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About My Interests Here
Oct. 23rd, 2025 09:55 amYesterday, if memory serves, I added Public Health to my profile's list of interests. I consider that choice on my part long overdue.
Can-Con 2024
Oct. 1st, 2024 07:20 amOnce again, I will not be attending Can-Con in person this year. This is due to my continuing efforts to reduce my risk of COVID-19 reinfection and the consequences of it for me and other people.
Even if Can-Con went back from "recommended" to "required" on its masking policy, OC Transpo isn't even being allowed to bother one way or the other. As the public transit system is my main way of getting around Ottawa, and Can-Con is something I want, rather than need, to attend, it's one more thing I will forego.
I'm sorry about this.
Even if Can-Con went back from "recommended" to "required" on its masking policy, OC Transpo isn't even being allowed to bother one way or the other. As the public transit system is my main way of getting around Ottawa, and Can-Con is something I want, rather than need, to attend, it's one more thing I will forego.
I'm sorry about this.
As regards today's op-ed cartoon by Greg Perry...
Whatever his own opinion, the family he depicted have a legitimate reason for a long, loud cry of frustration: COVID-19 is still very much part of the picture. So long as we don't require masking up properly and good air-cleaning measures in our workplaces - including public transit to and from those spaces - and our various levels of government are not dealing with the pandemic still in progress in the proper ways otherwise, SARS-CoV-2 and its medical consequences will still plague us. Socially, economically, in every way possible. The vaccines we have are still not enough in and of themselves to end the pandemic.
Therefore, Dads and kids everywhere have every right to keep crying.
Whatever his own opinion, the family he depicted have a legitimate reason for a long, loud cry of frustration: COVID-19 is still very much part of the picture. So long as we don't require masking up properly and good air-cleaning measures in our workplaces - including public transit to and from those spaces - and our various levels of government are not dealing with the pandemic still in progress in the proper ways otherwise, SARS-CoV-2 and its medical consequences will still plague us. Socially, economically, in every way possible. The vaccines we have are still not enough in and of themselves to end the pandemic.
Therefore, Dads and kids everywhere have every right to keep crying.
"Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
Passenger rail is a safe, efficient, sustainable, affordable, and accessible mode of public transportation;
Due to federal cutbacks and underinvestment over many years, Canada’s current passenger rail services lag far behind those available in other countries;
Since its creation in 1978, VIA Rail has lacked both the legislative mandate and stable budget necessary to maintain and expand passenger rail service in Canada;
While VIA Rail's on-time performance on tracks it owns is over 90 percent, it is only 60 percent on tracks it shares with other railways;
Rail privatization and outsourcing schemes in other countries have led to higher fares, reduced service, deteriorating safety performance, and lower salaries for workers;
Unlike other public passenger rail providers around the world, VIA Rail lacks representation from passengers and workers on its board of directors; and
In its Corporate Plan, VIA has warned that its long-distance fleet, built in the 1950s, is overdue for replacement, without which it will soon be unable to provide services in Atlantic and Western Canada.
We, the undersigned, Residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Incorporate the contents of Bills C-371, the Rail Passenger Priority Act, and C-236/C-640 (41-2) the VIA Rail Canada Act, in a Government Bill and prioritize its passage through the legislative process;
2. Commit, in the 2024 federal budget, the funds necessary to renew VIA Rail’s long-distance fleet;
3. Provide passenger and worker representation on VIA Rail’s board of directors; and
4. Revise the High Frequency Rail project to protect VIA Rail’s role in delivering public passenger rail service along the Windsor to Quebec City corridor."
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4754
Whereas:
Passenger rail is a safe, efficient, sustainable, affordable, and accessible mode of public transportation;
Due to federal cutbacks and underinvestment over many years, Canada’s current passenger rail services lag far behind those available in other countries;
Since its creation in 1978, VIA Rail has lacked both the legislative mandate and stable budget necessary to maintain and expand passenger rail service in Canada;
While VIA Rail's on-time performance on tracks it owns is over 90 percent, it is only 60 percent on tracks it shares with other railways;
Rail privatization and outsourcing schemes in other countries have led to higher fares, reduced service, deteriorating safety performance, and lower salaries for workers;
Unlike other public passenger rail providers around the world, VIA Rail lacks representation from passengers and workers on its board of directors; and
In its Corporate Plan, VIA has warned that its long-distance fleet, built in the 1950s, is overdue for replacement, without which it will soon be unable to provide services in Atlantic and Western Canada.
