Dr. Homer Tien, CEO and president of Ornge Air Ambulance, will lead the province’s vaccine task force following the end of retired Gen. Rick Hillier’s term.
In a statement, Stephen Warner, spokesman for the Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, says the trauma surgeon will serve as the “operational lead” of the COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force as the province moves into Phase 2 of the vaccine rollout.
Dr. Tien has been a part of the task force since it was established and lead Operation Remote Immunity which delivered and administered vaccines to 31 remote First Nation communities in northern Ontario as well as Moosonee.
His term began on April 1 and will expire on Aug. 31.
Hillier’s term expired on March 31 after “overseeing the development of Ontario’s vaccine rollout plan and associated infrastructure.”
“The plan and infrastructure are now in place, and the province is administering more and more vaccines each day. We are grateful for his leadership and guidance in getting us this far,” said Warner.
He added that thus far the province has administered over two millions vaccines and if supply from the federal government is consistent, it has the capacity to administer over 150,000 a day.
Prior to joining Ornge, Dr. Tien was Medical Director for the Tory Regional Trauma Centre at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He has also served as a trauma surgeon and the Chief of Military Medical and Surgical Specialities with the Canadian Forces, working in combat zones like Afghanistan and the Former Yugoslavia. Dr. Tien was honoured with the Order of Military Merit, presented to members of the Canadian Forces who demonstrate dedication and devotion beyond the call of duty, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
A doctor accused of murdering an 89-year-old man in an eastern Ontario hospital last week had to be supervised at work for a year until recently, The Canadian Press has learned.
The college governing doctors in the province said Dr. Brian Nadler required supervision from February 4, 2020, until February 3, 2021.
“When Dr. Nadler was issued a license to practice in Ontario in 2020, the registration committee made the decision to issue a restricted license rather than a full, independent practice license, which required that he practice under a clinical supervisor,” said Carolyn Silver, general counsel for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Nadler, 35, of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., is a specialist in internal medicine who worked at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital in eastern Ontario.
Ontario Provincial Police said they were called to the hospital last Thursday. A patient, Albert Poidinger, of Point-Claire, Que., was pronounced dead after the police officers arrived. Nadler was charged Friday with one count of first-degree murder and remains in custody.
The college did not say why Nadler’s license was restricted.
“While we cannot speak to any individual circumstances, there are a number of circumstances in which the college might require a clinical supervisor,” Silver said in an email.
“Considerations would include a physician’s education and training, practice history including in other jurisdictions, and whether the physician has been in continuous practice or has not practiced for an extended period of time.”
Typically, Silver said, the restrictions would remain in place until the concerns have been addressed.
Nadler’s restrictions expired on Feb. 3 and he was free to practise medicine without a supervisor after that date.
Hawkesbury and District General Hospital declined comment.
Nadler’s lawyer, Alan Brass, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brass said last week Nadler maintains his innocence and will vigorously defend himself in court.
Earlier Wednesday, the college said it had suspended Nadler’s license after being notified of the allegations against him.
“We recognize that this is an extraordinarily challenging time for the community,” the college said.
The college said it is working with police and that it will take whatever steps are necessary to protect the public.
Nadler is next due in court on April 6.
The provincial agency that governs retirement homes in Ontario has found an Oshawa-area facility failed to protect its residents from neglect and abuse by removing the door handles on rooms of COVID-19 positive residents as well as providing false or misleading information to inspectors.
A report issued by the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) says White Cliffe Terrace Retirement Residence in Courtice “removed door handles to confine residents whose plans of care did not include any safety measures.”
They also found that resident charts with regards to plans of care had not been updated within the last six months.
As CityNews first reported back in February, an anonymous whistleblower came forward with information that a manager at the home ordered maintenance staff to remove door handles on some fourth-floor assisted living suites in a bid to prevent COVID-19 positive residents from freely moving around the facility.
The whistleblower alleges the handles were off the doors for several days until a head office employee discovered it and complained. He claimed they were told by management not to speak about the incident.
Staff at the home have said they received “threats” after the allegations became public.
The RHRA says it is determining next steps in the case which may include enforcement action such as “Administrative Monetary Penalties, Orders and conditions.”
“As with any licensees found in non-compliance, the RHRA will monitor this home moving forward as part of its compliance monitoring process, which will include unannounced inspections,” the RHRA said in a statement. “If ever we become aware of immediate risk of harm to residents, we will not hesitate to use the powers afforded to us under the Retirement Homes Act and will work with community partners to ensure residents are safe.”
