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2020-06-24
A text sent to a group chat of graduate students now dispersed across the county. The writer is from, and is currently living in, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He is sardonically expressing frustration at the absurdity of a state of affairs where the province cannot provide some basics, but can make interprovincial deals to allow people to travel and associate with others in the Maritimes.
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2020-06-24
"Toronto officials want to be able to offer free hotel rooms to people contagious with COVID-19 but unable to isolate in their own crowded homes." "Toronto virus hotspots include low-income areas where many people live in crowded circumstances and don’t have room at home to self-isolate."
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2020-06-24
An article discussing a statement by Ottawa's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Vera Etches, stating that there have been no confirmed cases of covid-19 associated with anti-racism protests early in June. The fear was that the large congregation of people, some of whom not practicing physical distancing, would spread the virus, but it appears sufficient precautions were taken by protesters.
"Ottawa's medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, says she is not aware of any known COVID-19 cases that have been linked to a Black Lives Matter demonstration in early June.
"'I'm not aware of any cases that have been determined to have occurred because of the event,' Dr. Etches told reporters Wednesday following City Council."
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2020-06-25
Tweet by CBC Newfoundland reporter Matt McCann reporting on a joke made by John Haggie, the MLA (MHA) for Gander, and provincial Minister of Health made about the scandal in which Tim Horton's was revealed to be extensively tracking those who use their application. The minister joked that they should use the Tim's app in place of a custom built contact tracing application for those with covid-19.
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2020-06-25
A collection of resources regarding covid-19 produced by various government and community associations across the country specifically for indigenous people. It was produced by Ottawa Public Health. The resources are in a variety of indigenous languages including Cree, Ojibwe, Mi'kmaq, Inuktitut, and Algonquin, which touch on a variety of issues, including those which have uniquely cultural significance such as tobacco use.
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2020-06-25
One of a series of informational posters/infographics produced by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), an Inuit organization, to educate Inuit/Inuk individuals on and to promote health precautions which prevent the spread of the virus.
The ITK's resources are among those linked to a resource page created by Ottawa Public Health specifically for Indigenous residents in several indigenous languages and with cultural practices and values in mind. Ottawa has a significant Inuit population (the largest outside the North). The population is further bolstered by the fact that Ottawa is the closest major medical centre for much of the North, particularly Nunavut. As such, many come down to receive significant medical treatment and are therefore placed at a greater risk due to their medical vulnerability, on top of being in more densely populated areas with greater chances of contact with an infected person than they would at home up north.
The poster itself shows a figure in traditional dress standing in the foreground with a cane, next to a window through which is peering a second person in traditional dress with a speech bubble which says "Ai!" The text along the top is Inuktitut, in both its own alphabet and roman letters. The text along the bottom is in English and reads "Protect Elders by staying away. / Call or visit through the window instead."
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2020-06-23T17:27
I have created collages for several years now, but living in lockdown as of March 17, 2020 gave this creative outlet a whole new importance in my life.
It started as a bit of lark, when a new colleague and I shared with each other that we both had creative outlets. I shared my first COVID-19 collage with her, she shared the painting she had made, and that simple act gave me the impetus to continue using this creative outlet as a way of thinking about my experience of life in lockdown.
I learned of your digital archive via an interview on CBC radio’s The Current, and I wrote about it (and similar “witnessing” projects) on my blog (link to blog is live in the attached pdf).
I have ten pieces in this “end-date unknown” series; I produced none in May due to a family health crisis, since happily resolved. I returned to it in June, producing what is at the moment the last, though likely not the final, entry.
Living in lockdown,
with hope,
Amanda Le Rougetel
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
June 23, 2020
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2020-05-18
"As people across Canada find creative ways to pass the extra hours at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an Ontario couple has found a new hobby that has both humans and critters going nuts.
"Daryl Granger and his wife Karen are both photographers who own and operate RoseLe Studio in Simcoe, Ont.
"'We spend a lot of time in the backyard and we noticed, "gosh there's a lot of squirrels" so we thought "why not set up a photo shoot,"' Granger told CBC News on Monday."
