One man has been taken to hospital in life-threatening condition after being pulled from the water near Cherry Beach.
Police reported a group of five to six kite boarders were on Lake Ontario in the area of Cherry Street and Martin Goodman Trail when they received calls about a person in distress shortly after 3 p.m.
When police arrived, one man had been pulled from the water by another individual who was already on the scene and officers performed life-saving measures until paramedics were able to transport the man to hospital.
There was no word on the condition of the remaining kite boarders.
The conditions on the lake at the time were treacherous due to a wind and rain storm that was sweeping across the region.
Three regions in the Toronto area join the COVID-19 red zone today.
The stricter public health measures come into effect in Hamilton, York and Halton regions.
Toronto joined Peel Region in the red alert level — the highest short of a full lockdown — on Saturday.
Another six regions, such as Durham and Waterloo, will move to the orange alert level, and six more, including Windsor-Essex and Sudbury, will join the yellow alert level.
Today’s developments come just days after Premier Doug Ford lowered the thresholds for his colour-coded restrictions system.
He said on Friday that recent COVID-19 projections show the province is “staring down the barrel of another lockdown.
A 35-year-old man is in hospital following a shooting in Thornhill on Thursday.
York regional police say they were called to Yorkville North plaza on Steeles Avenue West near Yonge Street shortly after 6:30 p.m.
It’s believed the victim was shot twice in the parking lot and then made his way into a nearby cafe to get help.
Paramedics transported the victim to a nearby trauma centre in life-threatening condition. His condition is now considered stable.
Police have yet to release any suspect descriptions or any other details of what may have led up to the incident.
Two months after the City of Ottawa scrambled to expand its COVID-19 testing options to deal with a massive spike in demand, it is now set to cut back on hours at testing sites this weekend because far fewer people are showing up for a swab.
The decline mirrors what is happening in much of the rest of the country, with average daily testing numbers down more than 25 per cent compared to a month ago, even as positive cases soar.
On Oct. 15, the cublic Health Agency of Canada reported an average of 77,000 COVID-19 tests had been completed each day over the previous week, the highest it had ever been. That fell to an average daily count of 61,000 a week ago, and to below 55,000 this week.
In mid-October, Canada had about 2,300 new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed each day. This week, that number grew to above 4,000.
Ontario, which on Thursday recorded its fifth record case total in the last six days, was aiming to have 68,000 tests daily by the middle of November. It hasn’t hit 40,000 tests once in those six days, and twice dropped below 30,000 tests per day.
The province averaged 38,273 tests per day in October, and this month so far the daily average is 33,870.
British Columbia averaged 9,369 tests last month. So far in November the average daily test number is 8,553.
In many provinces the testing numbers bounce around dramatically. In Quebec, the province tested 30,919 people on Nov. 5. Three days later, the dropped below 19,000. By Nov. 10, it was back up over 30,000.
Dr. Howard Njoo, the deputy chief public health officer, said last week the decline could be because local health authorities were offering testing to almost anyone who asked for it earlier this fall, regardless of whether they had symptoms or possible exposure to an infected person.
“I think people are now recognizing that the best approach could or should be more focused that it may not be the best use of resources and it may actually sort of slow down the testing for those who actually need it,” he said Nov. 6.
Ontario’s testing system was unruly in September, forcing the province to massively expand hours and locations of testing sites, make an appointment booking process, and changed the criteria so people without symptoms didn’t clog the lines.
In Ottawa, the testing task force that in September was begging people not to get tested unless they had symptoms began last week to beg people to go get a test. Today, the weekend hours at one of the city’s main testing sites are being cut from 11 hours a day to eight because so many appointments were going unfilled.
Ottawa public health chief Dr. Vera Etches said weekends have become particularly slow. She said the overall numbers have come back a bit from earlier in November and didn’t express alarm that not enough people are being tested, saying it could be due to Ottawa’s declining infection rate.
Ottawa has mostly bucked Ontario’s trend of rising cases, with the infection rate falling from 70 per 100,000 people in mid-October to 38 this week. Toronto’s grew from 57 to almost 100 over that time.
“You know, if the virus level is dropping, there may be more people without symptoms or fewer people with symptoms presenting to be tested,” Etches said.
But she said she still wants people to know if they have symptoms, even very mild ones, getting a test is the responsible thing to do because “we have to detect as much COVID as possible.”
“And so it is one of the things we’re watching and we continue to work with our partners that run the testing system to try to explore more,” she said.
“Why are people coming? Why are they not coming? You know, these are these are things that’s worth exploring for sure.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will continue Friday to prod premiers towards more stringent measures to curb the spread of Chttps://www.bttoronto.ca/wp-admin/post-new.phpOVID-19, even as he offers up more federal funding to help provinces retrain workers left jobless by the pandemic.
