Steveston-Richmond MP named to Conservative diversity file despite anti-LGBTQ past

Last Updated Sep 8, 2020 at 7:41 pm PDT

Steveston-Richmond MP Kenny Chiu. (Courtesy Conservative Party of Canada)
Summary

Steveston-Richmond MP Kenny Chiu's appointment in the Conservative shadow cabinet is raising concerns

Chiu has been given the diversity, inclusion and youth file despite accusations of him being anti-LQBTQ2S+

Liberal MP for Vancouver-Centre Dr. Hedy Fry says the Conservative shadow cabinet 'is more of the same'

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The appointment of an MP to the Conservative shadow cabinet Tuesday is being met with calls for his resignation.

Steveston-Richmond MP Kenny Chiu has been given the diversity, inclusion and youth file, even though he once sat on the board of the Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford that deemed homosexual activities inappropriate.


Liberal MP for Vancouver-Centre Dr. Hedy Fry takes issue with Chiu’s appointment because he has been open about his opposition to the concept of sexual orientation and gender identity being taught in schools.

“You have openly said on many occasions that you actually don’t agree with homosexuality, you don’t actually agree with the transgender identities, that you actually don’t agree with gay marriage … how can you be minister of inclusion when you start off being exclusive?”

“He’s also the minister of shadow cabinet for youth. This is not about inclusive youth, this is not about understanding youth this is about, again, once more controlling and being very, very anti-LGBTQ2+.”

In the 2019 federal election, Chiu won the Steveston-Richmond riding despite revealing he was once on the college’s board.

Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party Candice Bergen defends the choice of Chiu’s role, saying he’s “fair-minded, he is open-minded.”

Chiu’s office says in a statement he is proud to be part of a “welcoming, diverse party that respects the rights of all Canadians, including members of the LGBTQ community.”


However, LGBTQ2 advocacy group Egale Canada says Chiu shouldn’t have been chosen since “no one associated with homophobia, biphobia, transphobia or other forms of discrimination should be in that position.”


Egale says Chiu should be replaced.

Meanwhile, Fry says she had hoped Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole might have brought something different to the table with the shadow cabinet.

“It’s just more of the same. You just change the face and a couple of faces in the window, that’s all you did.”

Former party leader Andrew Scheer has also been named to the shadow cabinet, which is made up of critics from the Opposition, as the party’s infrastructure critic.

The Conservatives have a national caucus meeting on Wednesday.

Chiu did not give an interview but his office issued a statement saying Chiu is proud to be in a party that respects the rights of all Canadians including those in the LGBTQ2 community.

-With files from Hana Mae Nassar and the Canadian Press

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Flu vaccination focus of B.C.'s fall plan to reduce strain on health care system

Last Updated Sep 9, 2020 at 2:03 pm PDT

FILE - B.C. Premier John Horgan. (Courtesy B.C. Government, Flickr)

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — The province is focusing on keeping people out of hospitals and shifting resources where needed as it secures 1,965,000 doses of flu vaccine as part of its plan to manage any potential surge in COVID-19 cases during the fall and winter.

Victoria also wants to build its COVID-19 testing capacity to 20,000 a day, along with more contact tracing, while maintaining surgical capacities and recruiting more staff for the health care sector.

“We also, of course, will be focusing on the influenza season,” Premier John Horgan said Wednesday, a day after the province order all nightclubs and standalone banquet halls to close effective immediately after 429 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths were reported over the long weekend.

Horgan added 450,000 additional doses of high-dose flu vaccine have been procured by the province, bringing the total available to 2,045,000.

“So our capacity right now is around 8,000 to 10,000 tests per day around the province,” Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.

“So we want to double that capacity. We’re doing about 5,000 to 6000 tests a day. So not everybody in the province needs a test, as we know. It’s people who are symptomatic.”

She added last year was a mild flu season.

“When we looked at what happened in the southern hemisphere this past few months, they had a relatively, very mild season, partly we think that’s because their immunization rates were very high, and partly it’s because of the circulating strains that they were seeing.”

She added immunization rates in B.C. were high last year, around 75 per cent.

“So, this is a year where we will be encouraging and making available the vaccine to everybody.”

The flu immunization program would cost $30 million, according to the plan, which outlines actions public health is taking to strengthen its response to COVID-19 and manage demand during the fall and winter, based on capacity.

“Influenza is a key driver of historical demand on inpatient bed utilization during the late fall and winter months,” says the report.

It suggests making “Fluzone-High Dose” immunizations available to all long-term care and assisted living residents as part of the fall strategy.