We, the undersigned, Residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Incorporate the contents of Bills C-371, the Rail Passenger Priority Act, and C-236/C-640 (41-2) the VIA Rail Canada Act, in a Government Bill and prioritize its passage through the legislative process;
2. Commit, in the 2024 federal budget, the funds necessary to renew VIA Rail’s long-distance fleet;
3. Provide passenger and worker representation on VIA Rail’s board of directors; and
4. Revise the High Frequency Rail project to protect VIA Rail’s role in delivering public passenger rail service along the Windsor to Quebec City corridor."
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4754
Pandemic: Getting Good Tests
Jun. 17th, 2023 09:39 amOkay. We need ways of getting our hands on good-quality self-administered COVID tests, no matter what our respective current local governments want for our futures. Wherever we live.
I am wondering what we need to do to make that availability happen.
I am wondering what we need to do to make that availability happen.
Transit: Question about OC Transpo Passes
Feb. 11th, 2023 01:34 pmQuestion for those who renew their #OCTranspo bus passes montly *in person*: have you been getting charged extra fees by #ShoppersDrugMart for doing so?
#publictransit #Ottawa #OttawaGatineau
#publictransit #Ottawa #OttawaGatineau
Yeah, so I read this tonight from the professors Armstrong (yes, professors, plural):
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/12/17/here-is-a-health-care-to-do-list-for-the-federal-government.html
The list of advice at the other end of that link makes sense to me. Given the current state of most of our provincial governments, I don't trust the people who run them with a single actual physical penny, no matter that our country no longer mints them as legal tender. Particular emphasis on point 4 as quoted below:
"Understand that health care is not a business like the rest. It is about people who need and people who provide care, doing so on the basis of their acquired skill and experience. Public services should not be organized on the principles of for-profit services but rather should recognize the specificity of care and of our shared responsibility as well as our shared benefits. This means, as a minimum, ensuring that funding does not go to profit, that we build surge capacity into the system and that we attend to the conditions of work which are the conditions of care."
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/12/17/here-is-a-health-care-to-do-list-for-the-federal-government.html
The list of advice at the other end of that link makes sense to me. Given the current state of most of our provincial governments, I don't trust the people who run them with a single actual physical penny, no matter that our country no longer mints them as legal tender. Particular emphasis on point 4 as quoted below:
"Understand that health care is not a business like the rest. It is about people who need and people who provide care, doing so on the basis of their acquired skill and experience. Public services should not be organized on the principles of for-profit services but rather should recognize the specificity of care and of our shared responsibility as well as our shared benefits. This means, as a minimum, ensuring that funding does not go to profit, that we build surge capacity into the system and that we attend to the conditions of work which are the conditions of care."
Health: Flu Vaccination 2022
Nov. 25th, 2022 04:49 pmI got my dosage yesterday.
Still masking for my public travels, and wishing more of my neighbours would get back to that habit. It would make finding and holding a new job again easier for me and any prospective employer.
Still masking for my public travels, and wishing more of my neighbours would get back to that habit. It would make finding and holding a new job again easier for me and any prospective employer.
A Public Service Message
Oct. 3rd, 2022 07:49 pmSome caregivers have to enter and leave #outbreak lockdown zones via #publictransit. Can't afford cars, and bikes are out of reach too.
#BringBackMasks #CovidIsNotOver #COVIDisAirborne #OCTranspo #Ottawa #publichealth
#BringBackMasks #CovidIsNotOver #COVIDisAirborne #OCTranspo #Ottawa #publichealth
Okay, I've been cleared to share the resources we were shown in the CAWI workshop! This is, of course, tailored specifically to Ottawa. I'm hoping to be able to look at some ACORN Ottawa stuff too in the next little while.
