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Alberta
Report commissioned by Alberta’s Smith calls for end to COVID shots for healthy minors
From LifeSiteNews
A 269-page report commissioned by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has recommended halting the use of the COVID vaccines in healthy children and teenagers.
A report commissioned by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to investigate the previous administration’s handling of COVID-19 was released to the public late last week and included a recommendation to immediately halt the experimental jabs for healthy children and teenagers.
The Alberta COVID-19 Pandemic Data Review Task Force’s “COVID Pandemic Response” 269-page final report was released last Friday, recommending the halting of “the use of COVID-19 vaccines without full disclosure of their potential risks” as well as outright ending their use “for healthy children and teenagers as other jurisdictions have done,” mentioning countries like “Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the U.K.”
The report also called for “[f]urther research to establish the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines is necessary before widespread use in adults and children,” the establishment of “a website and/or call-in center for the vaccine injured in Alberta” as well as establishing a “mechanism for opting out of federal health policy until provincial due process has been satisfied.”
The task force also found that the COVID jabs were not “designed to halt transmission” and that there is a “lack of reliable data showing that the vaccines protect children from COVID-19.”
“The Task Force found that the risk of severe COVID-19 infection or death is primarily associated with age, with the elderly being most at risk,” reads the report.
“Children and teenagers have a very low risk of serious illness from COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines were not designed to halt transmission and there is a lack of reliable data showing that the vaccines protect children from severe COVID-19.”
The report was released with no fanfare nor mention from any Alberta government official, perhaps suggesting that officials do not want to draw attention to the report.
The report was compiled by a panel of physicians and others in the health services sector. It was headed by Dr. Gary Davidson, who served as the former chief of emergency medicine at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
When it comes to the COVID shots, the task force found “deaths” and “injuries” related to the jabs.
“In terms of safety, the task force identified reports of deaths and injuries attributed to the vaccines, as well as a known risk of myocarditis, particularly in young males,” reads the report.
“The long-term safety of the vaccines is undetermined due to their rapid deployment and limited follow-up.”
The review of the COVID jabs in Alberta found that careful assessment of “risks and benefits, transparency, and individual choice in decision-making are vital for any future pandemic response vaccination initiative.”
It is worth noting that Alberta Health Services (AHS) is still promoting the COVID shots for babies as young as six months old.
The report stated that its main goal was to examine the “quality, use, interpretation, and flow of information and data that informed Alberta’s pandemic response to COVID-19.”
Smith, who spoke out against COVID jab mandates early in her term as premier, gave the task force a sweeping mandate last year to look at whether the “right data” was obtained during COVID and to assess the “integrity, validity, reliability and quality of the data/information used to inform pandemic decisions” by members of AHS.
Smith took over from Jason Kenney as leader of the UCP and premier on October 11, 2022, after winning the leadership of the party. The UCP then won a general election in May 2023. Kenney was ousted due to low approval ratings and for reneging on promises not to lock Alberta down during COVID.
After assuming her role as premier, Smith promptly fired the province’s top doctor, Deena Hinshaw, and the entire AHS board of directors, all of whom oversaw the implementation of COVID mandates.
Under Kenney, thousands of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare and government workers lost their jobs for choosing to not get the jabs, leading Smith to say – only minutes after being sworn in – that over the past year the “unvaccinated” were the “most discriminated against” group of people in her lifetime.
Thus far, Smith has not commented on the findings of the report.
Report critical of provincial response to COVID, notes masks were not ‘effective’
The task force concluded that it found a “critical failure of Alberta’s health system,” sharing concerns about how information was shared and developed during the COVID pandemic.
The report also noted that face masks, including both N95 and surgical masks, were not effective in stopping respiratory illness, and that there is a “weak evidence base for the effectiveness of continuous masking in preventing respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.”
“Alberta should acknowledge the absence of evidence showing continuous masking provides protection against respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, and highlight the potential harms associated with masking,” reads the report.
The report emphasized that the “choice to wear a mask should be a personal medical decision, guided by informed consent.”
The report also criticized lockdown policies and Alberta’s medical regulatory colleges for not doing their “due diligence” when it came to looking at producing their own internal studies related to COVID.
LifeSiteNews has published an extensive amount of research on the dangers of the experimental COVID mRNA jabs, which include heart damage and blood clots.
The mRNA shots have also been linked to a multitude of negative and often severe side effects in children and all have connections to cell lines derived from aborted babies.
Addictions
Kensington Market’s overdose prevention site is saving lives but killing business
Business owners and residents weigh in on the controversial closure of Kensington Market’s overdose prevention site
Toronto’s Kensington Market is a bohemian community knit together by an eclectic symphony of cultures, sounds and flavours.
However, debate has been raging in the community over the potential closure of a local overdose consumption site, which some see as a life-saving resource and others consider a burden on the community.
Grey Coyote, who owns Paradise Bound record shop, believes that the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site is fuelling theft and property damage. He plans on shutting his store, which is adjacent to the site, after 25 years of operation.