The plan calls for $1.6 billion in funding, of which $850 million has already been announced for increased contact tracing and rural transportation, along with restarting surgeries, implementing the single-site plan for care home workers and purchasing more protective equipment.

It also outlines four scenarios, from normal to additional demand, including surgeries, as well as low to exceptionally high transmission of COVID-19 and care requirements, from inpatient and critical care to equipment needs, such as ventilators.

Regarding transmission of COVID-19, the report suggests a low rate would be similar to June, when about 25 intensive care beds and 57 acute ones were required.

Exceptionally high transmission would require more than 200 intensive care and 40 acute beds

The reports says the surgical restart earlier this spring was a key initiative by the province.

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“For the fall and winter, we want to maintain normal routine access to health care as much as possible while also responding effectively to managing COVID-19,” says the report.

The health system has adequate physical capacity to meet demand, knowing it can delay surgeries or admissions, if required, according to the report.

“A key action for the fall is to have in place as much as possible additional surge capacity across key hospitals so that it will be less likely that changes to surgical planning and medical admissions would need to be considered. However, surge capacity requires a continued focus on strengthening health human resources – hiring, training, and effective deployment will be a key priority.”

Any surges would be managed in a staged, regional approach.

“This staged approach will start by using assigned COVID-19 bed capacity in 19 COVID-19 sites, with the remaining sites be used for what are expected to be a small number of local cases,” says the report.

Of the 19 sites, four are in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, while three each are in the Fraser, Vancouver Island and Northern regions. Six are in the Interior.

In addition to maintaining current health and safety protocols, measures call for a fall influenza immunization plan, along with continued protection of seniors in long-term care, assisted living and high-risk individuals, and a new hospital-at-home initiative.

The ministry will also establish six health authority pandemic working teams.

The plan also aims to recruit and train up to 5,000 care aides, and cleaning and food service staff in the long-term care sector.

Increased use of virtual care for older patients is another recommendation, as is designating urgent and primary care clinics as acute respiratory illness centres.

Hospitals will implement COVID-19 management strategies, with cohort wards to ensure isolation capacity.

“Both patients with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 require isolation beds.”

Funding for community and long-term care is pegged at more than $400 million.

The plan also outlines all the protective equipment B.C. acquired from March to September:

  • more than 6,300,000 N95 or equivalent respirators;
  • almost 50,500,000 surgical or procedure masks;
  • more than 2,600,000 pieces of eye protection, including goggles and face shields;
  • more than 90,000,000 pairs of gloves;
  • almost 8,000,000 gowns.

Funding for facilities and equipment is expected to cost $150 million.

“Overall, and in line with the spring 2020 experience of the COVID-19 epidemic, the B.C. health system has adequate physical capacity to meet demand with the backstop of knowing that we can successfully implement more extreme in-patient admission measures if required,” says the report.

Read the full fall and winter health sector plan:
COVID Capacity Modelling and Planning for Fall Winter

BC Ferries passengers will soon have to leave their vehicles on enclosed decks

Last Updated Sep 9, 2020 at 11:48 am PDT

FILE - BC Ferries. (Courtesy Twitter/BC Ferries)
Summary

You'll have to leave your vehicle while onboard a BC Ferries sailing starting Sept. 30

Transport Canada is putting back in place the restriction preventing passengers from staying in their cars

People will be allowed to stay in their cars on upper level of vessels that have an open upper, lower enclosed deck

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – You’ll have to leave your car while onboard most ferries in B.C. starting Sept. 30.

Transport Canada is putting back in place the restriction that prevents passengers from staying in their vehicles during sailings, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Passengers that are loaded onto the lower, closed car decks will, once again, be required to vacate their vehicles and proceed up into the passenger lounge areas of the vessels,” Darren Johnston, executive director, fleet operations, says.

Passengers will still be able to remain in their vehicles on the upper deck of larger vessels that have both an upper and lower — open and an enclosed — vehicle deck. Sixteen ships on routes between the mainland and Vancouver Island have upper, open vehicle decks, Johnston says.

Rules had been relaxed in the spring to help facilitate physical distancing on board vessels.

“Enclosed car decks are spaces that represent inherent risk to the travelling public,” a BC Ferries release reads. “During the pandemic these risks were mitigated with additional safety procedures and patrols. However, Transport Canada has now advised BC Ferries that measures have been developed and implemented to prevent the spread of the disease in all transportation modes and businesses across Canada.”

Measures include increased cleaning, sanitization, and physical distancing protocols, as well as a mandatory mask policy.

