Canada

“Converting doctor’s offices to premium clinics could spawn a new health-care crisis”

Leave a Comment / Politics, Health /

Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Dr. Sally Talbot-Jones, owner of the Marda Loop Medical Clinic, has offered current patients enhanced health-care services for up to $4,800 per year for families. (Colin Hall/CBC) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton News that a Calgary medical clinic has solicited “member” fees from its patients will no doubt shock many Albertans, regardless of their ability to pay for enhanced care. But the believers in an equitable, fully public health care system should understand this challenging reality: some Alberta clinics have been charging patients thousands for premium services since well before Premier Danielle Smith’s tenure. The trend predates UCP predecessor Jason Kenney. And the NDP’s Rachel Notley. In fact, you can go back five premiers into the Tory dynasty, to the latter days of Ralph Klein in 2006, to find a government and health ministry reckoning with a new private health clinic offering a boutique or “concierge” service for willing residents. And similar clinics have existed in other provinces like Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. But there’s something that seems to set the Marda Loop Clinic apart, that many Albertans will reasonably find unsettling. What appears to be different or novel in this case is that Marda Loop is an existing clinic that’s switching over to premium-pay service. Dr. Sally Talbot-Jones’ clinic in an inner-city southwest Calgary neighbourhood recently sent existing patients a letter about what it called a “transformative health care initiative.” It offered reduced wait times, longer appointments and an array of other perks, through membership that costs up to $4,800 for families. Clinic patients who opt not to become paid members could still receive care from their doctor, but only one day a week. The long-controversial but long-sanctioned Copeman Healthcare Centre chain of private clinics set up as new operations seeking a new list of patients. For patients at Marda Loop, the doctor and clinic they’d relied on for years transformed beneath their feet. The switch from a public doctor’s clinic to a (mostly) private boutique seems like the health-care equivalent of a condominium conversion — in which a landlord evicts the apartment renters to renovate and sell the units as condos. Shifting apartments to higher-cost condos pushes tenants out of their existing units and makes them seek units elsewhere. That’s a big problem when vacancy rates are low and affordability is scarce. Marda Loop Clinic’s conversion comes during a similar scarcity crisis in health care. Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton In an email sent to clients July 19, Marda Loop Medical Clinic informed its clients it would be introducing a “membership-based medical service,” running $4,800 a year for a two-parent family membership. Such arrangements have been growing increasingly common in recent years, experts say. (Mike Symington/CBC) Home CCTV Camera in Brampton It’s gotten harder to find a family doctor. And that will do two things in this case: leave people who cannot afford membership fees either scrounging or unable to find a family doctor; and add pressure on existing patients to pay up, rather than lose access to their physician. This development also stands to make countless other Albertans wonder: will my doctor’s clinic do this, and will I be faced with the same choice Talbot-Jones imposed on her clinic’s patients? Will I have to reckon with the consequences of either adding $400 to our monthly family budget, or losing the physicians and nurses who understand our medical histories? A health system that doesn’t penalize or disincentivize doctors for partially converting clinics to members-only private boutiques will risk unleashing a wave of changeovers that affects hundreds of thousands of patients. Enter the federal health department, and the Canada Health Act, the law supposed to enshrine public health care. Whereas other full-fledged private clinics operate in a grey area of legality, experts say the commingling of private and public service becomes more problematic.  “Health Canada has written to Alberta officials to inform them that the ability for patients to purchase preferential access is contrary to the Canada Health Act,” the department told CBC on Tuesday. “We are working collaboratively with the province of Alberta to ensure the clinic’s patients continue to receive medically necessary services free of patient charges.” At the pointy end of this stick, Ottawa could withhold funding if the province didn’t comply with this interpretation of the Health Act. In other words, the province cannot condone this clinic conversion or any others like it. And the doctor at Marda Loop suggested others would be tempted to follow.  Talbot-Jones told CBC that because of high overhead and growing pressures, she and other clinics have considered exploring new economic models. “A lot of doctors are facing bankruptcy in their clinics,” the doctor said. “I follow Facebook groups where lots of doctors all over the country, they’re all seeing the same thing.” The College of Family Physicians of Canada voiced such a dual warning with its statement on Marda Loop:  “Charging patients for access goes against the principles of Canada Health Act, but is symptomatic of the pressures amid the crisis facing family doctors.” The private-only boutique clinic model has been around for years, but has never taken off. Marda Loop’s hybrid solution, taking existing patient lists and demanding charges, stood to spread more widely, if permitted. But it appears it won’t be permitted. A crackdown won’t somehow solve the crisis to the sustainability of family medicine, but it does prevent a potential new front to this crisis. Health Canada says it has written to Alberta officials to inform them that the ability for patients “to purchase preferential access” at a Calgary clinic runs contrary to the Canada Health Act. “We are working collaboratively with the province of Alberta to ensure the clinic’s patients continue to receive medically necessary services free of patient charges,” the government department wrote in an email. On Monday, CBC News reported that a Calgary clinic had told its members that it would be moving to a membership model. The pricing under that model, shared with CBC News, was listed as $4,800 per year for a two-parent family membership, covering two adults and their