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2020-06-22
Article discussing the donation of 50,000 pounds of potato seeds from Sunnycrest Farms near Red Deer., Alta., to the Northern Farm Training Institute to attempt to increase food security among northern residents, a long term issue exacerbated by the food shortages and supply chain problems brought on by the pandemic
"Ms. Milne said the pandemic has underscored the need for everyone to take food shortages seriously.
"'We need to make sure that the place where we live has the ability to meet our core needs so that we’re not completely dependent on imports,' she said. 'Imports should be a supplement, not a dependency.'
"Ms. Milne adds that potatoes in particular are great for first-time gardeners and are easy to protect, as well as being one of the highest food-producing vegetables a square foot."
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2020-06-22
Article discussing the statistics of racism and fear thereof towards people of Chinese descent in Canada during the pandemic.
"Community groups, individuals and some police departments have raised the alarm about harassment linked to the pandemic, but the executive director of the Angus Reid Institute, Shachi Kurl, says the goal of the survey was to try and generate some empirical data on the issue.
'What we hear from Canadians of Chinese descent and Chinese ethnicity is, this is a real lived experience for significant numbers of them,' Ms. Kurl said in an interview.
'[The survey] really speaks to the depth and breadth and scope and true saturation of this experience.'
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2020-06-21
Article discussing the disproportionate number of temporary foreign workers infected with coronavirus and the efforts to mitigate this. The temporary foreign worker program has been controversial in Canada for years, for a number of reasons including condition and treatment of workers, immigration status, the employment of foreign nationals over Canadian residents and citizens etc. Like many societal issues the pandemic has brought the ethics and practice of the program to a flash-point.
"The outbreak has triggered heightened scrutiny of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program and the conditions in which foreign labourers live and work. In Ontario alone, more than 630 migrant farm workers have been infected with COVID-19; two men from Mexico – Bonifacio Eugenio Romero, 31, and Rogelio Munoz Santos, 24 – have died. The third worker who died is Juan Lopez Chaparro, 55; he had been coming to Canada since 2010 and is survived by his wife and four children, the Migrant Rights Network said in a release Monday.
"Federal Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough told The Globe and Mail last week that Ottawa will overhaul the temporary foreign worker program, including through more surprise inspections of working and living conditions at farms that employ migrant workers. Mexico had temporarily stopped sending more workers, until Canadian officials got a handle on the outbreaks and ensured people are properly paid while they’re in isolation."
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2020-06-09
Caption below the picture: "This is a Dairy Queen drive through in Canada where they social distance by using debit machines zip tied to a hockey stick. You can't make this up."
Canada seems to be innovating to still allow essential businesses to function safely. Curious to see if the US will follow suit, perhaps with baseball bats?
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2020-06-19
News article discussing the issues around providing safe and equitable housing the homeless people of BC during the pandemic, from tent cities to block booked hotel rooms and the effect they have had on the homeless population and neighbours.
"The B.C. government’s effort to get people off the street has meant profound changes for hundreds of people, including Mr. LeBlanc. The process has also resulted in anger and dismay from neighbourhood residents wondering whether the solution put together in response to a pandemic has resulted in new problems.
The process has also underscored the dire shortage of affordable housing throughout the province, a problem that existed long before the pandemic and has become more visible as people are being urged to stay home even though some may not have that option."
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2020-06-18
A news article discussing how a local independent theatre is making up loses and spreading cheer during the pandemic by offering up their marquee.
"According to The Gladstone Theatre, 'For $1 a character (maximum 80 characters), we will put your personalized message up on our stylish retro marquee. We will then take a picture of it and send it off to you to share with the world.'"
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2020-06-19
Comic joking about how 100 days would usually be a positive milestone, but in the pandemic the only "something special" we are cracking open is a bottle of hand sanitizer
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2020-06-11
During the pandemic and during this phase of reopening across the world, businesses big and small have encountered a variety of difficulties related to maintaining their ability to operate. In the province of Manitoba, the regional government is offering up a number of different programs specifically targeted at helping small businesses, getting people back to work, and providing a safety net in these uncertain times.