Among the corrective measures being taken by the home are a comprehensive re-education of all staff on zero tolerance when it comes to abuse and neglect of residents, the No Restraint Policy and confinement, fire safety and the whistleblowing policy. As well, management will undergo re-education on appropriate measures to take during a COVID-19 outbreak.
Durham Regional Police are continuing the investigate the incident. No charges have been laid at this time.
Diversicare Canada, the company that manages White Cliffe, has also hired an independent firm to investigate the events and team member(s) involvement in the removal of the door handles.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing back against Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s accusation that the federal government’s procurement of COVID-19 vaccines is a joke.
Trudeau took a poke at Ford during a virtual Liberal fundraiser Wednesday night with Procurement Minister Anita Anand, who is in charge of securing vaccines for Canada.
He praised Anand for doing “an incredible job” that has resulted in Canada receiving millions more doses ahead of schedule.
Indeed, Trudeau said the country is on track to have “most Canadians” injected with at least one dose of a vaccine “by the end of June, so we can have a better summer.”
Until now, wary of further production interruptions like those that delayed Canada’s supply of vaccines in February, Trudeau has been unwilling to go beyond his months-old promise that all Canadians who want a vaccine will get one by the end of September.
Earlier this week, Ford blamed the federal government’s inability to secure sufficient doses on a reliable timetable for the fact that Ontario has distributed vaccines unevenly across the province. Some cities, including Ottawa, have complained they’re not getting a fair per capita share of available doses.
“We do not have enough vaccines from the federal government and it’s a joke,” Ford complained, accusing Trudeau’s government of “dropping the ball majorly.”
But Trudeau told Wednesday’s fundraiser that “one of the easiest things to do is to try and point fingers and deflect.”
While he can take criticism, Trudeau said: “I want to take a moment to defend you, Anita.”
He said he promised all premiers “many, many months ago” that Canada would get six million doses by the end of March. That promise was greeted with some skepticism, he added.
“I said, ‘No, no, Doug, you can count on that, we’re going to get them because Anita has told me we will,”’ Trudeau said.
“Well, I guess to a certain point he might have a point that we didn’t get six million doses by the end of March. We are … going to have about 9.5 million doses by the end of this week.
“We’re well beyond the six million doses we promised.”
Earlier Wednesday, at a joint federal-provincial announcement on funding for a vaccine production facility in Toronto, Ford declined to expand on his criticism of COVID-19 vaccine procurement.
“Are we going to have as a big family a few differences? Sure we are,” he said, preferring to concentrate on how collaboratively all three levels of government have been working since the pandemic hit Canada more than a year ago.
By Wednesday evening, however, Ford was tweeting that Ontario received 809,000 fewer vaccine doses in March than it had been promised.
“That’s 809,000 Ontarians who could have received a shot but didn’t. We need more vaccines!”
Ontario is poised to enter a month-long lockdown to try and curb the rise in COVID-19 cases across the province, several sources tells 680 NEWS.
WATCH: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/03/31/ontario-poised-to-enter-month-long-lockdown-sources/
Every region of the province will be placed in the Grey-Lockdown zone starting 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning.
Exact details of the lockdown measures are expected to be confirmed on Thursday by Premier Doug Ford.
Six regions are already in Grey-Lockdown, including Toronto, Peel and Hamilton, while another 16 areas are in the Red-Control zone when it comes to provincial restrictions.
Patios, which just reopened in Toronto and Peel Region, will have to close while restaurants and bars can still remain open for takeout and delivery.
Nonessential retail will be allowed to remain open with a 25 per cent capacity limit as is currently permitted in the grey zones.
Some outdoor activities will be allowed such as golf, but team sports will not be allowed.
As well, hair and nail salons along with barbershops that were scheduled to reopen on April 12 under modified Grey-Zone restrictions will now remain closed.
Sources tell 680 NEWS that schools will remain open next week as they prepare to head into the delayed spring break, scheduled to begin April 12. It’s uncertain if students will return to the class following the week-long break.
The province started to reopen its economy earlier this month but implemented an “emergency brake” measure that would allow it to move regions into lockdown if cases spike.
For the seventh day in a row, Ontario reported more than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, while the number of patients in intensive care units (ICU) reached the highest number since the pandemic began last year.
Critical Care Services Ontario, which tracks hospitalizations in the province, stated that 421 patients are currently in the ICU with a COVID-19-related critical illness.
In its daily update, the province said 1,111 people are currently being treated in hospital overall.
The latest report from the province’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table showed that variants of concern (VOC) have sent more Ontarians to the ICU, and that people infected with the variants were more likely to be hospitalized and die.
The advisory group also said in its report that as of March 28, variants comprised 67 per cent of all infections, and the B.1.1.7 variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom made up 90 per cent of variant cases.
