Woodstock's Friendly Ghost Costume Stop heads outdoors - Woodstock Sentinel Review

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It’s that time of year when children engage their imagination and search for a costume in the spirit of Halloween.

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And to help spark these often spooky flights of fancy, the annual Friendly Ghost Costume Stop has returned to Woodstock with an outdoor edition.

On Oct. 1, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., the costume event will be held at the Cowan Park Sportsplex in the outdoor parking lot, where parents and kids can pick out new-to-them costumes.

Every year, Sarah Allen, organizer of the Friendly Ghost Costume Stop, accepts donations of gently used costumes for toddlers, kids and teens.

The costumes are then distributed during the free costume shopping event.

There are some spooky costumes available during the Friendly Ghost Costume Stop’s free outdoor event on Friday.SUBMITTED PHOTO jpg, WD

“My house and my car are filled with costumes. I have four kids, so I know how expensive costumes are. Costumes are typically $30 to $50, if not more, depending on designer brands,” Allen said.

“Most of the time, kids only wear a costume once before it’s thrown in a box, so I thought, ‘why not reuse them?’ Halloween should not be expensive.”

Allen began running the Friendly Ghost Costume Stop about seven years ago.

“I started in Ingersoll and then I partnered with the Movement Church. This is now my third year, partnering with the City of Woodstock. They provide the venue, and I provide the costumes. The city has been so supportive and they make it work every year.”

Emma Vondervoort, facility manager at the Cowan Park Sportsplex said the city had already organized a Christmas decoration exchange, so a Halloween-themed event seemed a natural fit.

“Halloween costumes can be costly. Why not help families so that costumes can be more accessible in a cost-effective way?” Vondervoort said.

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From babies to adults, there will be a variety of costumes for everyone.

“Teens often get left out, and often they need an adult costume. We don’t want anyone to be excluded. Everyone should have the opportunity to celebrate Halloween,” Allen said.

Last year, the event was held at Goff Hall but, instead of the usual drop-in approach, people came by appointment to accommodate crowd limits and social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The great thing is that, this year, the event is outside so everyone can be included and have fun while shopping for their special costume,” Allen said.

“The objective this year is to have at least 200 to 300 costumes available at the event.”

This year, social distancing will also be in effect and masks are recommended.

Halloween decorations will also be available, as well as a “create-your-own costume” table.

“We have lot of bits and pieces from hats and noses. You can collect some pieces and create your own costume,” Allen said. “We’ve had so much support. Little Caesars has been accepting donations and giving out coupons. I’ve received cash donations as well, so I’ve been buying costumes too. We have lots, but come quick. They go fast.”

Allen said she is grateful for the support received from volunteers.

“I have a great team. I’m so thankful to everyone for their help in putting this together.”

Allen said the children and their excitement make the event so special every year.

“People need to come out for the kids. The best part is seeing them pick out their costume. They get so excited,” Allen said.

“When they leave, they are so happy and that is what it’s all about, making smiles.”

To donate a costume or for more information about the Friendly Ghost Costume Stop, visit its Facebook page.

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Over $17000 in drugs seized during Sarnia, Ont. traffic stop - CTV News London

London, Ont. -

A traffic complaint netted Sarnia, Ont. police a large amount of drugs.

Just before 11 p.m. Wednesday, police received a complaint about a vehicle in the Devine Street and John Street area.

During the traffic stop, officers seized crystal methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine along with Canadian and American cash.

Police say the total street value of the drugs is $17,586.

A 35-year-old Sarnia man is facing three counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

He remains in custody pending a bail hearing.

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Over $17000 in drugs seized during Sarnia, Ont. traffic stop - CTV News London
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Stop, listen and watch: Stories for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - The Globe and Mail

Rhymes for Young Ghouls was written and directed by Jeff Barnaby and stars Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs as Aila.

eOne Films via CP

Thursday is the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, a new federal holiday. Several Canadian broadcasters, principally CBC and APTN, offer a slate of programming and content showcasing First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives and experiences. It’s an opportunity to stop, sit, listen and watch.

