I know until Tuesday that Ford grew up with a young immigrant from Morocco living in his home, exposing him to Islam — a fact he shared with me and Ryerson president Mohamed Lachemi (originally from North Africa) just before we went live with the forum on our Zoom platform.

Whether on the pandemic or politics, there are no personal panaceas. But the premier has the power to make our politics better and do democracy differently than Americans.

For example, by cleaning up money politics — which happens to be my personal passion, and the subject of a as a columnist. Unfortunately, Ford ducked my question about campaign finance reform and the need to between affluent donors and average voters.

A missed opportunity for the premier, and the province. But instead of punching him in the face, I told Ford I’d get back to him (not at him) in print.

To be continued. In .

The point is that a lone politician can’t cure a pandemic. But he can heal political sickness, if he listens.

That’s democracy.

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

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Toronto’s curb-lane patios on the Danforth and elsewhere must soon be packed up

Jul 26, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The curbside patios and bicycle-lane bump-outs along Danforth Ave. that drew widespread acclaim this summer are about to be packed up.

The city’s Planning and Housing Committee voted Tuesday to extend patio season in Toronto until May 2021, with the exception of patios that were set up in curb lanes.

Those must be closed in the next few weeks, to allow winter road clearance to swing into action as soon as the snow begins to fly.

“As much as we would love to leave the patios in the curb lanes, all of those patios will come out,” said Mayor John Tory, at a press conference Tuesday morning. “We have to plow the roads when it starts to snow.”

All curb locations for CafeTO, including those on Danforth Ave., must be removed before Nov. 15, according to the city. All ActiveTO cycling network locations, including the Danforth, are scheduled to remain in place until the fall of 2021.

When curb-lane patios along Danforth Ave. are removed, the bike lanes will be realigned to the curb to match the rest of the cycling corridor. Parking and loading opportunities that were temporarily removed to provide patio space will be reinstated.

Restaurant owners were doubtful Tuesday that extending the patio program will provide a significant source of revenue during the coldest months of the year, adding to the financial problems has already created for them.

“They’re not really giving us anything unless we have some miracle Indian summer and it’s 25 degrees in the first week in November or December,” said George Markakos, who owns Factory Girl on the Danforth. “Then it would be wow — we’re still open — but that’s very unlikely.”

He was able to take advantage of the patio program this summer that gave restaurants more latitude when it comes to setting up tables in curb lanes, sidewalks and parking lots, by setting up an additional 50 tables outside, including in the curb lane. He’s grateful for that; without it, he would be much worse off financially today.

But he wouldn’t have continued operating in the curb lane even if the city would have permitted it.

He doesn’t think extending the patio season in a city with a cold winter climate is likely to bring in extra business, even if he were would be able to put out heaters — and moving heaters inside at the end of the day just isn’t practical, because they’re so large and heavy.

“This is Canada. Outdoor dining in below-zero weather is just not an option,” said Markakos, who has run as many as three restaurants at a time in Toronto and was hoping to retire before the pandemic hit and his business began operating at a loss.

Restaurateur David Currie of Le Paradis, said while being able to expand his patio during the summer was helpful, he’s not sure keeping it open in winter will be practical. Most of the food, unless he served just piping hot soups and stews, would be cold by the time it got to the table. All it would take would be a cold wind to make an outdoor patio inhospitable in winter, even with heaters.

“It’s hard to make a business plan out of this,” he said.

In the end, he said, it will depend on what kind of enclosures will be allowed and how much they will cost — Tory even raised the possibility of permitting bubble enclosures, but details of what will be permitted have not been finalized.

The matter is likely to be discussed in the context of the city’s recovery plan Wednesday at executive committee. The recommendations approved Tuesday, including looking at options for providing shelter on winter patios, will be considered by city council on Oct. 27.

James Rilett, a spokesperson for Restaurants Canada, said restaurants need capital to invest in winter patios and after months of reduced business due to restrictions brought on by the pandemic, they don’t have any capital reserves left.

“We’re almost eight months into this now, and some restaurants have accrued so much debt it will be hard to invest in something that they’re not sure if it’s going to work out or not,” he said. “There is a feeling of hesitancy.”

Tony Elenis, chief executive of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association, said efforts to extend outdoor dining are better aimed at making indoor dining safe.