A 23-year-old woman Peel police allege had been kidnapped from a Brampton residence over the weekend has been found.
WATCH: A 23-year-old woman Peel police allege had been kidnapped from a Brampton residence over the weekend has been found.
Police said the woman walked into a Brampton police station by herself at around 7:30 p.m. Monday.
“She is safe and our investigation is still ongoing,” police said.
Police said the woman was seen by paramedics and transported to the hospital for a condition not related to the incident.
The man police allege is connected to the incident, 21-year-old Kwami Garwood has not yet been located, police said.
Investigators said the incident began just before 3:00 a.m. Sunday when they received numerous calls about a man “screaming and banging on doors” outside a Brampton residence.
According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), police entered the home and made their way to the garage area where they discovered a man in the driver’s seat of a car with a woman in the back seat.
The suspect fled the area in a vehicle with the woman inside, who investigators alleged was being held against her will by Garwood.
On Sunday, police recovered a black Honda Civic but said the suspect and victim remain at large.
In an update on Monday morning, investigators said both the victim and the suspect travelled in a taxi to the area of Ruddington Drive and Bayview Avenue in Toronto at approximately 4:00 a.m.
Shortly afterward, a red or orange Kia Soul was observed entering a parking lot at 3230 Bayview Avenue in Toronto, which is also in the area of Ruddington Drive and Bayview Avenue.
The vehicle may or may not be involved but investigators say they’re hoping to speak with the driver.
Police said Garwood is known to them and wanted on four outstanding warrants throughout the GTA, including a first-degree murder warrant in July 2020.
The victim is not known to police.
Garwood is believed to be armed and dangerous and police are asking anyone that sees him or the victim to contact 9-1-1 immediately.
Though more than 90 per cent of Ontario long-term care residents have been vaccinated and cases inside homes have dropped to near-zero, most living in care are still being forced to stay inside – and they are demanding to be let out.
WATCH: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/03/30/ontario-seniors-stuck-inside-long-term-care-want-to-be-let-out/
Advocates and residents say the continued restrictions amount to elder abuse and a violation of their human rights.
“No one has COVID-19 in this building, and yet we cannot leave our room. So, what does it take?” said Chuck, a resident at Southlake Long-term Care Village in Newmarket.
Many Ontario long-term care residents have been stuck inside since the pandemic began, more than a year ago. They say the restrictions no longer make sense.
“It is not enough just being alive. We need better quality of life,” said Alfred Borg, a long-term care resident in Newmarket.
Michelle Morriseau’s mother is in a long-term care facility in Thunder Bay. She says her mother is more alert when she’s outdoors.
“Why can’t I take my mom for a half an hour walk? Just to get her outside? Where’s her quality of life?” she asks. “How can you take that away from an elder – someone who has lived their life, they’ve contributed, and this is what they get?
At a press conference today, advocates from Voices of Long-Term Care and the Ontario Health Coalition joined doctors and residents to call on the Ford government to require long-term care homes to allow residents outside, and to forbid them from blocking their mobility rights.
“They’re not asking to go to malls and restaurants like all the rest of us are allowed to do now,” says Sandra Caleta, spokesperson for Voices of Long-term Care. “They simply want to go outside, get fresh air, feel the sunshine on their faces.”
The groups have been asking the Ontario government to direct long-term care homes to lift restrictive policies since the beginning of March, when both case numbers and deaths dropped dramatically in the homes thanks to vaccines.
There have been zero resident deaths due to COVID-19 since March 18, and there are currently only nine active resident cases, Ontario government figures show.
“People have been vaccinated,” says Dr. Amit Arya, a palliative care physician and board member of the Ontario Health Coalition. “What was the point if they couldn’t start to enjoy life again?”
While inside the homes, a new report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information found residents received less medical care during the first wave of the pandemic when compared to the previous year. The number of residents who received a visit from a physician was down 16 per cent, while there was also a slight increase in the prescription of anti-psychotic drugs to residents.
The study also found residents who had no contact with friends or family were 36 per cent more likely to be assessed with depression.
Long-term care resident Chuck says government officials don’t understand the conditions they are confining seniors to.
“I have challenged someone from the Ministry of Health to live in one of our rooms for a week,” he says, “to subject themselves to their rules – and then see what they would say.”
When CityNews asked the Ministry of Long-term Care about the issue, a spokesperson for Minister Merrilee Fullerton emailed the same statement the office sent us nine days ago, when we asked for an update on the rules.
After initially sending CityNews the same statement as nine days ago, the Ministry of Long-term Care eventually said the Minister has engaged with public health officials to “discuss the best path forward for residents while balancing their needs and safety.
A spokesperson for the Minister of Long-term Care said they are looking at options and will have more to say in the coming days.
“We have seen incidents in jurisdictions were residents who have been vaccinated contract COVID-19. Variants of concern poses a real threat to long-term care despite nearly every resident being fully immunized,” read the statement. “We continue to vaccinate staff, essential care givers, and other vulnerable groups and are seeing the positive effects.”
When asked today why the rules surrounding long-term care homes have not been relaxed, Premier Doug Ford said, “We have to be super cautious.”
The Ontario New Democrats’ critic for community and social services says the government’s response to seniors’ pleas has been “shameful and dismissive.”
“This government chooses to come forward with excuses,” says MPP Lisa Gretzky.
Dr. Arya says the lack of action illustrates the power imbalance between the government and care home operators, and the residents who live under their roofs.
“The operators and governments make decisions that are contrary to the evidence, contrary to logic, and contrary to scientific expertise as well,” he says.
With files from The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is warning Ontarians not to make plans for Easter, saying he is “extremely concerned” about rising COVID-19 numbers.
WATCH: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/03/30/ford-ontario-easter-covid-19/
“Everything is on the table right now, so folks, be prepared, I am asking you don’t make plans for Easter,” the premier said on Tuesday.
“I won’t hesitate to lock things down if we have to. I did it before, I’ll do it again.”
Ford also said the government has the “emergency brake” option and won’t hesitate to use it if necessary.
“That’s why we have the emergency brake available, which we’ve used a few times in different regions and we won’t hesitate to do it again,” he said.
The province started to reopen its economy earlier this month but implemented an “emergency brake” measure that would allow it to move regions into lockdown if cases spike.
Ford also hinted his government is considering additional restrictions to combat the surge in cases.
He did not specify what measures are being considered but said that any decision he has made has been in consultation with the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said they are keeping a “very close eye on the situation.”
“We are in regular contact, daily contact with the local medical officers of health and with Dr. Williams and the public health measures table … if we need to take action and put on the emergency brake, we won’t hesitate to do that,” Elliott said.
The Ontario Hospital Association has said that intensive care units are seeing younger people, some with severe cases of COVID-19.
“I am extremely concerned on the situation we are seeing and the numbers going up. I am also very concerned about seeing the age group, the younger people, now in ICUs,” Ford said.
“Nothing is more important than our health … please, I am asking folks don’t make big huge plans with family members, that’s where the problem starts.”
Ontario reported more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday for the sixth day in a row, as the number of deaths and hospitalizations continued to rise.
The total number of patients being treated in hospital grew by 249 to 1,090. Of that total, 387 people are in the ICU and 249 are in the ICU on a ventilator.
With files from The Canadian Press
York Region and Halton Region have announced residents 65 and older can begin to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments as of Wednesday.
York and Halton have been using their own booking portals, rather than the province’s. Approximately 15,000 appointments will be made available Wednesday morning in York.
Appointments are required and they will not be accepting any walk-ins.
The province began allowing those 70 and older in several GTA municipalities to book their shot on Monday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that Pfizer and BioNTech will send another five million doses of their mRNA vaccine to Canada in June, bringing their total shipments in the spring to 17.8 million.
The company is expected to ship more than one million doses a week in April and May, and more than two million every week in June.
Tributes and memories are pouring in for beloved drag icon Michelle Ross.
The Jamaican-born Canadian drag performer passed away Sunday according to social media posts. Her cause of death remains unknown.
The Toronto-based performer’s career spanned four decades, allowing her to grace the international stage as Diana Ross and other iconic divas.
Ross was a well-known advocate for the BIPOC and LGBTQS2 community, regularly participating in fundraisers to support services in Toronto.
“We bid adieu to a legend, a queen, an icon: Michelle Ross.” tweeted Church Street community centre, The 519. “Michelle, reigned the local drag scene. Known to exude kindness and warmth, she wowed folks at our Green Space Festival helping raise funds for our communities. Rest in power, Ms. Ross!”
The award-winning performer inspired many in Toronto’s drag community, including Drag Race Canada host and judge, Brooklyn Hytes, who wrote: “Wishing more than anything I could be sitting in Toronto at Woodys with all my sisters laughing and crying tonight. We will miss you Michelle”
“Michelle Ross always spread kindness, positivity and love” shared Sofonda, “A true legend and Icon of our community. This sad news came as a shock. Hoping for her close Friends and Family to have the strength and love in these trying times . Losing a loved one is very difficult. RIP Michelle. We Love you.”