Those Canadian broadcasters who offer little or nothing, on the day, should be scolded for their ignoramus attitude. If Hollywood Suite, a specialty channel devoted mainly to film, can present a full day of programming for the event, so can bigger commercial broadcasters.

We Know the Truth: Stories to inspire reconciliation (Thursday, CBC, 9 p.m. and CBC Gem) is a CBC Manitoba documentary hosted by Stephanie Cram. It’s a plain-spoken presentation that aims to explain how to “recast Canada’s history and future through the empowerment of Indigenous Peoples.” To that end, it profiles and gives voice to people who are challenging the conventional history of Canada and in particular that of residential schools. It has various survivors of the schools who have never spoken publicly about their experience. And it has survivors who call themselves “thrivers” because they have been open about their personal history to their families and plan to thrive because they are reclaiming what was lost to them. There is both anger and pride here as the program explores pathways still livid with rage. But it also suggests that although the problems are daunting, solutions exist, and it asks, what personal acts of reconciliation will you be adopting?

The 21 best TV series to stream so far in 2021

There is a live program, produced by the NCTR (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation) on both CBC and APTN at 8 p.m. to “provide Canadian viewers with the opportunity to honour residential school survivors in ceremony.” That is followed by Indian Horse (APTN, 9 p.m. and also streaming on Netflix Canada). The feature-length drama, from 2017, is based on the popular novel by Ojibway writer Richard Wagamese. It begins in the late 1950s with eight-year-old Saul Indian Horse (Sladen Peltier), going deep into the bush with his grandmother Naomi (Edna Manitowabi), his parents, and his ill older brother. It’s an attempt to escape the authorities who want to put Saul’s brother back in a residential school. This segment, drenched in landscape and light, is very powerful. Thereafter, the film follows Saul through the residential system and his sanity being saved by a gift for hockey. The film goes awry as the adult Saul (Ajuawak Kapashesit) breaks down while enduring racist abuse as a pro hockey player. But it stands as a forceful story of hard-fought survival.

Hollywood Suite has a full day of programming from Indigenous filmmakers and producers on Thursday, including the classic Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, at 9 p.m. Before that, there’s the less well-known film Rhymes for Young Ghouls, written and directed by Mi’kmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, from 2014. Set in the 1970s on the Mi’kmaq Red Crow Reserve, it stars Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs as Aila, a steely, streetwise teenage girl.

We Know the Truth: Stories to Inspire Reconciliation is a CBC Manitoba documentary that recasts Canada's history and future through the empowerment of Indigenous people.

CBC

Nobody’s fool in this tough world she inhabits, Aila’s business is selling weed and she’s getting rich from it. Rich enough to avoid the prison that is the nearby residential school, St. Dymphna’s. That’s where Indian agent Popper (Mark A. Krupa) wants to put her. When things fall apart for her, Aila plans retribution and the film becomes an extraordinary revenge-fantasy narrative with plenty of dark-magic realism. Breathtaking at times, and twisted, it’s fuelled by incandescent rage.

Over on CBC Gem there’s an entire Truth and Reconciliation Collection, including The Secret Path, the animated film adaptation of Gord Downie’s album and Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel. Using Downie’s poetry and music, Lemire creates a visual representation of the life of Chanie Wenjack, an Anishinaabe boy, and his escape from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in 1966 and his death from hunger and exposure while trying to find his way home.

Right now, the public sphere is infested with all manner of arguments and bitterness. Rationality is in scarce supply. But we should all be able to agree on something and that something is that there is a past to be reckoned with. On the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, there’s plenty to contemplate across multiple TV platforms, so just stop, listen and watch.

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Communitech ordered to stop supplying rapid COVID-19 test kits to parent groups - CTV News Kitchener

Waterloo -

Free COVID-19 rapid testing kits supplied by the government are no longer being given to community groups in Waterloo Region.

Communitech said their volunteers made a mistake after supplying the test kits to groups that are not small businesses.

Communitech is one of many agencies across the country running what they call a "Stay Safe" program, supplying free test kits.