“Extending the patio season is welcomed — it has a good intent,” said Elenis, whose association represents operators about 11,000 Ontario hospitality businesses. But to do it well, it would end up resembling an indoor space, which would be subjected to the same restrictions on dining in that restaurants are currently facing.

“The focus should be to work in making the indoor room safer and increasing consumer confidence,” he said.

He added that a safety accreditation program for restaurant and bar staff and improving the federal COVID Alert app would help.

With files from David Rider

Francine Kopun is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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A spin class became a superspreader event. Why are fitness instructors excluded from workers’ compensation if they fall ill on the job?

Jul 26, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Back injuries, knee pain, shoulder problems — and now, .

They are daily risks faced by fitness instructors and personal trainers across the province. But unlike millions of employees in other sectors, gym staff are not entitled to workers’ compensation when they get sick or hurt on the job.

It’s a long-standing exclusion to the workers’ compensation system that critics say needs urgent change, especially in light of a that may have exposed upwards of 2,500 people to COVID. Two staff members at the studio contracted the virus.

“Our bodies are on the line,” said Toronto-based group fitness instructor Vidya Sri. “The laws are completely out of date.”

Under current provincial legislation, gyms and fitness studios are exempt from mandatory workers’ compensation coverage. That means they do not need to pay insurance premiums to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board — and their employees cannot access benefits following a workplace accident or illness.

Gyms can voluntarily opt into the workers’ compensation system. There are 1,653 fitness establishments in Ontario, according to Statistics Canada; of those, 24 have elected to provide compensation coverage to workers, data from the WSIB shows.

Coverage means workers are eligible for loss-of-earning or health-care benefits following a work-related illness or injury.

A 2019 report on working conditions in the Ontario fitness sector by Larry Savage, a professor of labour studies at Brock University, found nearly a third all instructors and trainers had sustained an injury on the job. Half reported not having paid sick days.

“The lack of WSIB coverage and paid sick days make gym and fitness club workers less willing to disclose illness or injuries out of fear of reprisal or loss of income,” Savage said.

“The pandemic only makes this bad situation worse by increasing the likelihood that clients and other workers will contract COVID-19 if gym and fitness club workers decide to come in to work sick in order to avoid loss of pay.”

As part of his research, Savage told the Star he made inquiries with the Ministry of Labour about the history of the gym exclusion but “no one could or was willing to explain” why it existed.

Around 76 per cent of Ontario workplaces are required to pay into workers’ compensation. Legislative change is needed to amend the list of excluded employers. When asked if the government is considering reform, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour said workers’ health and safety was its “top priority.”

“With only a handful of exceptions, those workplaces that aren’t subject to mandatory coverage can choose to purchase coverage from the WSIB,” the statement said.

Planet Fitness outlets account for 10 of the gyms that voluntarily signed up for coverage, according to the WSIB’s data. Other than F45 Guelph, part of a relatively new but popular fitness chain, none of the gyms that opted into the workers’ compensation system are major players. (Other establishments included the “Orillia Agricultural Society” and “Retro Rollers.”)

In response to questions from the Star, Hamilton SPINCO founder Michelle August said the company “launched one of the most comprehensive, robust and disciplined strategies to fight COVID-19,” and is “deeply committed to its team” but did not detail support available to infected employees.

“We know that there may be more questions, but at this time SPINCO will not provide further comment on this matter and instead, we will turn our undivided attention to working as expediently as possible with our public health agency,” August’s statement said.

GoodLife Fitness president and chief operations officer Jane Riddell said the company was not required by law to pay into WSIB, but has “developed a robust health and safety division and offers a benefits program that provides medical coverage.”

“GoodLife is firmly committed to the health, safety and well-being of all our associates,” Riddell said.

Michael Labovsky, a personal trainer at GoodLife, said while his employer provides a long-term disability program, staff don’t have short-term disability benefits — making unpaid leave the only option following most injuries or illnesses.

Unionized personal trainers at the gym have up to five paid sick days depending on tenure, but non-union group instructors have none. Many choose not to split the copay on GoodLife’s benefits program because they cannot afford it, Labovsky added.

“If you are well enough to be ambulatory, you are at work training clients,” said Labovsky, who is also president of the Toronto local of Workers United representing GoodLife personal trainers.

In the event of contracting COVID-19 on the job, most trainers would have to rely on federal income supports, said Labovsky. But workers’ compensation benefits are funded through employers’ insurance premiums — and don’t impact the public purse. (By linking premium rates and accident rates, the system is also meant to incentivize employers to keep workers safe.)

