News release: In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 200 health care workers, community members, and organizations in Nova Scotia are urging provincial officials to ensure access to healthcare for migrants who do not currently have health coverage.
Open letter: We would respectfully suggest that ending the chronically low staffing levels in long-term care should be considered an urgent priority, and not a topic only to be considered later.
PSA: On Tuesday April 14 please join a twitter storm and email campaign to demand the release of as many prisoners as possible from federal custody. Delaying release places us all in danger.
A quick story on the lack of support for people on social assistance during this godawful pandemic. “I have multiple chronic illnesses that put me in the high risk category from COVID-19. Not just from the illness itself, but also, if I do get sick it will likely worsen, maybe permanently, all the illnesses I’m already struggling with.”
Kate MacDonald writes a heartfelt reflection on how privilege doesn’t disappear in a pandemic, it amplifies. “A virus that has been linked directly to travel and exposure now needs a home to grow its roots of blames in. Of course that blame falls on the bodies of Black folks.”
Kendall Worth on how the Easter weekend will be lonely for all this year, not just the very poor. “During this Easter let’s think about ways we can move forward after these public health restrictions can be lifted. Let’s bring the community together to include both those who are financially better off and the poor, and let’s get rid of stigma,” he writes.
“We’re already fighting the battle of being Black, the battle of being from North Preston,” says Miranda Cain. “And now we’re fighting the battle of being from North Preston and Black and with an infectious disease.”
Media release: The Twin Bays Coalition would like to thank Cermaq Canada for listening to, and hearing the overwhelming opposition expressed by Nova Scotians to open net pens in Nova Scotian waters.
Facing the same threat of coronavirus, a new order issued by Dr. Strang institutes more accountability for nursing homes than for institutions for people with developmental disabilities. That leaves Community Services off the hook, and that is wrong, says human rights lawyer Claire McNeil. As well, protocols around isolation of infected residents need to be revisited.
10 pedestrians died in Halifax traffic over the last 2 years, almost half of them while using a crosswalk. Making crosswalks safer is not rocket science, writes Martyn Williams, so why should we accept that our life and personal safety is less important than traffic flow?