A representative with the StaySafe program at Communitech in Kitchener said the Ministry of Health recently contacted them and ordered them not to supply COVID-19 rapid tests to their “ambassadors,” roughly 4,000 parents and other individuals who were previously allowed to sign up and receive regular supplies of test kits, no questions asked.

Communitech and the Stay Safe program distributes the tests on behalf of local chambers of commerce and all three levels of government.

A memo sent to those who had applied for tests at Communitech said their volunteers misunderstood the purpose of the program.

"Some of the communications you received from StaySafe, as Ambassadors, clearly implied that general community group use was a key part of the Ambassador program. We want to apologize for this - that was our fault, not yours. Our program volunteers work so hard to keep you updated and supplied - this was an honest mistake by volunteers who were not fully aware of the program parameters," the memo reads.

Parents in a local school group had organized a pop-up testing site at Mary Allen Park in Waterloo. The aim was to give parents extra peace of mind as their kids are going to school but are not yet eligible to be vaccinated.

But this morning, the Ford government said the rapid kits should not be going to parents. The public is now being told these kits were only supposed to be given to small businesses.

Communitech said all orders made before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday would be filled, but after that, each would have to be reviewed individually to ensure they are for business use only.

Prior to the deadline, Meaghan Gibbons, a parent of three, picked up kits.

"It's difficult as a parent knowing they are going into a space where maybe 40 minutes a day they have their masks off eating lunch. You can't do that at restaurants. You can't do that unvaccinated in all sorts of places," she said.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce, which oversees boards of trade who distribute the rapid test kits, said they were always only intended for small businesses.

With files from CTV Toronto.

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Communitech ordered to stop supplying rapid COVID-19 test kits to parent groups - CTV News Kitchener
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Ford government orders agencies to stop giving parents, community groups rapid COVID-19 tests - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News

Ontario’s Ministry of Health has ordered several agencies to stop supplying rapid antigen COVID-19 tests to parents, as a growing number of them sought the tests to create their own ad-hoc surveillance testing programs in schools.

Officials with two agencies tasked with distributing rapid tests from the federally-procured stockpile to the public told CP24 they were ordered by the Ministry of Health to stop distributing the tests to parents, and restrict distribution of the tests to small businesses only.

A parent in Toronto’s Deer Park neighbourhood told CP24 they applied to the Toronto Region Board of Trade rapid test distribution program and were denied twice this week.

A denial from the board, sent on Monday, stated “parent/volunteer groups do not fall within the eligibility requirements for this program and as such, your appointment has been cancelled.”

A number of other parent groups have previously used the board’s online portal to accessthe testing supplies used to develop their do-it-yourself surveillance programs this school year.

“As we’ve been asked to do by the government, when it is clear that a request is from an organization that does not fit the (small and medium enterprise) category, we are informing them that they are ineligible and directing them to the appropriate provincial channel for further supports,” Toronto Region Board of Trade spokesperson Lindsay Broadhead told CP24 on Wednesday.

An official with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, which oversees boards of trade who distribute rapid tests, told CP24 nothing had changed and parents and community groups should have never been eligible to receive supplies of rapid tests.

But they did not comment when told of the recent supply refusals and denials shown to CP24 by several parents.

A representative with the StaySafe program at Communitech in Kitchener said the Ministry of Health contacted them in the past 48 hours and ordered them not to supply COVID-19 rapid tests to their “ambassadors,” roughly 4,000 parents and other individuals who were previously allowed to sign up and receive regular supplies of test kits, no questions asked.

All of them will now be shut out. Communitech and the Stay Safe program distributes the tests on behalf of local chambers of commerce and all three levels of government.

A memo sent to those who applied for tests at Communitech said their volunteers misunderstood the purpose of the program.

"Some of the communications you received from StaySafe, as Ambassadors, clearly implied that general community group use was a key part of the Ambassador program. We want to apologize for this - that was our fault, not yours. Our program volunteers work so hard to keep you updated and supplied - this was an honest mistake by volunteers who were not fully aware of the program parameters."