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“This weekend’s scorching weather around the world”

Leave a Comment / World News, weather /

A pedestrian cools off in water misters along the sidewalk during a heat wave in Las Vegas on Friday. Climate scientists say 2023 is on track to be the hottest year since records began. (Ronda Churchill/AFP/Getty Images) Excessive heat warnings remained in effect on Sunday for people around the world, from the United States, to Europe, and Japan. The heat wave that’s spreading across a swath of the U.S. from Oregon, down the West Coast, and into the Southwest including Texas through Alabama, is unusual, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md. There’s a mass of high pressure air sitting like a dome “parked” over the affected areas and it’s deflecting any rain and storm systems that could provide relief to more than 100 million Americans under heat warnings and cautions, said Taylor. Phoenix, Ariz., is centred squarely under the heat dome, and the temperature was expected to climb to 47 C on Sunday, matching the high on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures in Arizona’s capital have been at or above 43 C every day for 16 consecutive days, nearing the 1974 record of 18 days in a row for that level of heat. Some of the estimated 200 cooling centres in metro Phoenix planned to extend their weekend hours, and emergency rooms were ready to treat people with heat-related illnesses. In Nevada, an intense heat wave threatens to break Las Vegas’s all-time record high of 47.2 C this weekend. Misters have been set up along the Las Vegas Strip to provide some relief. A man cools off in misters along the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday. (John Locher/The Associated Press) The National Weather Service says the extreme heat will continue through the middle of this week. Forecasters have warned people to take precautions to protect themselves from the heat, such as cancelling outdoor activities during the day. High temperatures that have already sparked wildfires in Spain and Croatia were also being felt in central parts of Europe, including Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic — and with another heat wave in the forecast, more high temperatures were expected across the continent in the coming days. On Spain’s La Palma Canary Island, officials ordered more than 4,000 people to evacuate their homes on Saturday because of a raging wildfire. The fire, which has destroyed at least 20 homes, coincides with a heat wave that has persisted for nearly a week in southern and central Europe. Italy issued hot weather red alerts for 16 cities on Sunday, with meteorologists warning that temperatures will hit record highs across southern Europe in the coming days. Spain, Italy and Greece have been experiencing scorching temperatures for several days already, damaging agriculture and leaving tourists scurrying for shade. Forecasters say a new weather system with extreme heat pushed into southern Europe from North Africa on Sunday and could lift temperatures above 45 C in parts of Italy early this week. “We need to prepare for a severe heat storm that, day after day, will blanket the whole country,” Italian weather news service Meteo reported on Sunday. “In some places ancient heat records will be broken.”  In parts of eastern Japan, highs of 38 and 39 C were expected on Sunday and Monday, with forecasters warning temperatures could break records. A traffic worker stands guard on Sunday at the entrance to a flooded underpass in Akita, Japan. (STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images) Japan issued heat alerts on Sunday to tens of millions of people in 20 of the country’s 47 prefectures due to high temperatures, while torrential rain pummelled other regions, the AFP news agency reported. Flash flooding hit the city of Akita in northern Japan on Sunday, leaving one person dead and four injured. In South Korea, days of heavy rain have triggered flash floods and landslides. Rescuers on Sunday pulled nine bodies from a flooded tunnel where around 15 vehicles were trapped in muddy water, officials said. A total of 37 people have died and thousands have been evacuated since July 9, when heavy rain started pounding South Korea’s central regions. After Earth’s hottest week on record, extreme weather surprises everyone — even climate scientists The heat has been unprecedented, and extreme weather, from wildfires to floods, are ravaging various corners of the world. Data suggests last week was the hottest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Temperatures have soared across much of southern Europe and the southern United States, while powerful rain storms led to flooding in Vermont, India, Japan — and Montreal on Thursday. At the same time, Canada has already surpassed the record for the total area burned in a wildfire season. This follows the hottest June on record, with unprecedented sea surface temperatures and record low Antarctic sea ice coverage. “There’s a lot of concern from the scientific community and a lot of catch up in the scientific community trying to understand these incredible changes we’re seeing at the moment,” said Michael Sparrow, head of the WMO’s world climate research program. All this comes at the onset of El Niño, which is expected to further fuel the heat both on land and in the oceans, according to Prof. Christopher Hewitt, WMO’s director of climate services. “We are in uncharted territory and we can expect more records to fall as El Niño develops further,” he said. “These impacts will extend into 2024.” Global sea surface temperatures hit new records for the time of the year both in May and June, according to the WMO. In Florida, for instance, the water temperature near Johnson Key was 36 Celsius, about 5 degrees warmer than normal this time of year, meteorologists said. “As we go forward, we will see more extreme weather,” said Altaf Arain, a professor in the school of earth, environment and society at McMaster University and director of McMaster’s Centre for Climate Change. While Arain isn’t entirely surprised by the surging temperatures, he said the idea of a “new normal” should be thrown out the window. “It may not be fair to use that term because when you talk about the new normal, then you have to look at the time scale,” he said. “We will have a new normal