Trudeau is expected to announce hundreds of millions of dollars more for provinces to plow into skills training, on top of some $3.5 billion in previously announced funding.
But he’s also expected to renew his call for premiers to impose the restrictions necessary to douse the wildfire spread of COVID-19 and not be deterred by the economic costs of shutting down businesses.
Trudeau took that message directly to premiers during a conference call Thursday evening.
A summary of the call issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, says Trudeau asked premiers to “identify their specific needs to protect the health and safety of Canadians and bring the virus under control in their jurisdictions.”
And he assured them the federal government will continue to provide them with assistance and “will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to keep Canadians safe and supported.”
Federal officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly, say Trudeau stressed that he’s not trying to tell premiers what to do or cast blame for the alarming surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.
Rather, he wanted to emphasize that the federal government has put in place billions worth of support programs to help individuals and businesses weather lockdowns — and stands ready to pour more money into the effort to get the second wave under control.
Trudeau issued a similar message Tuesday.
“With rising cases of COVID-19 here at home, there’s added pressure on all orders of government to keep people safe, and to protect jobs,” he told a news conference.
“But I would hope that no leader in our country is easing public health vigilance because they feel pressure not to shut down businesses or slow down our economy.
“… I’m imploring the premiers and our mayors to please do the right thing: Act now to protect public health. If you think something is missing in the support we’re offering for your citizens, tell us.”
That message did not sit well with all premiers. Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe said it was “extremely unhelpful” for the prime minister to frame the issue as a “false choice” between protecting Canadians’ health and protecting the economy.
Still, officials said Thursday’s conference call was collegial and constructive. The readout added that “all first ministers reiterated their support for the Team Canada approach to fighting COVID-19.”
Ontario could see as many as 6,500 new daily cases of COVID-19 by mid-December unless steps are taken to limit the spread of the virus, newly released projections showed Thursday as the province marked another record for new infections.
The new modelling predicts at a rate of growth of five per cent, Ontario could hit 6,500 cases per day by mid-December. If cases grow by three per cent, the province could be reporting over 3,000 cases per day.
Dr. Adalsteinn Brown says Ontario is currently at a seven-day growth rate around four per cent while the three-day growth rate is closer to six per cent.
When asked whether restrictions currently in place effectively control the amount of growth, Dr. Brown said based on what they are seeing, he would not expect to see any deviations from these models.
“You’ll continue to see growth in cases, you’ll see the high levels of ICU use probably hit, you’ll se the mortality continue to climb in long-term care homes. Even with new restrictions if they are implemented today, you would still see growth,” said Dr. Brown.
“I do not believe there is way that the cases will change without action.”
Bold action is what the head of the Ontario Hospital Association says is needed, noting that provincial hospitals will face significant capacity challenges.
“Bold and decisive leadership is needed immediately from the Government of Ontario to support local public health units and Ontario’s hospitals in the difficult time that lies ahead,” said CEO Anthony Dale in a statement.
Dale says the stanby capacity that was available in hospitals at the onset of the pandemic is now gone and some are certain to face overwhelming conditions unless the Ford government puts new public health measures in place.
“The OHA is urging the province to reconsider its COVID-19 Response Framework and also calls on local public health units to follow the bold leadership that the Region of Pell and City of Toronto have demonstrated.”
The modelling shows key indicators for the pandemic continue to worsen, though the impact varies from region to region.
If the province’s cases grow at a rate of five per cent, Ontario’s case numbers would likely exceed the numbers several countries in Europe are reporting that are now in some form of lockdown — including the U.K., France and Germany.
Public Health says ICU occupancy will exceed the 150-bed threshold under any scenario within the next two weeks and could exceed 400 beds under the worst scenario within six weeks.
Once ICU occupancy exceeds the 150-bed threshold, it impacts whether hospitals can proceed with scheduled surgeries.
Even if new measures are imposed, it will take a while for improvements to appear, Brown said.
The new projections for how the virus might spread in Ontario come as the province has reported daily case increases above 1,000 for the past week, and a record 1,575 on Thursday.
They also come amid ongoing criticism of the province’s new tiered system for managing COVID-19 measures, which places local health units in green, yellow, orange, red, or lockdown categories based on metrics such as the number of cases per 100,000 people.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford defended the colour-coded system, maintaining it is meant to serve as a baseline for local health authorities to build on with additional measures.
Ford said the framework was proposed by Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, and dismissed the criticism as simply a difference of opinion within the medical community.
As the new projections were announced, Williams stressed the numbers reflect infections that took place before the new system took effect, but didn’t rule out any future amendments.
“The framework has not been out for a week yet and we have to see what’s going to happen with that,” he said.
A group representing tens of thousands of Ontario physicians called Thursday for the government to lower the thresholds for imposing stricter measures, saying the framework is too lax, particularly at a time when case counts are surging.