Lisa Wise-Milestone, who runs a surveillance program at Regal Road Public School using tests from the Toronto Region Board of Trade, said she had not yet been told she was not going to be receiving any more tests but several of her peers had recently been told no.

“The parents in my group at my school, they are going to be disappointed when they hear – it’s the one extra thing we could do as parents, and they’ve taken it away from us,” she told CP24.

She said the distinction to exclude schools for the benefit of workplaces is absurd, given that elementary school age children cannot yet be vaccinated and everyone else can.

“We have an identified target population now, in the under 12s, and yet they’re giving us no resources, the system is very broken.”

Her only alternative, to carpool with other parents to pick up tests from Communitech in Kitchener, is also gone.

Unvaccinated education workers, and adult workers regardless of vaccination status in a number of businesses sectors remain eligible for asymptomatic COVID-19 rapid surveillance testing in the province.

Asymptomatic children have few free avenues to seek COVID-19 testing, unless they attend high school in one of 13 Ontario school boards or are identified as a contact of a previously identified case.

Both the opposition NDP and Liberals have asked the Ford government this week to expand, not curtail access to rapid tests in schools.

When asked last week, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore urged parents not to “go ahead” of government and set up surveillance COVID-19 testing programs at schools, and several local school boards have distanced themselves from the initiatives.

On Wednesday, Ontario’s publicly-funded school boards reported 170 new school-related cases of COVID-19, with 159 cases found in students and 11 in staff members.

CP24 has identified at least five such parent-run rapid COVID-19 surveillance testing programs operating around the province as of last week, with dozens more in development.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Alexandra Hilkene told CP24 the rapid test programs set up by the province were only ever meant to support businesses and parents should not have received tests through the program.

“This is a program designed with the specific purpose of protecting workers as businesses safely reopen and stay open. No additional restrictions have been placed on this program. Rather, we expect agencies to adhere to program parameters as with any government program.”

She said the government is working on a testing program to target schools in areas with higher than average community spread.

“As Dr. Moore has said repeatedly, widespread asymptomatic surveillance testing in schools is not recommended as it is not an effective tool. Rather it should be used in specific regions where the rate of COVID is higher, which is exactly what the government is working on doing.”

Public Health Ontario (PHO) also weighed in earlier this month, with an evidence brief that said at-home asymptomatic surveillance testing would add “uncertain” safety benefits for schools outside of periods with high community transmission.

But the same document citied major successes with regular surveillance testing in several U.S. states and European countries, saying it demonstrated reduced incidence of cases with school-age children.

PHO also warned implementing surveillance testing in all public schools would be costly and labour intensive.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said Wednesday that the rapid antigen tests would create significant peace of mind for parents.

“We have encountered some difficulties at my daughter’s school and my nephew’s school here in Vaughan,” he said.

“I really do believe that having rapid tests available would help keep our kids and our education workers and our families safer, but also it would have gone a long way in giving moms and dads peace of mind.”

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Ford government orders agencies to stop giving parents, community groups rapid COVID-19 tests - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News
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Ontario government orders agencies to stop supplying parents with rapid COVID-19 tests - CTV News Toronto

TORONTO -- Ontario's Ministry of Health has ordered several agencies to stop supplying rapid antigen COVID-19 tests to parents, as a growing number of them sought the tests to create their own surveillance testing programs in schools.

Officials with two agencies tasked with distributing rapid tests from the federally-procured stockpile to the public told CP24 they were ordered by the Ministry of Health to stop distributing the tests to parents, and restrict distribution of the tests to small businesses only.

A parent in Toronto's Deer Park neighbourhood told CP24 they applied to the Toronto Region Board of Trade rapid test distribution program and were denied twice this week.

A denial from the board, sent on Monday, stated “parent/volunteer groups do not fall within the eligibility requirements for this program and as such, your appointment has been cancelled.”

“As we’ve been asked to do by the government, when it is clear that a request is from an organization that does not fit the (small and medium enterprise) category, we are informing them that they are ineligible and directing them to the appropriate provincial channel for further supports,” Toronto Region Board of Trade spokesperson Lindsay Broadhead told CP24 on Wednesday.