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2020-06-17
Every year, during the Christmas and end-of the-year "blockbuster" (talent show) assemblies, the entirety of the staff at Canterbury High School put on a song and dance. With schools closed this year they took it online and created video of them in their homes dedicated to the students and graduating class in particular. In choosing the song Don't Stop Believin' they shared a sentiment of hope and understand during a stressful time for students. They also made some inside references in the way they changed the words from the original song: the O-train is notoriously inconsistent and often does not run, hence going nowhere (on top of going nowhere because of restrictions due to the pandemic.)
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2020-06-17
A news article discussing a journalist's experience switching from reporting on sports to volunteering for Food Banks Canada. the Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays, left largely vacant by the shut down of professional sports, has been turned into a massive warehouse for the accumulation of goods for Canadian food banks which are seeing a shortfall in donations during the pandemic. There is also a shortfall in volunteers which is being filled by Blue Jays' staff and reporters among others.
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2020-06-17
A tweet from Keith Egli, Ottawa city councillor for Ward 9 (Knoxdale-Merivale) and Chair of the Board for Ottawa Public Health shared this image of a Lego Yoda wearing a mask with the caption "To protect those around you wear a mask you must ."
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2020-06-16
Many of Canada's largest cities have been experiencing what have been dubbed housing crises in the past few years; rental and purchasing prices have shot through the roof while availability shrinks, pushing out many poor or even middle class residents. This article explores how the drop in demand and government restrictions for AirBnBs (short term online rentals), as a result of the pandemic has impacted the market. To ensure they are still receiving income from their properties many who were renting their units for short term stays are instead turning to leasing them out traditionally, causing an influx in housing availability and driving the prices down with the increased supply. While this is not the best for those looking to turn a profit off their real estate it is an unexpected benefit of the pandemic for many average citizens.
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2020-06-16
Tweet featuring the large balloon sculptures made now that their artist has time on his hands during quarantine.
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2020-06-11
People were anxious to find out whether or not their jobs would be classified as essential in response to the Coronavirus shutdown. One group who is instrumental in the race to find a cure are scientists and researchers working tirelessly to produce a vaccine. The Western Economic Division of the Canadian government wanted to say thank you to a team of those researchers.
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2020-06-15
A tweet from the CBC News Traffic account reminding anyone taking public that masks are now required when riding, and making a joke referencing the Jim Carrey movie 'The Mask.'
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2020-06-15
Our formal front room is usually reserved for family gatherings or avoiding the noise if someone has the tv on too loud in the living room. While it has long also been a place where my dad drops his notebooks, newspapers, and articles he has printed off to read, in quarantine it has become his space even more than before. While I have taken up embroidery, my mom has been sewing masks for those in need, and my brother has retreated once more to his room to watch YouTube videos, my dad has turned back to reading. Most of my life he has only really read nonfiction: books on history, economics, and political biographies. But he has been retired for over 2 years now, and I think all the work-related reading has cleared his system, so he has begun to bring fiction back into circulation. His consumption of literature has also been increased by the fact that shipping fees have been waved on books for the last three months. I have never seen him read this much or enjoy it this much. He is keeping his books in a place of pride and easy access too, instead of gathering dust in the shelves in our basement office or under the coffee table. Usually the bay window in the front room holds only the wooden candlesticks my uncle made us, and maybe a seasonal decoration or two, but now they display his growing library as well. He’s had the time before now; being retired, but he had other options to occupy his time, like going out for coffee nearly daily or pursuing the hardware store. The pandemic kickstarted the habit which I think will be entertaining him going forward into a post pandemic world with spy novels and literature added to his biographies and political economy texts.
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2020-06-15
To control potential impacts on already strained bat populations, scientific research is being postponed.
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2020-05-24
Also available in french/ Aussi disponible en francais. A definitive timeline of sightings of the humpback whale which frequented populated areas of the Saint Lawrence River (including Montreal and Quebec City) between May 24 and June 9, when its carcass was discovered. It was written by the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM) which looks to follow and preserve the marine mammals of the St-Lawrence ecosystem in their online magazine Whales Online/Baleines en Direct.
The rare siting of so large a whale so far upstream brought joy to those who witnessed it and contributed to the overall feeling that nature is flourishing as traffic decreases due to the pandemic. However, the whale's necropsy showed it likely died after being struck by one of the large vessels which ply the St-Lawrence regularly.