The Ontario Medical Association said the criteria to move from one alert level to the other should be much lower – as much as 50 per cent lower in some cases – and the higher levels should include a ban on indoor dining in restaurants and bars.
Deaths in long-term care homes are up substantially, with 71 being reported in the last seven days. There are currently almost 1,100 cases of COVID-19 in long-term care homes including staff cases.
The numbers also show over 60 per cent of cases reported in Toronto have no epidemiological link and in Peel Region, the positivity rate for COVID-19 is over 10 per cent.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will face questions today from senators scrutinizing the government’s latest bid to provide pandemic aid to hard-hit businesses.
Freeland is scheduled to testify early this afternoon to the Senate’s national finance committee that is reviewing the aid bill, known as C-9.
The House of Commons agreed last week to pass the proposed package of measures quickly, but none can be enacted until the Senate passes it as well.
Bill C-9 would extend the federal wage subsidy until next summer, cancelling a previously planned decline in its value, as well as expanding a popular business loan program.
The legislation would also redo a program for commercial rent relief that was widely criticized because its original design needed buy-in from landlords, many of whom did not participate.
And it would also provide top-up help for businesses whose revenues crash because of local lockdowns, similar to those being imposed in parts of the country right now as COVID-19 case numbers rise.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2020.
Disturbing details emerging from the latest release of transcripts of the Canadian Armed Forces testimony before the Long-Term Care Commission.
In a 61 page transcript released Wednesday from an October 29 meeting, military officials say it became immediately clear long-term care homes were in “crisis” when they were called in by the provincial government during the height of the first wave of the pandemic earlier this spring.
They found a “clear rapid decline in staffing” and that no one was being held to account, there was no oversight to ensure “people weren’t conducting themselves in an unethical manner.”
The report was yet another stark reminder of the challenges faced by members of the military after they were deployed into various long-term care settings.
According to Major Karoline Martin, what CAF members saw in long-term care homes was so bad that mental health teams needed to be brought in to support the military staff in these settings.
“It was very traumatic. It was very devastating to clinicians to see residents passing away.”
The Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission is investigating how the novel coronavirus spread in the long-term care system and will submit its final report on April 30, 2021.
The Toronto Catholic District School Board has voted to sanction trustee Michael Del Grande for breaching the Code of Conduct for comparing LGBTQ+ terms to criminal acts.
Among the sanctions, the board agreed to censure Del Grande for behaviour which was disrespectful to the LBGTQ community, that he publicly apologize and complete an equity training program.
Del Grande now has 14 days to provide a written submission to the board’s decision.
The move reverses a previous vote on Aug. 20 that fell short of finding Del Grande had violated the code despite a third-party report which concluded three months earlier that he did.
The motion received the requisite eight votes during a lengthy special meeting called by the board on Wednesday night that stretched into the early hours of Thursday morning and often times featured cantankerous discussion. At one point, chairman Joseph Martino exclaimed, “I can’t take this anymore” while calling for a five minute break shortly after midnight as trustees were bickering over various points of order and amendments.
Trustee Nancy Crawford voted against the motion, saying it was “not a good way to resolve the problem” while trustees Michael Del Grande, Teresa Lubinski and Garry Tanuan all elected not to cast a vote.
Crawford added the move sets a “very, very serious precedent” and could mean that trustees will be dealing with reopening complaints regularly.
In voting to reverse the previous vote and for sanctions, trustee Maria Rizzo said “we have to right a wrong” noting that the controversy could have easily been solved with an apology.
The board failed to pass an amendment that any report on breaches of the Code of Conduct be made public.
Former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynn was among the delegations to the meeting calling for Del Grande to be sanctioned and the report be released publicly.
A least several delegates disagreed with the motion to revisit the vote, calling it “a vindictive agenda.”
Del Grande raised issue with the special meeting, saying his charter rights were being violated by the board by having the topic brought up once again adding that he would not participate in any discussion when it came to the motion in question.
In a legal opinion prepared for the meeting, Del Grande’s lawyer Charles I.M. Lugosi said the board had no right to hold a second vote on his clients comments.
“To proceed would be unlawful and amount at a minimum to an abuse of process that will harm the credibility of the Board. The legal issues that apply go far beyond the interests of the adversaries involved, and undermine the integrity of the Board itself.”
The trial for the man who killed 10 people and hurt 16 others in a van attack in Toronto resumes Thursday.
Alek Minassian has pleaded not guilty and has raised a defence of being not criminally responsible for his actions.
CityNews reporter Adrian Ghobrial is covering the trial, follow his tweets below.:
He faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.
Minassian’s state of mind at the time of the attack will be the sole issue at trial.
The defence has not yet stated what mental disorder Minassian will argue he suffered from.
Minassian has admitted in court he planned and carried out the attack.
He told a detective the attack was retribution against society because he was a lonely virgin who believed women wouldn’t have sex with him.