A representative with the Stay Safe program at Communitech in Kitchener said the Ministry of Health contacted them in the past 48 hours and ordered them not to supply COVID-19 rapid tests to their “ambassadors,” roughly 4,000 parents and other individuals who were previously allowed to sign up and receive regular supplies of test kits, no questions asked.

All of them will now be shut out.

Unvaccinated education workers, and adult workers regardless of vaccination status in a number of businesses sectors remain eligible for asymptomatic COVID-19 rapid surveillance testing in the province.

Asymptomatic children have few free avenues to seek COVID-19 testing, unless they attend high school in one of 13 Ontario school boards or are identified as a contact of a previously identified case.

Both the opposition NDP and Liberals have asked the Ford government this week to expand, not curtail access to rapid tests in schools.

When asked last week, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore urged parents no to “go ahead” of government and set up surveillance COVID-19 testing programs at schools, and several local school boards have distanced themselves from the initiatives.

On Wednesday, Ontario’s publicly-funded school boards reported 170 new school-related cases of COVID-19, with 159 cases found in students and 11 in staff members.

CP24 has identified at least five such parent-run rapid COVID-19 surveillance testing programs operating around the province as of last week, with dozens more in development.

CP24 has reached out to the Ministry of Health and Health Minister Christine Elliott’s office for comment on this development but has not yet received a reply.

Public Health Ontario (PHO) also weighed in earlier this month, with an evidence brief that said at-home asymptomatic surveillance testing would add “uncertain” safety benefits for schools outside of periods with high community transmission.

But the same document citied major successes with regular surveillance testing in several U.S. states and European countries, saying it demonstrated reduced incidence of cases within school-age children.

PHO also warned implementing surveillance testing in all public schools would be costly and labour intensive.

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Rolls-Royce to stop making internal combustion cars by decade's end - BNN

In nine years, Rolls-Royce will stop selling vehicles that run on gasoline, Chief Executive Officer Torsten Müller-Ötvös said in a Sept. 29 announcement. The first of the company’s planned all-electric portfolio, the Spectre sedan, will arrive by the fourth quarter of 2023.

“With this new product, we set out our credentials for the full electrification of our entire product portfolio by 2030,” Müller-Ötvös said. “By then, Rolls-Royce will no longer be in the business of producing or selling any internal combustion engine products.”

Müller-Ötvös described the news as the most important decision in the history of the brand since Charles Rolls and Henry Royce agreed they would build cars together on May 4, 1904.

Since its inception, Rolls-Royce has been the vanguard of powerful V12 engine technology and quiet, smooth excellence for the world’s wealthiest and most discerning customers. Many of its most iconic models, from the early Rolls-Royce Phantoms to the modern Cullinan, employed the company’s famous 12-cylinder combustion engine technology. As recently as 2019, Müller-Ötvös was saying he’d keep the V12 around “as long as possible.”

While Spectre will be the first fully-formed production electric car from Rolls-Royce, the brand had previously experimented with a fully operational all-electric Phantom called the 102EX in 2011; an electric 103EX prototype followed in 2016. Rolls-Royce currently offers no hybrid vehicles among its fleet that includes the Phantom sedan, Cullinan SUV, Ghost sedan, Wraith coupe, and Dawn convertible. 

The electric motor was a familiar concept even for Rolls-Royce founders: Henry Royce’s first venture, named F. H. Royce and Company, created dynamos, electric crane motors, and bayonet-style light bulb fitting. In 1900, Charles Rolls drove an electric car named the Columbia and declared it “ideal,” according to Rolls-Royce records.

But Royce noted that the electric car would not become prevalent until a charging network could be established. Many would argue that time still has not arrived, since BMW’s vehicles charge on EVgo’s network of just 800 fast-chargers nationwide. (Presumably the Rolls-Royce Spectre would charge at a well-appointed home set-up rather than resorting to the indignity of charging in public with the masses.)