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2020-04-07
The journal speaks about different challenges that many people, including myself, have been experiencing over the duration the the COVID-19 pandemic. This journal may become beneficial for historical research in the future, hence why it has been submitted.
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2020-06-11
The first Canadian province to attempt to provide free masks to its population, Calgary, is doing so via fast food drive thrus such as McDonalds and Tim Horton's. The article describes the scheme, its potential positives and negatives, and the journalist's experiences when requesting masks at various establishments.
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2020-06-10
An public statement shared on Facebook by Kathleen Wynne and then by various childcare professionals and sympathetic parties. It was retrieved from the Facebook page of a Early Childhood Educator. Kathleen Wynne, a member of Provincial Parliament, former Premier of Ontario, and a former teacher, wrote this in response to action taken by Premier of the province of Ontario, Doug Ford and the Provincial Minister of Education, and Conservative government in the province, that they will reopen all childcare centres in Ontario effective Friday June 11, 2020 as part of their tiered 'reopening' of the province from Covid-19 restrictions. It is Ms. Wynne's opinion that centres are being provided with insufficient time and resources to do so safely for staff and children.
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2020-06-11
A single panel comic suggesting that so much has happened in the last few months there will need to be several volumes of history written on 2020 where the proceeding years would only need one each.
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2020-06-11
This in-depth newspaper piece discusses how the Ottawa Inner City Health organization and the city's 4 largest homeless shelters: The Shepherds of Good Hope, The Ottawa Mission, the Salvation Army, and Cornerstone Housing for Women, prepared for and have been seeking to limited the spread of and treat Covid-19 infections among the vulnerable homeless population. The Shepherds of Good Hope experiences an outbreak (an 'outbreak' is a cluster of cases which occurs within an institution and requires specific responses by the institution under law) but due to the protocols in place, it was limited and ended quickly.
A highlight of the article is the anecdote regarding masked. While Ottawa Inner City Health was not provided with the PPE it initially ordered due to a mix up regarding their place in the queue for supplies during a shortage. However, masks, specifically, did not end up being an issue, as the Salvation Army found a palette of unused N-95 masks it had ordered during the 2009 H1N1 epidemic and which had been forgotten in the back of their loading dock for those 11 years. The palette contained 10,000 masks which were then shared among the various centres.
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2020-06-11
News story about non-medical masks discovered amongst the supply provided to Renfrew County paramedics and the resulting need for extensive Covid-19 testing of paramedics and those who had used the ambulance service during the period when the masks were in circulation. The incident serves as an example of the trust that equipment, even when it is available, will protect workers and the public being broken.
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2020-06-08
While Ottawa itself does not allow backyard chickens, its sister city of Gatineau, across the Ottawa/Outaouais River does. As with other locations, the pandemic has led to a spike in the raising of chickens. This can be attributed to the sense that people finally have the time to take care of the birds and a feeling that during difficult times the ability to be self-reliant and 'get back to basics' is safer than relying on supply chains and big stores.
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2020-05-26
A print news article and accompanying video discussing the challenge the increase use of masks to prevent the spread of covid-19 has presented for those with hearing impairments who may rely on lip reading. To accommodate for this a local couple have started making masks with clear plastic windows over the mouth.
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2020-06-08
News article discussing a program providing seeds and gardening supplies to school children to provide fresh produce at home during quarantine, especially for those in underprivileged circumstances, and to allow for online group lessons on subjects such as horticulture, cooking, ecology. A particular and amusing challenge they are learning to face is the healthy local squirrel population eating their crops!
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2020-03-15
We’re a Vancouverite family of three who cancelled plans to go abroad due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Instead, we spent our spring break two weeks with daily cookies and bicycling around our city, under the lockdown rules of our province. This blog tells the story of what that was like in Vancouver in March 2020.
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2020-06-05
An infographic created by Ottawa Public Health ahead of a planned march to the US Embassy to protest racial injustice and police actions in the United States. It gives instructions meant to hopefully reduce the spread of the covid19 disease amongst the crowd
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2020-05-20
A sign taped up in an unknown store window expressing the staff's frustration and asking for kindness following incidents in which customers were rude to already overworked staff.