Other nearby business owners have decided to stay. But they, too, are calling for change.
“The merchants in the market are the ones taking the brunt of this … especially the ones closest to [the overdose prevention site],” said David Beaver, co-owner of Wanda’s Pie in the Sky, a nearby bakery.
“There’s a larger issue at hand here,” Beaver said. “We have to help these people out, but perhaps [the status quo] is not the way to go about it.”
In an effort to change the status quo, Ontario recently passed a law prohibiting overdose prevention sites from operating within 200 metres of schools or daycares. The law could force the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site to close, although it is challenging the decision.
Coyote says he plans on leaving the neighbourhood regardless. The high concentration of social programs in the area will make continued theft, property damage and defacement likely, he says.
“They’re all still going to be there,” he said.
Court challenge
Ontario’s decision to close supervised consumption sites near schools and daycares affects 10 sites across the province.
The province plans to transition all nine provincially funded overdose prevention sites into Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs. These hubs will offer drug users a range of primary care and housing solutions, but not supervised consumption, needle exchanges or the “safe supply” of prescription drugs.
The tenth site, Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site, is not eligible to become a HART Hub because it is not provincially funded.
In response, The Neighbourhood Group, the social agency that runs the Kensington site, has filed a lawsuit against the province. It claims the closure order violates the Charter rights of the site’s clients by increasing their risk of death and disease.
“There will be a return of [overdose] deaths that would be preventable,” said Bill Sinclair, CEO of The Neighbourhood Group.
“Our neighbours include people who use these sites and … they are very frightened. They want to know what’s going to happen to them if we close.”
In response to the lawsuit, the province has initiated an investigation on the site’s impact on the community. It has enlisted two ex-police officers to canvas the market, question locals and gather information about the site in preparation for the legal challenge.
“Ontario is collecting evidence from communities affected by supervised consumption sites,” said Keesha Seaton, a media spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General.
“Ontario’s responding evidence in the court challenge will be served on January 24.”
Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site in Toronto; Dec. 18, 2024. [Photo credit: Alexandra Keeler]
Bad for business
The Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site sits at the northern entrance of Spadina Avenue, a key thoroughfare into the heart of Kensington Market. It is located within St. Stephen’s Community House, a former community centre.
The site was added to the community centre in 2018 in response to a surge of overdoses in the area. It is funded through federal grants and community donations.
Within the site’s 200-metre radius are Westside Montessori School, Kensington Kids Early Learning Centre and Bellevue Child Care Centre. Bellevue is operated by The Neighbourhood Group, the same organization that operates the overdose prevention site.
The site serves an average of 154 clients per month. It reversed 50 overdoses in 2024, preventing fatalities.
But while the site has saved lives, shop owners claim it is killing business.
“[Kensington] is a very accepting market and very understanding, but [the overdose prevention site is] just not conducive to business right now,” said Mike Shepherd, owner of Trinity Common beer hall — located across the street from the site — and chair of the Kensington Market Business Improvement Area.
Shepherd says it has become more common to find broken glass, needles and condoms outside his bar in recent years. He has also had to deal with stolen propane heaters and vandalism, including a wine bottle thrown at his car.
Shepherd attributes some of these challenges to a growing homeless population and increased drug use in the neighborhood. He says these issues became particularly acute after Covid hit and the province cut funding for community programs once offered by St. Stephen’s.
Inside his bar, he has handled multiple overdoses, administering naloxone and calling ambulances, and has had to physically remove disruptive patrons.
“I don’t have problems throwing people out of my establishment when they’re … getting violent or causing problems, but my staff shouldn’t have to deal with that,” he said.
“I’m literally watching somebody smoke something from a glass pipe right now,” he said, staring across the street from his bar window as he spoke to Canadian Affairs.
Trinity Common beer hall and restaurant in Toronto’s Kensington Market; January 19, 2025. [Photo credit: Alexandra Keeler]
Still, he is empathetic.
“A lot of people who are drug addicted are self-diagnosing for mental traumas,” said Shepherd. “Sometimes, when they go down those deep roads, they go off the tracks.”
Other business owners in the area share similar concerns.
Bobina Attlee, the owner of Otto’s Berlin Döner, has struggled to deal with discarded syringes, stolen bins and sanitation concerns like urine and feces.
These issues prevented her from joining the CaféTO program, which allows restaurants and bars to expand their outdoor dining space during the summer months.
Sid Dichter, owner of Supermarket Restaurant and Bar, has dealt with loitering, break-ins and drug paraphernalia being left behind on his patio day after day.
Some business owners, like Coyote, expressed harsher criticisms.
“Weak politicians and law enforcement have been infiltrated by the retarded, woke mafia,” Coyote said, referring to what he sees as overly lenient harm reduction policies and social programs in “liberal” cities.
Toronto Police Service data show increases in auto and bike thefts and break-and-enters in Kensington Market from 2014 to 2023. Auto thefts rose from 23 in 2014 to 50 in 2023, bike thefts from 92 to 137, and break-and-enters from 103 to 145.