Further details of the Spectre remain scarce, including pricing. While early rumors say the new vehicle might share motors with BMW’s i7, a spokesman also declined to discuss the drivetrain for the upcoming vehicle.

Rolls-Royce’s news works to keep up with parent company BMW AG as much as anything else. BMW had recently introduced its first-ever all-electric SUV, the BMW iX, which will start deliveries in March 2022. It will soon begin delivering its all-electric i4 sedan as well. Earlier this month, the auto manufacturer upped its battery cell orders to US$24 billion in to keep pace with surging demand for electric cars. During the first half of 2021, EVs comprised 11 per cent of deliveries across the group.

Meanwhile, cross-country rival Bentley has announced it will bring forth a fully electric vehicle by 2025. Bentley has been selling hybrid vehicles for years. 

Spectre will be built on the aluminum spaceframe architecture currently found in the US$455,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom sedan and designed to underpin all forthcoming Rolls-Royce motor cars. The company says it is currently undergoing 2.5 million kilometers of testing by company engineers to ensure its indestructibility—a simulation which approximates “400 years of use” and a veritable Easter-egg hunt for lovers of Goodwood’s pride, since the cars will be tested in “plain sight” on public roads by Rolls-Royce employees, Müller-Ötvös said. 

Where EV technology has neutered other cars from other brands—rendering them more like transportation appliances than driving machines—Rolls-Royces, which are known for their quiet, smooth rides, will naturally excel under battery-power, he continued. “This is not a prototype, it’s the real thing.” 

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Best Sellers: 19 Things GQ Readers Couldn't Stop Buying in September - GQ

All products featured on GQ are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The GQ Recommends team spends a hell of a lot of time digging through deals and drops to bring you well-informed buying advice, from deep dives on the coziest comforters to our weekly Best New Menswear posts to curated intel on the finest jewelry you can score at Amazon. These 19 best sellers below resonated hard in September—so we gathered them here, figuring that if everyone else liked what they saw, you might, too. Check 'em out, subscribe to the GQ Recommends newsletter, and drop us a line if there’s anything you've been hunting for that could use our help.

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Katin pipeline pant

Wear these drawstring rust-color cords like you would jeans: with everything.

J.Crew cotton-silk tipped-collar sweater

Nice Laundry 6-inch lounge short

The perfect lounge-around-the-house shorts now come in purple snow leopard. Enjoy.

$48

Nice Laundry

Banks Journal across hoodie

Half hoodie, half thermal, and somehow half the price you'd expect.

Todd Snyder x L.L.Bean bear sweater

$199

Todd Snyder

Todd Snyder x L.L.Bean hi-pile sherpa snap-front shirt jacket

If your shirt inspires everyone around you to involuntarily pet your torso you know it's a keeper.

$169

Todd Snyder

Todd Snyder x L.L.Bean scenic turtleneck sweatshirt

The most stylish way to send a post card.

$229

Todd Snyder

Apple iPhone 13

Yet again, the smartest smart phone on the planet is the latest iPhone.

Gap vintage soft hoodie

We're well-documented Gap hoodie fans here at GQ, and this one—logoless, drawstring-less, soft as all hell—is maybe their best yet.

J.Crew cashmere hoodie

V76 by Vaughn molding paste

An all-around stellar hair molding paste that's easily workable into most types of hair and will give the optimal balance of hold and shine without suffocating your precious lettuce.

Brickell daily shampoo

Maximum hydration and energizing peppermint make this shampoo a must for guys looking for healthy and fuller-looking hair.

Calvin Klein slim fit non iron dress shirt

A best-selling, rave-review-worthy slim-cut dress shirt.

Quince Mongolian cashmere crewneck sweater

There's a direct-to-consumer brand for everything, including big-ticket Mongolian cashmere sweaters. That's Quince.

Todd Snyder cashmere crewneck sweater

Simple, elegant, and enough panache to truly make a statement.

$298

Todd Snyder

Everlane slim fit jeans

Deep, dark denim with just the right amount of stretch.