Videos:
Elections resources:
Videos:
- Municipalities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21V8tZjFYnU
- Why Voting Matters: https://youtu.be/Q8RisdKgAqY
- Who does What: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVE3OsR5W-0
- What does a Mayor do (according to kids)? - https://youtu.be/EcEJNu3NnYk
- Getting ready for a Vote Pop-Up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNVFOZFUcs0
- Running a Vote Pop-Up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0VmlQrJgUk
Elections resources:
- Voter look up: https://www.voterlookup.ca/index.aspx
- Who's running my ward? - https://elections.ottawa.ca/UI/CandidateList/CandidateList
- Changes in wards and other resources: https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/elections/learn-more-about-municipal-elections#section-6aa9d6ce-068a-4f71-9427-e706cb6770e2
A Trumpist Representative has offered asylum to the Convoy Crowd, comparing Canada to Venezuela.
https://twitter.com/EvanLSolomon/status/1495168035925237761
The encampment at the baseball stadium has self-dismantled.
https://twitter.com/judyatrinh/status/1495138661888929796
Stuff that got left behind in the retreat:
https://twitter.com/melmarquis/status/1495381187963101188
As for where they've retreated to:
https://twitter.com/MonicaCYOW/status/1495397749818331138
(Yeah, Arnprior and Embrum need help now instead of Centretown and Lowertown.)
One small part of Cindy Blackstock's reaction in the moment:
https://twitter.com/cblackst/status/1495392214041743364
This is definitely an incomplete listing.
https://twitter.com/EvanLSolomon/status/1495168035925237761
The encampment at the baseball stadium has self-dismantled.
https://twitter.com/judyatrinh/status/1495138661888929796
Stuff that got left behind in the retreat:
https://twitter.com/melmarquis/status/1495381187963101188
As for where they've retreated to:
https://twitter.com/MonicaCYOW/status/1495397749818331138
(Yeah, Arnprior and Embrum need help now instead of Centretown and Lowertown.)
One small part of Cindy Blackstock's reaction in the moment:
https://twitter.com/cblackst/status/1495392214041743364
This is definitely an incomplete listing.
(no subject)
Oct. 27th, 2021 08:39 pmConsidering that I am looking at the possibility of income supports from the provincial government here in Ontario as an option, depending on whether or not I count as "disabled"...and on whether or not I can land a steadier job soon...
Considering that I have read horror stories from nations where administration of social support income has been privatised, including the UK and Australia...
This report leaves me wondering how to either stop or reverse this course as reported:
https://pressprogress.ca/doug-ford-is-privatizing-low-income-employment-services-an-american-firm-linked-to-trumps-welfare-cuts-wants-the-contract/
Considering that I have read horror stories from nations where administration of social support income has been privatised, including the UK and Australia...
This report leaves me wondering how to either stop or reverse this course as reported:
https://pressprogress.ca/doug-ford-is-privatizing-low-income-employment-services-an-american-firm-linked-to-trumps-welfare-cuts-wants-the-contract/
Libraries: Ādisōke
Aug. 5th, 2021 11:53 amThe building to come, meant to host both the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library and the geneology resources of Library and Archives Canada in years to come, now has a name: Ādisōke.
Details in this Twitter thread:
https://twitter.com/opl_bpo/status/1423307279139549189
Details in this Twitter thread:
https://twitter.com/opl_bpo/status/1423307279139549189
Public Transit - My Mind in February 2021
Feb. 21st, 2021 09:12 amPublic transit...there's a topic.
My understanding of the current state of OC Transpo and STO across the river in Gatineau goes like this: the buses and trains here are usually, at worst, ¾ empty. Everyone aboard has mostly managed to keep their distance from each other, and masks are standard good-manners practice. I can't afford to not use it if I want to leave my neighbourhood to do anything outside of it.
I keep paying for my monthly bus pass despite my lack of usage because they're a continuing target for deficit hawks, and they need the money to maintain the facilities and fleets for when Pandemic is finally over. Even if the levels of demand-for-service stay reduced afterward, the transit services have to be able to do their work safely.