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Kensington Market’s city councillor, Dianne Saxe, said she has received numerous complaints from constituents about disorder in the area.
In an email to Canadian Affairs, she cited complaints about “feces, drug trafficking, harassment, shoplifting, theft from yards and porches, trash, masturbation in front of children, and shouting at parents and teachers.”
However, Saxe noted it is difficult to determine what portion of these problems are linked to the overdose prevention site, as opposed to factors like nearby homeless encampments.
Encampments emerged at the Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields on Bellevue Avenue in the spring of 2022 and were cleared in November 2023.
Supermarket Bar and Variety in Toronto’s Kensington Market; January 19, 2025. [Photo credit: Alexandra Keeler]
‘Fair share’
Wanda’s Pie in the Sky is located just a few doors down from the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site. Beaver, the store’s co-owner, says Wanda’s has always provided food and coffee to clients of the site.
However, issues escalated during the pandemic. Beaver had to deal with incidents like drug use in the restaurant’s restrooms, theft, vandalism and violent outbreaks.
“We try to deal with it on a very compassionate level, but there’s only so much we can do,” said Beaver.
Despite the messes left on his patio, Dichter, who owns the Supermarket Restaurant and Bar, has also developed relationships with site clients.
“I’ve talked to a lot of them, and most of them are very good human beings,” he said. “For the most part, they just have bad luck in life.”
Wanda’s Pie in the Sky bakery and cafe in Toronto’s Kensington Market; January 19, 2025. [Photo credit: Alexandra Keeler]
Reverend Canon Maggie Helwig has been a priest at Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields since 2013. She described the overdose prevention site as a safe, well-run space where many people have connected to recovery resources.
“It’s clear to me that the overdose prevention site has been a positive influence in the neighbourhood,” she told Canadian Affairs in an email.
“We need more access to harm reduction, not less, and … closing the site will lead to more public drug use, more deaths from toxic drugs, and fewer people connecting to recovery resources.”
Sinclair, CEO of The Neighbourhood Group, described Kensington Market as “an accepting place for people who are sometimes different or excluded from society … it’s been a place where people have practised tolerance.”
“But sometimes it does feel that some neighbourhoods are doing more than their fair share,” he added.
Shepherd, of Trinity Common beer hall, counted five different social service agencies within a two-block radius of the market. These range from food banks and homeless shelters to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
“When you have that kind of social services infrastructure in one area, it’s going to draw the people that need it to this area and overburden the neighbourhood,” said Shepherd.
Late-Victorian bay-and-gable residential buildings in Toronto’s Kensington Market; January 19, 2025. [Photo credit: Alexandra Keeler]
Systemic issues
Some sources pointed to potential root causes of the growing tensions in Kensington Market.
“We mostly blame the provincial government,” said Beaver, referencing funding cuts by the Ford government that began in 2019.
“They cut the funding to the city, and the city can only do so much with whatever budget they have.”
Provincial funding reductions slashed millions from Toronto Public Health’s budget, straining harm reduction, infectious disease control and community health programs.
“The [overdose prevention site] closure is a provincial decision,” said Councillor Saxe. “I was not consulted [and] I am not aware of any evidence that supports Ford’s decision.
A Toronto Public Health report tabled Jan. 20 warns that closing overdose prevention sites could increase fatal overdoses and strain emergency responders.
The report, prepared by the city’s acting Medical Officer of Health Na-Koshie Lamptey, urges the province to reconsider its decision to exclude safe consumption services from the HART Hubs.
The province’s decision to close sites located near schools and daycares came after a mother of two was fatally shot in a gunfight outside a safe consumption site in Toronto’s Riverdale neighbourhood.
Ontario has also cited crime and public safety concerns as reasons for prohibiting supervised consumption services near centres with children. Police chiefs and sergeants in the Ontario cities of London and Ottawa have additionally raised concerns about prescription drugs dispensed through safer supply programs being diverted to the black market.
For some Kensington Market business owners, the answer is to move overdose prevention sites elsewhere.
“Put our safe injection sites as a wing or an area of the hospital,” said Shepherd, referring to Toronto Western Hospital, on the east side of the Kensington Market neighbourhood.
But another local resident, Andy Stevenson, argues for leaving things as they are. “Leave it alone. Just leave it alone,” said Stevenson, whose home is a five-minute walk from the site. “It’s going to become chaotic if they close it down.”
Stevenson says she has felt a deep connection to the market since her teenage years. She spends her leisure time there and continues to do all her shopping in the area.
“When you choose to live around here, it’s a reality that there are drug addicts, homeless people and street people — It’s a fact of life,” she said.
“So you can’t [complain] about it … move to suburbia.”
This article was produced through the Breaking Needles Fellowship Program, which provided a grant to Canadian Affairs, a digital media outlet, to fund journalism exploring addiction and crime in Canada. Articles produced through the Fellowship are co-published by Break The Needle and Canadian Affairs.
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