Kelices massage gun

At just $50, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better full-size massage gun than Kelices’s. Not only does it come with a wide vibration range, but you’ll get 10 different head attachments and a sturdy carrying case to house it all.

L.L. Bean Scotch plaid flannel shirt

If you're gonna wear one flannel shirt this season, you can't get a better one for the money than this buttery number right here.

Lululemon classic ABC pant

As comfy as your favorite sweats, as feature-rich as your smartphone.

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Horizon Health Network asks people to stop requesting falsified vaccination records from staff - Global News

New Brunswick’s largest health network wants people to stop asking staff to break the law.

Horizon Health Network says people are approaching employees to falsify COVID-19 vaccination records and now there are calls for the province to move quickly on bringing in a secure records system.

“It is clearly breaking the law if you were to do that and I surmise that nobody at Horizon has falsified any records,” said Peter Ford, who owns Ford’s Apothecary in Moncton.

Read more: Fake ‘Maderna’ vaccine card leads to woman’s arrest in Hawaii

Horizon Health’s VP community, Jean Daigle, released a statement on Tuesday saying, “Horizon was made aware of a handful of incidents where members of the public were requesting our health care staff to — in essence — commit fraud on their behalf. We need the public to be fully aware this will not be tolerated and any such incidents will be reported.”

According to RCMP, falsifying vaccination records is a criminal offence and anyone who tries to use or traffics in forged documents could face criminal charges.

“Any person creating a false vaccination record or medical exemption is undermining efforts to keep people safe,” said Coreen Enos, a representative for the N.B. Department of Justice and Public Safety.

Falsifying a vaccination record is a “serious issue,” said Enos, and any instances should be reported to the police or helpaide@gnb.ca

“Under the NB Public Health Act it is an offence for a person to make a false statement, either orally or in writing, with respect to proof of vaccination against COVID-19, medical exemption or travel,” said Enos.

Under the mandatory order, a peace officer may issue a fine in the amount of $480 and, should the offence be brought to court, a judge may issue a fine to an amount not exceeding $20,400 plus fees, said Enos.

1:30 Hospital visitors in New Brunswick will now need proof of COVID-19 vaccination

Hospital visitors in New Brunswick will now need proof of COVID-19 vaccination

Moncton pharmacist Monique Duclos said some of her pharmacist colleagues have been asked to commit fraud, but would not reveal where the incidents took place.

“They were having a clinic at their location and these two girls came in and had an appointment and they came in and simply put their papers and asked the nurse to sign their papers but they didn’t want the shots,” said Duclos.

The president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, Dr. Jeff Steeves, said he’s “somewhat shocked that people would go to that length.”

Steeves said he is not aware of any physicians who have been asked to forge documents but said some doctors are getting a few patient requests for vaccination exemptions and when those requests are denied because the patients do not meet the limited criteria for exemption, the reaction is sometimes quite negative.

“They have not had a lot but everyone said we have had a few and that the range of the reaction went from just being angry with the physician to all the way to verbally abusive,” said Steeves.

Ford says the province needs to move quickly on implementing a records system that is more verifiable so that those being tasked to check for proof of vaccination, such as restaurant staff, know how to spot a fake.

Read more: Are fake vaccine cards being used to enter Canada?

He said the current records that are being used are too easy to forge.

“People can steal a page or a blank record and fill it up themselves. It is just totally bizarre,” he said.

A person submitting false vaccination records could face heavy fines or prosecution under the Criminal Code.

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© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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'Stop pussyfooting around': Canada now free to develop unambiguous policy toward China, experts say - National Post

In the three years the two Michaels were detained, Canada’s policy toward China has been to 'walk on eggshells,' says one international affairs professor

Author of the article:

Anja Karadeglija

Publishing date:

Sep 28, 2021  •  12 hours ago  •  4 minute read  •  80 Comments

In a recent interview, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau said that Canada will "cooperate (with China) in areas where we need to cooperate," and "challenge China ... when appropriate." Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/File

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The return of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor means Canada can develop a clear policy toward China, including more direct criticism of that country’s ongoing human rights violations, experts say.