My understanding of the current state of OC Transpo and STO across the river in Gatineau goes like this: the buses and trains here are usually, at worst, ¾ empty. Everyone aboard has mostly managed to keep their distance from each other, and masks are standard good-manners practice. I can't afford to not use it if I want to leave my neighbourhood to do anything outside of it.
I keep paying for my monthly bus pass despite my lack of usage because they're a continuing target for deficit hawks, and they need the money to maintain the facilities and fleets for when Pandemic is finally over. Even if the levels of demand-for-service stay reduced afterward, the transit services have to be able to do their work safely.
A new title for me to wear
Jan. 24th, 2021 01:23 pmI recently got called a "social thought leader". This, in the context of a push to get an O-Train line built under Bank Street:
https://clintondesveaux.medium.com/ottawans-favourable-to-bank-street-o-train-tunnel-a85925c68977
https://clintondesveaux.medium.com/ottawans-favourable-to-bank-street-o-train-tunnel-a85925c68977
TRANSIT: Defend, Not Defund
Apr. 7th, 2020 02:36 pmAs I said in the comments:
YES. This is exactly the point. Transit preserves civil society. Therefore it must be protected and defended, even as we defend funding for police, firefighting, public broadcasting, etc..
https://www.citylab.com/perspective/2020/04/coronavirus-public-transit-subway-bus-ridership-revenue/609556/
YES. This is exactly the point. Transit preserves civil society. Therefore it must be protected and defended, even as we defend funding for police, firefighting, public broadcasting, etc..
https://www.citylab.com/perspective/2020/04/coronavirus-public-transit-subway-bus-ridership-revenue/609556/
In case you don't already know, our local public libraries have online operations still available to us:
Ottawa Public Library
https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/
https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/fr/
Gatineau Public Library
https://www.gatineau.ca/portail/default.aspx?p=guichet_municipal/bibliotheque
To those of you working to keep those online services running smoothly during this time of pandemic, I thank you all.
Ottawa Public Library
https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/
https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/fr/
Gatineau Public Library
https://www.gatineau.ca/portail/default.aspx?p=guichet_municipal/bibliotheque
To those of you working to keep those online services running smoothly during this time of pandemic, I thank you all.
Satirical News Sites
Mar. 13th, 2020 09:20 amAn incomplete listing hosted by Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_satirical_news_websites
If you know of one they don't, please add it to their list. Especially right now, I think.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_satirical_news_websites
If you know of one they don't, please add it to their list. Especially right now, I think.
TRANSIT: A Personal First Yesterday
Dec. 8th, 2019 08:13 amI rode the O-Train all the way between Blair and Tunney's Pasture, both ways. The first, westward leg of the trip was interrupted by a stop at Rideau Station to pick up my preferred out-of-town newspapers. But even so, a round trip by way of Line 1 was achieved. Line 2 was already taken care of due to previous errands to the South Keys Mall in the years before Line 1 was ready to roll. I might upload some of the pix I took at Tunney's to my Flickr account later today as evidence, whether that evidence is needed or not.
I do get a sense of Transitway stations becoming more...fortress-like when they get converted to add O-Train service to their repertoire. Particularly at Blair, St. Laurent, Hurdman and Tunney's is where this effect kicks in. The extra cameras, the staff on duty trying to guide passengers in the newer-to-us ways of using light passenger rail, and the longer walks required to get between buses and trains in whichever directions we need to be going. And if I want to keep musing like this, I should probably write a purpose-built essay for Spacing Ottawa on the subject.
I do get a sense of Transitway stations becoming more...fortress-like when they get converted to add O-Train service to their repertoire. Particularly at Blair, St. Laurent, Hurdman and Tunney's is where this effect kicks in. The extra cameras, the staff on duty trying to guide passengers in the newer-to-us ways of using light passenger rail, and the longer walks required to get between buses and trains in whichever directions we need to be going. And if I want to keep musing like this, I should probably write a purpose-built essay for Spacing Ottawa on the subject.