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2020-05-24
News article discussing the virtual triage assessment centre and accompanying health services which have been implemented in Renfrew County, the largest country jurisdiction in Ontario, to deal with coronavirus cases and to reduce the risk of infection for others in need of health care during this time.
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2020-06-02
News story about a nurse's struggle to find daycare for her young son. Her son's previous daycare closed, perhaps permanently, he is far down the waiting list for emergency daycare for the children of frontline workers, and then a spot she did find him fell through when the parents of other children in the daycare, two of whom had weak immune systems and asked the carer not to take the child on as they feared he would carry covid19 to daycare from his mother's work at a hospital. She has not been able to work due to the unavailability of care, during a time when nurses are in high demand.
However, the article also mentions that after a story on the situation was aired on the nightly television news, the nurse received numerous calls offering to watch the child for her.
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2020-06-02
While some health care professions such as doctors and nurses are receiving additional pay during the pandemic, others such as technicians and therapists are not leading to protests for a more inclusive pay policy.
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2020-05-22
A tweet from Ottawa Public Health from during an exceptional heat wave warning that increased lines outside of stores and services due to physical distancing measures could expose people to the heat for longer than usual and that precautions should be taken to avoid heat related illness such as sun burn or heat stroke.
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2020-04-26
A photograph taken while someone was walking their dog, of a cordoned off area of the park at Cobourg beach and the sign attached to the fencing. The sign reads "Relief Base Camp/ First Responders and Frontline Medical Staff/ CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC/ cobourg.ca/covid19" and the caption on the image reads "The waterfront trailer park is being used for frontline workers who need to isolate to keep their families safe (heart)"
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2020-05-22
This news article chronicles the effort to bring home Canadians abroad in the face of the pandemic and tells the stories of a few individuals who returned home. Prime Minister Just Trudeau, speaking on behalf of the government, suggested any Canadians abroad who wished to come home at the beginning of the pandemic should attempt to do so by March 23 and the government organized flights to get those in countries no longer serviced by regular commercial flights or negotiated with governments under lock down to allow Canadians out.
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2020-06-01
Local arts high school dance program adapts their final summative pieces/display to an online format to allow it to go forward despite restrictions of gatherings.
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2020-05-25
Developing 'a new normal' and allowing for the fresh summer produce so many want, the local farmer's market reopens using technology to reduce contact. However, when discussing this around the kitchen table, it was pointed out this does not fill the desire to pick the specific produce you want from a bunch spread out in front of you; it allows the vendors to decide which apples or lettuce you get regardless of its quality.
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2020-05-11
Photograph of signs in Bowring Park which read, "SITE SAFETY/ Wash your hands regularly/ Keep a safe distance of at least 2 metres/ Cough or sneeze into the crease of the elbow or a tissue/ Avoid contact/ Avoid touching your face/ Stay at home if you are ill/ St. John's" and "AVOID CROWDS AND MAINTAIN 2 METRE DISTANCE/ St. John's"
The image was taken for the Instagram account which follows two dogs in St. John's, Newfoundland, Lola and Georgia. The accompanying caption mentions that the park had previously been closed and was then reopening to the public.
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2020-05-08
Photograph taken while parked outside the Ottawa Valley Grain company waiting for our order to be delivered from inside the mill to our car. With the increase in interest in back-to-basics hobbies like baking (especially bread) it is near impossible to get any kind of flour in grocery stores or large online suppliers. While they too have been sold out at intervals, this company of local grain producers milling their own goods, has been offering large bags of a variety of flours during this time.
The sign on the left reads "Ottawa Valley Grain/ ONLINE ORDER PICK UP HERE/ ONLINE ORDER PICK UP PARKING" followed by their phone number to call when you arrive to let them know you're there.
The one on the right "Thank You/ Ottawa Valley Grain/ For Still Working/ During This Hard Time"
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2020-06-01
Petition to halt the removal of a homeless encampment in a Kingston park. The eviction is not occurring entirely because of the pandemic but was moved up with the rationale of health concerns.
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2020-05-28
A tweet by a Toronto Star newspaper columnist and instructor at the University of Toronto, pointing out that the painting of 'social distancing circles' on the grass in Trinity-Bellwoods Park, which had previously been overcrowded, is a reasonable and tempered response as oppose to closing the park entirely.