Even if the exemption isn’t fixed by lawmakers, Labovsky says GoodLife should voluntarily opt into the workers’ compensation system.

“It is a massive company and they employ so many people,” he said.

Sri, who has worked at numerous gyms for the past decade, said she has never had an employer who provided workers’ compensation coverage. And she has experienced the consequences first hand: in 2016, she developed nodules on her vocal chords due to the strain of in-class instruction. In addition to taking two months of unpaid leave for surgery, she says she paid at least $1,500 out of pocket for rehabilitation like vocal coaching, speech pathology and medication.

Gyms in Toronto recently closed back down as part of stricter lockdown measures mandated by the province — which is also reviewing COVID-19 protocols for the fitness sector after the SPINCO outbreak.

Sri says returning to work is particularly worrying for group fitness instructors. Most instructors hold multiple jobs and travel between several studios to earn a living, a higher risk activity amid the pandemic.

“The prospect of getting sick is very scary,” she said.

But for Sri, juggling several roles is a necessity: she estimates that relying on one group instructor job would earn her just $500 a month.

Precarity is an additional risk factor during the pandemic, said one GoodLife trainer who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.

“Trainers will come to work with the flu,” the worker said. “That’s what this system forces us to do, because it’s either do that or don’t get paid … from a public health perspective, that’s not great.”

Sri said she feels relatively confident in the COVID precautions taken by gyms — but less so in the safety net afforded workers during the pandemic and beyond.

“WSIB is crucial for the work that we do,” she said. “When you think about where WSIB (is) mandatory for employers, you think construction, the textile industry. But we’re also putting our bodies on the line every single day.”

“We treat health and wellness as the best thing for our clients,” she added. “But employees don’t get the same benefit.”

Sara Mojtehedzadeh is a Toronto-based reporter covering labour-related issues for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Guns, ammunition and cocaine seized from Tiny Township residence

Jul 26, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Southern Georgian Bay OPP executed a search warrant at a Balm Beach Road residence on Nov. 19 and seized a number of unauthorized firearms, ammunition and a quantity of cocaine.

Local OPP were joined by members of the community street crime unit, central region emergency response team and OPP tactics and rescue unit when they executed the warrant around 11:30 p.m.

Attending officers located and arrested three occupants without incident. A fourth person arrived at the residence during the search and was also arrested.

As a result of the investigation, a 55-year-old man, 31-year-old man, 27-year-old man, all of Tiny Township, were arrested. The three are facing 15 charges including: unauthorized possession of a prohibited and restricted weapon, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a loaded restricted firearm and careless storage of a firearm.

A 24-year-old Midland man has been charged with possession of cocaine.

All four men are currently being held in police custody, waiting to appear for video bail hearings. They will all appear in court in Midland at a future date.

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It’s April all over again. A look at the numbers shows Ontario could be on the brink of another long-term-care catastrophe

Jul 22, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Seniors advocates and medical professionals are warning we could be on the cusp of another long-term-care catastrophe as cases in Ontario homes hover around similar numbers seen in early April — just two weeks before a massive spike of infections tore through hundreds of facilities.

“I absolutely am very terrified and worried,” said Dr. Amit Arya, a palliative care physician specializing in long-term care who witnessed first-hand the devastation of the first wave in GTA facilities. “We have to really realize that long-term care is not a parallel universe. More spread of COVID-19 in the community increases the risk of an outbreak starting in long-term-care facilities.”

As of Thursday, there were 159 residents and 199 staff members of long-term-care homes with active cases of COVID-19, according to the provincial government. Compare that to 176 long-term-care residents and 141 staff members with COVID-19 as of April 7, according to data collected by the Ontario Health Coalition, a non-profit, non-partisan network of public health care advocates. The April numbers collected by the coalition are not scientific and likely didn’t capture all infections, but they are the best data available from that time because the province didn’t start publishing active home-by-home long-term-care outbreak figures until more than two weeks later.

Current provincial data is stark: active cases in long-term-care homes have more than quadrupled since Sept. 1, while the number of homes with outbreaks since then has risen from 13 to 71.