Passengers are required to have and wear a face covering or non-medical mask while on board a ferry, except while they are in their vehicle or if they are eating or drinking.

People with medical conditions that prevent them from wearing a face covering and children under the age of two are exempt from the mask policy.

Public concern

Johnston says he understands people may have concerns about being forced to leave their vehicles amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, he notes it’s not up to BC Ferries.

“It’s not our decision to determine when this relaxation is lifted,” he tells NEWS 1130. “Any questions or concerns that people may have regarding the timing of the reimplementation of these regulations ought to be directed towards Transport Canada.”

He says adjustments are being made to operational procedures onboard BC Ferries ships.

In addition to the aforementioned measures, Johnston says some areas that were off limits amid the health crisis will be re-opened to increase capacity in lounges, “to ensure there is space for physical distancing.”

Johnston is asking passengers to continue practicing patience with staff as the changes occur.

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Richmond considers mandatory masks in city-run, owned buildings

Last Updated Sep 9, 2020 at 11:52 am PDT

FILE - A long-time Richmond councillor has proposed making it mandatory to wear maks inside all city buildings. (CITYNEWS/Tony Fera)
Summary

Long-time Richmond Coun. Bill McNulty is pushing to make wearing masks mandatory in city buildings

The motion would make Richmond the first Lower Mainland city with such a policy

One of the motivations behind his motion is not only to protect the public, but also workers

RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) — Long-time Richmond Coun. Bill McNulty is pushing to make wearing masks mandatory in buildings run and owned by the city, making it the first in the Lower Mainland to make such a move.

The motion he presented this week at council has been approved and now the idea is being looked at closely by staff to figure out how it would work.

If approved, McNulty hopes the policy would be implemented as soon as possible as B.C. continues to see a consistent spike in COVID-19 infections.

“I think it makes imminent sense. We’re hearing it from our experts, saying [there are] the benefits of wearing a mask in public and with each other, so I don’t know how you can go against this. This is isn’t the United States,” explains McNulty, who is also the chair of community safety in the city.

He doesn’t think the masks would be needed if you’re outside and far away from others not in your bubble.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s top doctor, has repeatedly been pressed on the proposal of making masks mandatory, a move that’s been followed in other major cities to control the spread of the virus.

Henry has consistently said she doesn’t think it’s necessary right now, but does encourage everyone to wear them.

“Right now, it’s by choice. I think if we’re going to be wearing masks that we have it across the board. We need to have a policy on masks given the situation that we have,” stresses McNulty.

One of the motivations behind his motion is not only to protect the public, but also workers.

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“Now that we’re trying to get things back to some sort of normalcy, it’s important that we take all precautions. The other thing is we want staff to feel safe with each other and I’ve heard from staff they’re not safe from each other,” McNulty said.

“Sometimes, we reward people for coming to work not feeling as well as they should be and interacting with people and I think we have to get over that. If you’re sick, you do stay home and if you do feel sick, you stay home without any punishment and it will look after all of us.”

Richmond council will meet on Sept. 14, when, McNulty says, the motion will be brought up again.

“I think what we need to do is to continue to heed the expertise of the sciences and follow direction of our health officer and others and continue to try and make our community and other communities as safe as possible.”

 

The City of Richmond has been an anomaly and a leading example for the rest of the region as it has the lowest recorded number of case numbers in the Lower Mainland throughout this region and has for months after taking COVID-19 precautions as early as January of this year.

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WE Charity closing operations in Canada

Last Updated Sep 9, 2020 at 2:04 pm PDT

FILE - The co-founders of WE Charity are to testify before a House of Commons committee today as part of a parliamentary probe into a $912-million student-volunteer program. Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger speak during "We Day" in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Hannah Yoon

OTTAWA — WE Charity says it is closing its Canadian operations.

Co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger are also planning to leave the Toronto-based youth organization once the transition to a new board of governors is complete.

The brothers are blaming the COVID-19 pandemic and the controversy surrounding the Liberal government’s plans to have the Toronto-based youth organization run a multimillion-dollar student-volunteer program.

The organization has lost many of its corporate sponsors over the past few months, which the Kielburgers say has left it in dire financial straits.

WE plans to lay off its Canadian staff in the coming months and sell all its property in Canada, including its Toronto headquarters, to create an endowment fund that will pay for the completion of several projects that are still underway.

The endowment fund will also be used to support several large-scale projects, such as a hospital and college in Kenya and an agricultural learning centre.

More to come.

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