Today's tonic: "COVID-19 misinformation cost at least 2,800 lives and $300M, new report says"

Today's tonic: 

COVID-19 misinformation cost at least 2,800 lives and $300M, new report says

The report — released by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), an independent research organization that receives federal funding — examined how misinformation affected COVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths between March and November of 2021.

The authors suggest that misinformation contributed to vaccine hesitancy for 2.3 million Canadians. Had more people been willing to roll up their sleeves when a vaccine was first available to them, Canada could have seen roughly 200,000 fewer COVID cases and 13,000 fewer hospitalizations, the report says.

"In a democracy, the public should be able to understand the risks we're facing … and act on that basis," he said. "But if you're drenched in misinformation … then you're distorting the public's ability — and you're denying people the right — to be informed about the risks they're facing."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cost-of-covid-19-misinformation-study-1.6726356

Today's tonic: "Seriously, why should we care about anything Twitter trolls have to say?"

Today's tonic: "Seriously, why should we care about anything Twitter trolls have to say?" by @reggcohn

https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2023/01/23/seriously-why-should-we-care-about-anything-twitter-trolls-have-to-say.html

#cdnpoli #Twitter

Today’s tonic: “Will the real Pierre Poilievre please stand up?”

Today’s tonic: “Will the real Pierre Poilievre please stand up?” by @konradyakabuski 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-will-the-real-pierre-poilievre-please-stand-up/

#cdnpoli #Quebec

The Toronto Midtown Yonge Complete Street Pilot needs to become permanent!

For decades, many parts of Toronto have been dangerous for most cyclists and pedestrians.

Slowly, thanks to the leadership of community activists and many others, we continue to see gradual improvements to our road infrastructure that promotes safety for all.  While a fully integrated network of bike lanes that connects the whole city remains elusive, there has been big progress on its creation. 

Furthermore, as a winter cyclist, I can attest that most bike lanes in the downtown core are promptly cleared within a couple days of snowfalls.

The permanent implementation of bike lanes on Bloor West has improved road safety for everyone, without impacting significantly on motorist driving times. 

A more recent major win for safety was the Midtown Yonge Complete Street Pilot which temporarily created bike lanes as well as more car parking and street design on Yonge Street north of Bloor all the way up to Davisville Avenue. 

These bike lanes have impacted on me directly as my doctor's office is located on Yonge Street south of St. Clair Avenue.  Before the pilot project, I took considerable risk cycling north or south along Yonge.  So I am sincerely grateful for the pilot.  

City of Toronto data recently released shows the Yonge Street pilot streetscape between Davisville and Bloor continues to see increased use from pedestrians and cyclists with minimal disruption to the flow of traffic.  This jibes with my experience along Bloor West, where the complete street makes for a safer, more predictable trip for all involved, including motorists.  

It's urgent that the Midtown Yonge Complete Street pilot become permanent, in my humble opinion.   

We are down to a couple of weeks until the Midtown Yonge Complete Street is voted on at the Infrastructure & Environment Committee (IEC) on January 30th at Toronto City Hall.  I've been happy to help out a bit to support the group Yonge4All, including its super-active leader Holly Reid, which has been advocating for the pilot and collecting signatures from residents supporting it being made permanent.  

If you haven't signed the petition, here is the link.   

And please consider contacting Mayor John Tory or your local councillor if you agree.  I'll update this page in the days ahead with more information and ways to support this important cause.  

Tonight’s tonic: “Shine a brighter light on contract government - Ottawa's becoming addicted to consulting firms.”

Tonight’s tonic: “Shine a brighter light on contract government - Ottawa's becoming addicted to consulting firms. Other countries have rung the alarm. It's time for the same to happen here.” 

Journalist Paul Wells outlines the facts about the Trudeau government’s addiction to hiring consultants to tell them what they want to hear.  The quality of this expensive work is dubious at best, as evidenced.   But it’s not just this federal government that is addicted to contracting out decision making in this very non-transparent way.  It’s most governments these days, in Canada and around the world.

Is this saving money?  Nope!  It’s wasting it.  Taxpayers are on the hook.  Politicians can bypass the collective wisdom and transparency of the civil service.  And it seems the only real beneficiaries are these private consultants and their shareholders.  It angers me so much to see this abuse of government.   If I ever got into government, it would be my mission to clean up this practice and end the sleaze. 

https://paulwells.substack.com/p/shine-a-brighter-light-on-contract 

#endthesleaze #cdnpoli #McKinsey 

UPDATE: CBC’s English version of the story that Wells was referencing is out today.