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“I think now that we’ve got the two Michaels back, it’s time for us to stop pussyfooting around, it’s time for us to make a clear statement about where we stand in the region,” said David Welch, a professor of political science at the University of Waterloo.

Kovrig and Spavor returned to Canada Saturday, after three years of being held prisoner in China in retaliation for Canada arresting Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on behalf of the U.S.

Canada can’t condone China’s use of hostage diplomacy, Welch said.

“And we can’t condone a number of other things China is doing. The violation of their own international commitments to respect the autonomy of Hong Kong, systematic cultural genocide of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, increasing drumbeats of war on the Taiwan Strait, these are all completely unacceptable geopolitically and from Canadian values perspective,” Welch said. “So we have to position ourselves on the right side of history on these issues.”

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In the three years the two Michaels were detained, Canada’s policy toward China has been to “walk on eggshells,” said Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University.

Now, Canada’s “self-imposed restraint” is gone, Hampson said.

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He predicted we might see “a more open and vocal approach to expressing concerns on the broad range of human rights issues.” At the same time, Canada will be looking for cooperation on trade.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau told Global News over the weekend that the “complex” relationship between the two countries was “not going to be developed any further while the two Michaels were being contained.”

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Asked about Canada’s foreign policy with China going forward, Garneau said, “We will coexist, we will compete, we will cooperate in areas where we need to cooperate, such as climate change. And we will challenge China, whether it’s on human rights, or whether it’s on arbitrary detention, when appropriate.”

Welch said Canada has never actually had a coherent policy toward the Asia-Pacific region, due to what he said was an “internal standoff.”

“There has traditionally been a lack of consensus within the Canadian foreign policy establishment as to whether it’s better to try to engage China and accommodate China, or basically stand firmer on principles when Canadian principles and values conflict with Chinese principles and values and Chinese foreign policy goals,” he said. “I think it’s time to get beyond that.”

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Canada has also been under pressure to unveil a clearer policy toward China from the United States. Last week, David Cohen, the nominee for the next ambassador to Canada, told a U.S. Senate committee that “we are all waiting for Canada to release its framework for its overall China policy.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2016. Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters/File

He said if confirmed as an ambassador, “it’s an appropriate role to be engaged in discussions to make sure that Canada’s policies reflect its words, in terms of the treatment of China, and that we do improve the collaboration and coordination between our two countries in taking on the existential threat that is China.”

Cohen wouldn’t have made those comments without “marching orders from the White House,” Hampson said. “They would like us to be in much closer alignment,” he said, citing the example of Canada dragging its feet on banning Huawei equipment from 5G networks.

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Welch said that’s one issue Canada will have to make a decision on relatively quickly, and that “it’s a no-brainer to ban it from Canadian infrastructure. All of our other Five Eyes partners have done that.”

Hampson pointed out that in some ways, that decision has already been made, since Canada’s large telecoms have gone ahead with building their 5G networks without relying on Huawei gear.

Canada will need to consider whether to work on strengthening military cooperation with the United States and Australia, and whether to spend more money and diplomatic effort to be present in the region, Hampson said.

Last week, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. entered a new partnership, known as AUKUS, that will see Australia obtain nuclear-powered submarines. Hampson said that Canada doesn’t necessarily need to follow Australia’s lead and buy nuclear subs, but another multi-billion purchase Canada will need to decide on is new fighter jets.

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“Right now we’re certainly seen by the Australians and our other Pacific partners as not being as engaged a partner in all kinds of ways that they would like us to be,” he said.

Welch said Canada used to be very engaged with China and to have a leadership role in the Indo-Pacific region, but that has now fallen at the wayside. “There’s a general sense in the region, and there has been for years, that Canada used to be a constructive player, and disappeared,” he said.

He said that while Canada should play hardball with China, that doesn’t necessarily mean Canada’s policy should be in lockstep with the U.S. “I don’t think we should encourage the rather over-the-top American narrative about China as an implacable enemy,” Welch said.

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'Stop pussyfooting around': Canada now free to develop unambiguous policy toward China, experts say - National Post
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