Covid Journal, April 18, 2021

Ford’s Failed Attempt To Curb Covid

Covid cases keep spiking all through Canada.

Maybe we should better understand how PCR tests work, but I’m leery of asking questions about what’s really behind this.

Besides that, maybe Doug Ford should heed the scientific details of where the cases actually ARE in Ontario: retirement homes. Places where paid sick leave would limit the introduction of Covid to workplaces. University students.

Sadly, Doug has decided to focus on areas where there are actually NO cases such as playgrounds and golf courses, eliminating any hope of people being outside (where Covid cannot survive) doing exercise out in the sun (both of which are essential for building your immune system).

Dougie even went so far as to almost declare martial law (but not even Doug is that daft) by enabling the province’s police forces to arrest pretty much anyone they wanted without cause or a warrant.

The result was swift: people are labeling the new regime a police state.

Thankfully, the police boards across Ontario came back with a FIRM NO.

Mayors across the province also said NO. Many argued (rightly so) that the Doug Ford police state would have exacerbated racial profiling.

If that wasn’t enough, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association brought up a Constitutional challenge.

If the latter had occurred, things would have become very ugly, very quickly because it would have exposed just how brutal the various responses have been to the ‘pandemic’. I still maintain that we need a local, provincial, federal and even international enquiry into the responses associated with Covid. It’s a mess and we need to understand why everything has happened, particularly when you consider the severity of the failed efforts to curb the spread of the disease.

Federal Liberals:”The Most Anti-Internet Government in Canadian History”

Moving into the federal arena, Michael Geist, digital rights lawyer and professor with the University of Ottawa, has labeled the Liberals the “most anti-internet government in Canadian history.”

Just when we need reliable information the most, the federal Liberals are trying to shut it all down. Here’s a synopsis from Michael Geist:

• As it moves to create the Great Canadian Internet Firewall, net neutrality is out and mandated Internet blocking is in.
• Freedom of expression and due process is out, quick takedowns without independent review and increased liability are in.
• Innovation and new business models are out, CRTC regulation is in.
• Privacy reform is out, Internet taxation is in.
• Prioritizing consumer Internet access and affordability is out, reduced competition through mergers are in.
• And perhaps most troublingly, consultation and transparency are out, secrecy is in.

I maintain that Professor Geist is pretty much the #1 option when it comes to informed recommendations concerning the management of the internet in Canada.

What can we do to stop the lobbyists and companies like Bell and Rogers from squeezing the life out of Canada’s ‘information highway’?

$18 Billion Would Go A Long Way Towards Emergency Pandemic Response

Apparently, the federal government dished out $18 billion in subsidies and transfers to the oil sector in Canada.

Just stop already.

What a waste of public funds.

While the government tried to back-peddle, saying most of the money was for loans and insurance, we all know what happens when ‘loans’ are handed out by governments. They don’t get paid back.

Just in case you wonder where my scepticism comes from, how about this for ‘doing everything’ to help prevent the spread of Covid:

Look closely and you’ll see there are a number of issues:

• There’s no tap
• The keypad isn’t covered or easy to wipe off
• No sanitizer has been provided
• Use your own gloves to keep yourself safe
• Etc etc etc

I see stuff like this and feel it’s important that we call out the basic but complete lack of any actual plan or effort to control the spread of Covid on the part of major corporations across Canada.