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“Oil CEO says too much government talking, not enough action, putting climate targets in jeopardy”

Leave a Comment / Canada News, Politics /

Derek Evans, the head of Calgary-based MEG Energy, told CBC Radio’s The House the lack of concrete details on climate policies are interfering with the chronology for decarbonization.  (CBC) An oil company CEO says federal and provincial governments are stuck on “academic discussions” about greenhouse gas emissions targets, putting timelines for their own goals in jeopardy.  Derek Evans, the head of Calgary-based MEG Energy, told CBC Radio’s The House the lack of concrete details on climate policies are interfering with the chronology for decarbonization.  “The whole 2030 timeline, what we said we thought we could do by 2030, that starts to get risked,” he said, adding the dialogue has been productive but lacking action.  Ottawa is crafting policies that would put legislative pressure on the sector to decarbonize more quickly, including an impending emissions cap and killing “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies. An announcement on the latter is expected next week, but specifics have been scarce for years.  Canada has committed to net-zero by 2050, with an interim goal that would require oil and gas to cut 42 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions below 2019 levels by 2030.  Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault photographed speaking in Vancouver in 2022. Ottawa is crafting policies that would put legislative pressure on the oil and gas sector to decarbonize more quickly.  (REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier) Both levels of government are feuding over 2030 targets, though they agree on the end date of 2050. Both are providing support to industry in the form of funding and tax credits, but disagree on the methods to reach a carbon-neutral economy.  “We will lose not only the opportunity to decarbonize, we are going to lose the next generation in terms of their belief in are we actually doing what’s right for the environment,” Evans said. His daughter often presses him about his work, he said, and whether oil companies are serious when it comes to climate change. Industry titans, including MEG’s partners in the Pathways Alliance that represents 95 per cent of oilsands production, have told the federal government getting to the 42-per-cent reduction goal is unrealistic by the end of the decade (In fact, they say it would take an extra five years to get there at the current pace). The oilsands produce about 70 million tonnes of emissions annually, according to the Alberta government — about 11 per cent of Canada’s total pollution output. “At some point, if you are serious about decarbonizing the oilsands for a variety of reasons, we need to see some progress towards that,” said Andrew Leach, a professor and energy and environment economist at the University of Alberta.  “But I think also … if the government is not going to recognize, for example, enhanced oil recovery as a means of carbon capture and sequestration, industry needs to know that before they can decide where to put their money.” The federal government has announced billions in clean energy incentives and tax credits for things like carbon capture and storage. That’s what the industry wants clarity on. Alberta has also committed about $2 billion into carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and approved 25 proposals for carbon storage hubs.  CCUS technology traps and stores pollution from production underground. Despite political and industry buzz, it hasn’t been proven at a massive scale yet and remains relatively expensive.  Canadian oil and gas companies are hoping to lead the world in its development, but that’s becoming a steep task as U.S. measures like the Inflation Reduction Act provide historical investments for green tech.  Canada has been floating decarbonization and carbon capture for 30 years (early mentions appear in a 1994 report on climate to the United Nations). An oilsands plant in Fort McMurray, Alta. The federal government has announced billions in clean energy incentives and tax credits for things like carbon capture and storage. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press) “We are ready to go. We are waiting for the governments to collectively get at the table and join us and push this across the line. In my personal perspective, this is the single biggest imperative that we as people in the oil and gas business and as stewards of the land and the economy for the next generation, we absolutely need to make this happen as quickly as we can,” Evans said. Oil companies are also coming off the most lucrative year they’ve ever seen. At a time when there’s money available, companies have been criticized for not investing more of their record profits into clean technology development or accelerating their commitments to existing options.  Advancing without government direction and support — and out of step with other countries like Norway — would kill the competitiveness of Canadian oil, Evans said.  “I think we would just ultimately say it’s probably cheaper for us to pay the carbon tax and not abate the carbon. And then we have lost on two fronts: We have lost a global leadership opportunity … and we have not abated an iota of CO2.”  A recent report commissioned by an environmental group concluded it would be significantly cheaper to meet reduction targets for greenhouse gases than it would be to pay carbon taxes on it. Leach said the path forward depends on whether decisions are influenced more by politics or by global market and environmental factors.  That question rests largely with the industry. “Is decarbonizing the oilsands something that has to happen for the future of the industry or is it something that has to happen so long as the current Liberal government makes it a priority,” he said. Evans remains optimistic the governments and companies can find a path forward.  “I have never heard a federal official tell me that they want to see production shut in and clearly the premier doesn’t either. So with those basics, I feel we’re going to be able to thread the needle here.”  Alberta’s Smith decries ‘federal interference’ ahead of premiers’ meeting Alberta Premier Danielle Smith believes she’ll have allies in her battle against what she sees as federal interference when she attends this week’s meeting of

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“4 people missing in Nova Scotia after vehicles became submerged in floodwaters”

Leave a Comment / Canada News, weather /

Four people — including two children and a youth — have been reported missing in Nova Scotia after the vehicles they were travelling in became submerged in floodwaters, RCMP say. Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said two separate searches started early Saturday at the height of the storm. “Two children are unaccounted for in relation to an incident in West Hants where a vehicle they were travelling in was submerged,” Tremblay said Saturday afternoon. “Three of the five occupants known to have been in that vehicle were able to escape.” In a separate incident, a man and a youth are also missing. Tremblay said RCMP are not revealing the exact locations of the searches because they don’t want people interfering with the organized search teams. Much of central Nova Scotia, including areas of the Halifax Regional Municipality, has been dealing with severe flooding and impassable roads Saturday after torrential downpours swamped much of the province overnight Friday. An evacuation order that had been issued for people living near the St. Croix River system early Saturday morning has been lifted. An emergency alert had been sent out to cellphones in the area at 3:41 a.m. AT. The nearby dam was also at risk of breaching. Windsor and West Hants Municipality Mayor Abraham Zebian says that as of Saturday morning, the dam is no longer at risk. “Thankfully it is under control, they relieved some water from that dam and we’ve got most of the area evacuated now,” he said. Just before 3 p.m., a new emergency alert said people could return home if safe to do so, but asked them to “remain vigilant.” It said the Avon River Hydro System is still experiencing high water levels, and some roads in the area remain flooded. People affected by the flooding can go to the Falmouth Elementary School. Zebian said there have been lots of washouts in the area and that some roads are still completely submerged. “We’ll keep on watching the water levels and keep on draining that dam, and keep on moving forward trying to get more road networks cleared up and opened up.” Anyone in the area who is still in need of emergency help evacuating should call 911, Zebian said. Residents were told overnight to evacuate to the Brooklyn Civic Centre at 995 Highway 215, Newport, while a later alert said evacuees can also use the Windsor Civic Centre at 78 Thomas St., Windsor. The South West Hants Fire Hall on Highway 114 on Chester Road is also open, Zebian said. He said resources are stretched, but as the day continues, crews will continue to work to complete all necessary evacuations and keep monitoring the dam. Windsor, located in Hants County, is about 60 kilometres northwest of downtown Halifax. Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay told CBC News early Saturday that RCMP are helping with evacuations at Smileys provincial park campground, which is fairly close to the dam. Tremblay said if people near the dam are not able to flee, they should call 911 for help. Nova Scotia’s road conditions website is warning of flooding on highways 101, 102, 103, 107, 111 and 118. According to the RCMP, Highway 101 is now closed at exit 3 in Upper Sackville.  Halifax has also been caught in the deluge, with Halifax Regional Police warning that multiple roads are closed to all traffic. They include: The Bedford Highway between Sherbrooke Drive and Flamingo Drive and between Dartmouth Road and River Lane.  Union Street between the Bedford Highway and Rowledge Lane.  Hammonds Plains Road between Gary Martin Drive and Larry Uteck Boulevard.  Bluewater Road at Hammonds Plains Road. “It’s unlike anything I’ve seen here,” said Halifax Mayor Mike Savage.”It’s quite a violent storm and the ground, of course, is very saturated now, so any rain we continue to get only adds to the problem we have.” Cars are seen abandoned on Highway 101 outside of Halifax late Friday, after torrential downpours flooded the area. (Frank Inrig/CBC) Police also warned early Saturday that the storm has left rocks, gravel and other debris on roads throughout the region. They also said a number of vehicles that had been abandoned on flooded roads were towed.  “A large number of vehicles also remain in flooded parking lot and on private properties.” In a release Saturday morning, the Halifax Regional Municipality advised drivers and pedestrians to stay off roads due to unsafe conditions. “Numerous roads are washed out and remain closed due to flooding. There are abandoned cars on roads and highways causing dangerous conditions. There is a significant amount of damage,” the city said.  Emergency flooding calls can be directed to Halifax Water at 902-420-9287, while damage to infrastructure an roads can be reported by calling 311 or emailing hrm_emo@halifax.ca.  The municipality has also opened two comfort centres for residents dealing with power outages and flooding, with the Beaver Bank Community Centre and East Dartmouth Community Centre remaining open overnight. About 150 people have needed support thus far, the mayor said. Those travelling on Halifax Transit can expect significant delays and detours, said the HRM, and updates will be provided on Twitter and on the city’s website. Regional alerts sent by provincial officials throughout the night have warned of severe flooding, damaged homes and impassable roads. Savage acknowledged that the last few months have been challenging in the province. “We’ve had own little tour of Armageddon,” he said. “We had the horrific wildfires at the end of May into June and now we have flooding, so it seems like all the plagues are hitting us.”  CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said this “is a historic flood event for Nova Scotia.” Preliminary estimates show up to 250 mm of rain fell in some areas as of 6 a.m., Snoddon said, adding that in the Halifax area, it appears to be the heaviest rainfall event since 1971. Nova Scotia Power (NSP) says it has been dealing with outages in the Halifax and Liverpool areas that were caused by lightning. At the peak of the storm last night, more than 70,000 customers were without power, the utility said.  As of 3 p.m., power had been restored to about 60,000 customers. “Our crews are working and navigating the flooded roads to try and get power back on as

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“Mississauga, Ont., mosque attacker who planned ‘mass casualty event’ pleads guilty to 3 charges”

Leave a Comment / Canada News, crime /

Mohammad Moiz Omar pleaded guilty to three charges Wednesday, including administering a noxious substance, assault with a weapon, and mischief to religious property with motivation of bias, prejudice or hate based on religion. (Michael Cole/CBC) A man who assaulted worshippers at a mosque in Mississauga, Ont., last year had been planning the attack for a year and was motivated by hatred of and a desire to intimidate Muslims, court documents show. Mohammad Moiz Omar “intended to perpetrate a mass casualty event” when he entered the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre during early morning prayer on March 19, 2022 and sprayed bear spray toward congregants while swinging a hatchet, according to an agreed statement of facts read at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brampton, Ont. Wednesday. Omar, who was 24 years old at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to three charges, according to one of his lawyers, Jacob Roth of Robichaud Criminal Lawyers. Those charges include administering a noxious substance with intent to endanger life or cause bodily harm, assault with a weapon, and mischief to religious property with motivation of bias, prejudice or hate based on religion. “As part of his plea, Mr. Omar acknowledged that guilt on those three charges constitutes terrorist activity,” Roth said in a phone call Wednesday. The mosque’s imam, Ibrahim Hindy, said the revelations in court Wednesday confirmed his community’s worst nightmare. “This was not someone having a bad day or having a mental health episode. This was someone who planned out clearly what he wanted to do and how he wanted to kill Muslims,” Hindy said. “I’m only grateful that our congregation was able to stop him before he was able to ultimately harm someone.” ‘You are all terrorists,’ attacker said According to the statement of facts, Omar entered the mosque at 7 a.m., when there were approximately 30 people gathered for morning prayer. He approached them from behind and discharged the bear spray while swinging the hatchet. Congregants heard him say, “I hate you” and “You are all terrorists” during the attack. The attack was thwarted when congregants pushed Omar to the ground and restrained him. While none of the worshippers were seriously injured, one was kicked in the stomach and several suffered side effects from the bear spray. Damage to the mosque cost $16,000 to repair. Police who searched his car found several weapons and tools, including a large knife, a cleaver, a hammer, rope, drill bits, safety goggles, fire extinguishers, and an unknown chemical. Most were recently purchased at a Canadian Tire. A photo from the agreed statement of facts shows a large knife, cleaver and an axe found on Omar’s person or in his car following the March 2022 mosque attack. (Ontario Superior Court of Justice) While in custody, Omar told police he had a Muslim background but considered himself an atheist.  He expressed hatred for Islam and Muslims, and disappointment that he was unable to inflict more serious harm to the victims. The document says Omar told police he was “provoked” by what he called “an intolerant and violent religion.” “The attack was also aimed at intimidating a segment of the public (Muslims) with regard to their security,” it says. Omar told police he had tried to acquire firearms for the attack but was unsuccessful and that he considered building a bomb but lacked the knowledge and skill to do so. He also told them he had considered attacking other targets, including a different mosque and the Pakistani consulate, or using his car to run down Muslims. “When asked if had hoped to inspire others to commit similar attacks he commented, ‘In a sense ya. You can always hope,’” the document says.  During a search of Omar’s home, investigators found a hard drive containing video footage of the March 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, N.Z., where a white supremacist killed 51 people and injured another 40. In comments to police, Omar said he enjoyed seeing a woman being shot in that attack. Police also found evidence that Omar attempted to obtain a 3-D printer capable of printing a firearm and sent emails to himself that disclosed “a high level of planning.” Steven Zhou, a spokesperson for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, also praised the quick response of the congregants that day.  “If it were not for their bravery, we may very well have attended several funerals in addition to today’s proceedings,” Zhou said. “They could have been the victims of another Quebec City-style attack, or the truck attack in London, Ont., which occurred just months before this attack, or the murder of a caretaker at the IMO mosque in Rexdale not too far from here.” Zhou said these attacks show a “trend of individuals violently attacking Muslims for who they are and for what they believe” that all Canadians must confront. In June, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and Ministry of the Attorney General “consented to the commencement of terrorism proceedings” against Omar. The terrorism classification allows prosecutors to pursue tougher sentencing submissions than would apply to a regular offence. Roth, Omar’s lawyer, said his client remains in custody while he awaits sentencing. Prosecutors and the defence have submitted a joint sentencing submission of eight years in prison.  Hindy said that’s not enough. “I think if anyone desires and plots to commit mass murder in Canada, they deserve more than eight years in prison,” he said. Omar will appear in court again Tuesday for his sentencing hearing. In a news release on Wednesday, Peel police said the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and Ministry of the Attorney General have “consented to the commencement of terrorism proceedings” against Mohammad Moiz Omar. This isn’t an instance where police have added new charges — but terrorism proceedings being coupled with the court case will allow prosecutors to potentially pursue tougher sentencing submissions, should Omar be found guilty. Investigators allege that on March 19, Omar entered the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in Mississauga and sprayed bear spray towards congregants while brandishing a hatchet. “Our community has a fundamental right, and deserves, to feel safe and secure,” said Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah, in a statement. “Any attempt

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“Emergency Alert: Ontario Regions Struggle with Ambulance Pressures”

Leave a Comment / social issues, Canada News /

Paramedics unload patients from ambulances at the emergency department of a Toronto hospital. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Several Ontario municipalities say their paramedic services are under immense pressure, with worrying stretches of times during which no ambulances are available to respond to calls — but the province doesn’t track the problem. The government does have data on the hours paramedics spend waiting in emergency rooms to transfer patients to the care of a hospital, which are often a key factor in ambulance availability, but won’t disclose it. Some emergency officials and community leaders say more needs to be done to help paramedic services, but the lack of publicly available provincial information makes it hard to assess the scope of the problem. “We just want to be able to have a baseline to say, ‘Oh, things have improved since 2020, since 2018,’ and being able to quantify the data so that when we do go to the province, or to our employers, we want to be able to go with solutions,” said Niko Georgiadis, chair of the CUPE Ambulance Committee of Ontario. Ambulance dispatch centres are mostly operated by the province, so they should be keeping track of how often there are no ambulances available — situations known as code zero or code black — said Georgiadis. A spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the province doesn’t track that because municipalities are responsible for ambulance deployment strategies. Ontario generates monthly reports based on data from ambulance dispatch centres, including time paramedics spend waiting in ERs to transfer patients — known as offload delays — by hospital. But requests for the figures, including a specific request for the most recent report went unacknowledged. Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, shown during a 2022 announcement at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital, says the province has implemented and expanded various programs to address ambulance availability issues. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press) Jones has implemented and expanded various programs to address ambulance availability issues, from increasing funding for nurses to monitor ambulance patients so paramedics can get back on the road, to allowing paramedics to take patients somewhere other than an ER. “Our government’s four-part strategy to tackle ambulance offload time issues is focused on: returning ambulances to communities faster, providing timely and appropriate care in the community, facilitating non-ambulance transportation for stable patients, and increasing health care worker capacity,” spokesperson Hannah Jensen wrote in a statement. Several communities say offload delays and the lack of ambulance availability skyrocketed from 2021 to 2022. Some say it’s looking a bit better for 2023, but more needs to be done. Essex-Windsor EMS Chief Bruce Krauter has been combing through his own region’s data, and found that from January to May, code blacks and code reds — when there were either no ambulances or one or two — tended to happen between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. He ties that to the lack of availability of urgent care clinics and primary care during those hours, and has asked Jones to fund those services for extended hours. “If we get some better urgent care, primary care, those code reds and blacks should come down,” he said. Jones’s spokesperson said the minister is working with health-care leaders in that region on “innovative solutions” to increase ambulance availability. The County of Essex declared an emergency in the fall due to long offload delays and code reds and blacks. On one day preceding the declaration there were no ambulances available for almost three hours as 26 paramedic teams were delayed at hospitals. There has been some improvement since then, Krauter said. In October there were a total of 629 minutes during which no ambulance was available. In May that total was 173 minutes. But the local emergency remains in place until there are no more code reds or blacks, Krauter said. More funding from the province for dedicated offload nurses — who can manage ambulance patients in the ER so paramedics can get back on the road — has helped, Krauter said, as has EMS putting a “navigator” into the dispatch centre to help direct movement of ambulances. Reprioritizing ambulance calls under a new dispatch algorithm is also expected to help, Krauter said. “Right now if you call for 911 … and you say, ‘Hello, I hit my nose on something and it’s bleeding,’ you automatically get an ambulance, lights and sirens to your house,” he said. “We’re over-responding to calls and all that does is drain resources.” In hospitals, Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, said even with the increased funding for dedicated offload nurses — $51 million extra over three years — the money can’t always be put to use because of general nursing staff shortages. The health minister’s spokesperson noted the province expanded that program last year to allow paramedics, physician assistants and respiratory therapists to assist. Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, says ambulance dispatch centres are mostly operated by the province so should be keeping track of how often there are no ambulances available. (Amy Dodge/CBC) Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has asked the province to pay for 51 new paramedics to act as offload paramedics. Normally, paramedics are funded 50-50 by the province and municipalities, but Sutcliffe argues offload delays are a provincial responsibility. Last year, Ottawa’s paramedic service spent 93,686 hours in offload delays. In Toronto, that number was about 300,000 hours, according to a paramedic services report. In Waterloo Region, the amount of time no ambulances were available increased by 571 per cent from 2021 to 2022. Offload delays are a factor, as are an increase in call volumes and paramedic staff shortages, said John Riches, chief of paramedic services. The region has increased ambulance resources and 2023 is so far looking a little better, he said, but it’s “not significant enough to celebrate.” Waterloo Region paramedics and its three area hospitals are hoping to introduce a “fit to sit” program this fall, in which paramedics can leave certain stable patients to wait in

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