I was studying law a couple of years after the charter came into force, before the Supreme Court had made any important charter rulings. My constitutional law prof (a self-professed human rights activist) gushed over the charter and how significant a development it was in terms of Canadian Constitutional law and human rights. He spent hours analyzing and giving us his views on section 1. I recall conversations where a small number of us professed our disagreement with his analysis that section 1 was reasonable and necessary. We have been proven right. He was wrong. He was a Liberal btw.
I was in the reverse situation at my mom’s condo in Montreal a few months back. The building also has a two person per elevator rule as well as a mask rule. The elevator stopped at my floor and the door opened. There was a father and his daughter inside. I stepped into the elevator and the man started scolding me, telling me I’m not allowed in. I told him I wasn’t sick and that I’m getting in and if he wanted to get out and wait for the next elevator that’s fine with me. (I was polite but I was not waiting any longer.). He didn’t leave the elevator but grumbled in Arabic and French all the way down about me ignoring the rules blah blah blah. I then pointed out to him that he was in no position to complain about me not following the rules because he also was not following the rules. (There was a mask rule which I complied with and he and his daughter didn’t.) He grumbled more and challenged my assertion of a mask rule. I pointed out the big sign in front of his face. Bottom line, in buildings with elevator capacity rules if the lift arrives with someone in it I generally ask if they mind if I enter. No one apart from the grumpy man in my mom’s building has ever objected
So many people are in the same boat. Get the least obstructive mask possible just to go along with the theatre when necessary. I use a very thin cloth mask that is easy to breathe thru but it’s a bit tight. I find the standard paper blue ones worn very loosely are quite good, and no one will tell you to fit it properly.
Masks are generally required in malls, grocery stores and other public spaces indoors. I’m staying with family so I haven’t checked out the hotels yet, although the rules do require masks. That said, restaurants are open and people are eating out. Outdoors is a mix. Some wear masks others don’t.
Wealth tax! It will be more of an asset tax, which folks already pay on real estate. But soon they will tax bank account balances. This is the result of uncontrolled Govt spending: constantly looking for new sources of revenue for the Govt.
Only so-called “journalists” care. Everyone else is happy and wishes the number would increase by a factor or 10 or 50! There are no more journalists. Research and investigative reporting are dead. Agenda driven opinion is now couched as news. This is great news.
I haven’t been paying too much attention to all the vaccine news since I don’t intend to get one, at least until many have had a shot and the side effects or lack thereof become apparent. I also feel that if everyone else is getting a shot then I won’t need one. (Unless it’s a requirement for travel etc.)
But here is the question. There seem to be 3 or 4 pharma firms set to deliver approved vaccines, each with around 95% effectiveness. That’s the news I have heard. What I haven’t heard much of is how long does the vaccine remain effective? Will folks need repeated booster or shots like a Flu shot? Or is it a one time thing?
Sad story but not an example of why draconian, authoritarian measures are needed for the entire population. It’s not that uncommon that people pick up viral or other infections in a hospital and get sick.
Whether masks work, the procedures I saw at the JGH in Montreal last week when I visited a family member were terrible. Checkpoints are set up at various entrances. Different people give conflicting instructions. There is no effective monitoring of compliance with the restrictions. Some staff seem to treat the Covid protocols as mere suggestions. Contaminated gowns and shields and gloves are just tossed about into hampers and open garbage bins. It’s all theatre.
Yuck. Another vision in my mind I don’t like.