Outbreaks in some areas are severe. Two Toronto homes, Vermont Square and Fairview Nursing home, each have more than two dozen confirmed resident cases, with 27 and 13 confirmed staff cases, respectively. This past weekend, the federal government gave the go-ahead to the after the Ontario government reached out for help. Ottawa was recently declared a red zone, the most serious classification public health can assign for the presence of COVID-19, and was one of three regions, along with Toronto and Peel, to be last week.

And on Wednesday, the province announced that it was prohibiting long-term-care residents in these regions from taking short-term outings for social or personal reasons. That followed an earlier restriction on general visitors to long-term-care homes in these regions, with only essential visitors, including up to one caregiver per resident, being allowed.

But experts say such measures are not enough to stop what could become a in homes. They say addressing acute staffing shortages in homes is critical to preventing more infections and deaths.

“Homes are still desperately understaffed, many of them moreso than at the beginning of the first wave,” said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition.

She pointed to a recent report in the Ottawa Citizen detailing comments of a worker at Extedicare’s West End Villa in Ottawa who said there have been times at the home when just two PSWs were caring for 60 residents infected with COVID-19.

“That would be impossible even if they weren’t sick with COVID-19. It’s just unspeakable,” said Mehra. “There is no possible way for that few PSWs to abide by PPE changing protocols and all the infection control measures. They can barely make it through the day.”

The staffing shortage has resulted in health workers from employment agencies working in multiple locations and even PSWs providing care to people in their homes as well as in long-term-care facilities, she said. The practice continues, despite a provincial order in April prohibiting health workers from working at more than one long-term-care facilitiy. The reason? The ban did not apply to temporary workers, a measure critics have labelled a “giant loophole.”

Mehra said Ontario should follow the ambitious response of its neighbour, Quebec, which launched a massive recruitment drive in June to not only hire, but also train, 10,000 orderlies (equivalent to PSWs in Ontario). Recruits were paid $760 a week during training and guaranteed full-time jobs paying $26 an hour upon completion. Quebec also hired some 400 managers — one for each long-term care home — to be responsible for each home’s response to COVID-19. Each manager was also paired with an infection-control specialist to ensure homes followed proper protocols.

“Where was the systemic intervention in the lull that happened from June right through to the beginning of September to get actual staffing up in the homes like Quebec did to build some resilience for the second wave that was inevitable?” said Mehra.

But finding enough people to take up the mantle is a challenge, said Miranda Ferrier, president of the Ontario Personal Support Workers Association.

“Right now this is not a profession that’s very attractive. You’re working in COVID-positive homes, you don’t have enough staff, you’re constantly burnt out, you don’t get the professional recognition,” she said, referring to the fact that PSWs are not regulated like other health professions, such as nurses and doctors.

Ferrier said there are about 135,000 trained PSWs in Ontario but only about 60,000 are actually working.

“It’s not a profession of choice right now, unfortunately, even though it is a very honourable position,” she said. “We are very much in crisis and we run an extremely high risk of catastrophic consequences.”

Donna Duncan, CEO of the Ontario Long Term Care Association, which represents 70 per cent of the province’s long-term-care homes, said her organization “has been clear” with the Ontario government and other stakeholders about the challenges homes face and what is required to keep them stabilized through a second wave of this global pandemic.

“Recent commitments of personal protective equipment, minor capital investments and infection prevention and control resources will begin to address some of the gaps in the system, but will only be successful if they are deployed quickly and enhanced to meet the outstanding system needs,” she said, adding that the number issue confronting homes continues to be the staffing crisis in long-term care.

“Ensuring the health and safety of our residents and staff in our homes is critical to our ability to recruit and retain a new work force in long-term care homes. These measures will help us in our recruiting efforts. We need to recruit an army of employees for long-term care,” she said.

“We need to be proactive,’ said Arya, saying there is no reason for Ontario not to have acted sooner to address staffing shortages. He pointed to British Columbia, which has a long-term-care sector about half the size of Ontario’s, but had one-tenth the deaths during the first wave.

This more favourable outcome is credited partly to the fact that the B.C. government hired all front-line long-term-care staff in March, ensuring they received decent living wages, and restricted their employment to one facility.

“If we protect the rights of health workers, if we improve their working conditions, we improve the conditions of care,” Arya said. In Ontario, he added, it appears as though we are “protecting the operators and we’re not protecting who we should be, which is the residents and their families.”

Kenyon Wallace is a Toronto-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @KenyonWallace or reach him via email: