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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario

PinkLucy said:
This is big news. https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1001561/ontario-takes-action-to-protect-students-and-children
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The OCT already requires a previous criminal background check (since '98). While not a default disqualification if there's a hit, it comes down to the discretion of the OCT Registrar.

"A positive finding of a criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant from the teaching profession. The final decision to refuse an applicant because of a criminal record rests with the College Registrar according to the Ontario College of Teachers Act.

"The College will consider factors like the nature of the offence, the time elapsed since the conviction, rehabilitation efforts and behaviour since the offence was committed," Registrar Margaret Wilson said. "Applicants will be informed of the reasons why they have been refused membership and have the opportunity to appeal through the Registration Appeals Committee of the College.""

College of Teachers to Require Criminal Declaration and Record Check | Ontario College of Teachers

www.oct.ca www.oct.ca

Suffice it to say, someone with a known criminal sexual assault conviction isn't likely to become a teacher, period. It seems more a for-show, pat-ourselves-on-the-back-for-the-press kinda BS; and it takes power out of the hands the OCT.
 
This removes the discretionary aspect and also includes more than just actual convictions.
 
PinkLucy said:
This removes the discretionary aspect and also includes more than just actual convictions.
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"While these actions build upon other measures the government has taken to combat professional misconduct in schools and child care settings, it is clear that more must be done to inform parents of criminal proceedings before a verdict is imposed."

I can't see this standing up in court.

Put a teacher on suspension and them away from kids for the duration of the proceedings, and after conviction by all means make parents aware and pillory the hell out of that teacher. But a wrongful accusation is going to ruin a teacher's life and career. It could take years for an accused teacher to get their day in court, and in that time the parents and public may already have made up their minds.

And even after an innocent verdict, it's a matter of public record. This will follow innocent teachers the rest of their days.
 
zang said:
"While these actions build upon other measures the government has taken to combat professional misconduct in schools and child care settings, it is clear that more must be done to inform parents of criminal proceedings before a verdict is imposed."

I can't see this standing up in court.

Put a teacher on suspension and them away from kids for the duration of the proceedings, and after conviction by all means make parents aware and pillory the hell out of that teacher. But a wrongful accusation is going to ruin a teacher's life and career. It could take years for an accused teacher to get their day in court, and in that time the parents and public may already have made up their minds.

And even after an innocent verdict, it's a matter of public record. This will follow innocent teachers the rest of their days.
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Guess we are going to spend another $40M defending indefensible policies and DoA legislations before the courts again?

AoD
 
zang said:
"While these actions build upon other measures the government has taken to combat professional misconduct in schools and child care settings, it is clear that more must be done to inform parents of criminal proceedings before a verdict is imposed."

I can't see this standing up in court.

Put a teacher on suspension and them away from kids for the duration of the proceedings, and after conviction by all means make parents aware and pillory the hell out of that teacher. But a wrongful accusation is going to ruin a teacher's life and career. It could take years for an accused teacher to get their day in court, and in that time the parents and public may already have made up their minds.

And even after an innocent verdict, it's a matter of public record. This will follow innocent teachers the rest of their days.
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Ya; although it's just a press release, the due process devil will be in the legislative details. Too draconian will expose it to the Charter. This sounds like a bit of a backhand to some previous decisions by the College. Now on to doctors, lawyers and other self-regulated professions.
 
lenaitch said:
Ya; although it's just a press release, the due process devil will be in the legislative details. Too draconian will expose it to the Charter. This sounds like a bit of a backhand to some previous decisions by the College. Now on to doctors, lawyers and other self-regulated professions.
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Yes, but undoubtedly not the police who continue to be paid, often for years, while 'disciplinary proceedings' that would lead to an automatic firing proceed - VERY slowly. That is NOT to say I am in favour of publicising 'charges" (for anyone) before a decision has been reached on their validity; more a hope that the system(s) and the due process can be speeded up!
 
DSC said:
Yes, but undoubtedly not the police who continue to be paid, often for years, while 'disciplinary proceedings' that would lead to an automatic firing proceed - VERY slowly. That is NOT to say I am in favour of publicising 'charges" (for anyone) before a decision has been reached on their validity; more a hope that the system(s) and the due process can be speeded up!
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Those changes are in the revised Police Services Act, which I think was passed by previous government by the current one has yet to enact.

It's all part of the 'devil in the details, whether the proposed legislation will impose suspension w/o pay, removal from student-facing duties, etc. Surely they wouldn't propose to summarily firing a teacher upon an allegation.
 
What? They were handing them out to customers at a couple of local Grocery stores

And isn’t that the profiteering Doug said he would stop?
 
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Dated January 11, 2022. In the USA...

From link.

When Congress passed the more than $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020, it required health insurance companies to pay whatever price labs advertise on their websites for medically appropriate testing. That essentially means that insurers must pay if you feel symptoms or were exposed to someone with the virus. The law does not set any upper price limit.

In addition, the rules allow anyone, in a few easy steps, to offer rapid antigen tests, the same kind you can buy over the counter in a pharmacy. Such tests can be processed quickly on the spot with simple equipment, as opposed to more accurate molecular tests (such as PCR) which require lab processing with expensive machines.

On average, COVID-19 tests cost $130 within an insurance company’s network, and $185 out of network, according to a July 2021 study by America’s Health Insurance Plans, an industry trade group. Seven percent of labs charged more than $390 for a test. “Price gouging on COVID-19 tests by certain providers continues to be a widespread problem, threatening patients’ ability to get the testing they need,” the group said in a press release.
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A Peterson Center on Healthcare and Kaiser Family Foundation study of prices at 93 hospitals in April 2021 found COVID-testing prices ranging from $20 to $1,419, not including additional fees such as those for specimen collection, which ranged from $18 to $240. Consumer Reports detailed the problem in July 2020 in an article titled “How ‘Free’ Coronavirus Testing Has Become the New Surprise Medical Bill.”

Since then, several state attorneys general and other officials have also warned of COVID-testing scams, telling consumers to be on the lookout for tests that are not just overpriced but also may yield unreliable results. “Unfortunately, scam artists seeking to take advantage of the increase in demand will attempt to con hardworking Georgians into paying for fake tests,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said in a late December statement. “Do your research to ensure you are visiting a legitimate operation and receiving results from a valid provider.”

Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Health outlines a series of COVID-19 scams and fraud, including “an imposter posed as an American Red Cross volunteer going door-to-door offering home COVID-19 testing. They were really trying to gain entry and rob residents.”
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The potential to earn money while offering a needed service has attracted many COVID-testing newcomers, some without a background in science or medicine. For example, the co-owners of the parent company of GS Labs, which is based in Omaha, Neb. and started testing in October 2020, previously invested in real estate, car dealerships, and car washes. GS Labs now operates in seven U.S. Midwest and Northwest states.

The lab group, which is licensed to perform both rapid and PCR tests, charges $380 for a rapid antigen test made by CareStart that has sold for $24 for a two-pack at Rite Aid. Starting on January 15, the price difference becomes even more dramatic when new federal government rules oblige health insurance companies to pay for up to eight at-home tests per person per month for their customers.

Several insurance companies have refused to reimburse GS Labs for such high prices, resulting in lawsuits and countersuits.

“GS Labs charges extraordinarily high prices ranging from $380 to $979 per test,” Premera Blue Cross alleged in a lawsuit filed in October. “These prices are in some cases ten times higher than those charged by other labs. Under normal circumstances, GS Labs would have no expectation that any insurer would pay its extraordinarily high prices.”

GS Labs officials say they have invested many millions to provide an important service by making testing more widely available, and say the insurance companies have acted unfairly in not paying them as mandated by the CARES Act.

“People think we’re getting paid $380. We’re not. Nobody’s paying us that $380 from insurance,” says GS Labs operating partner Kirk Thompson. “In some scenarios, it’s a starting point for negotiations, and we negotiate a much lower rate with them. But in the vast majority of circumstances they just refuse to pay us.”

“If providers are not getting reimbursed, they can’t continue to provide the service, and that puts the country at jeopardy,” Thompson says. “We need testing accessibility right now.”
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The CEO of Alliance Health, which charges $150 for a rapid test and $175 to $395 for a PCR test in Florida and New York, is also CEO of Lice Troopers, a company that removes hair lice. The two companies operate in many of the same cities such as Glen Cove, N.Y., and Plantation, Fla. One local television station reported that the companies used one facility in Plantation, Fla., to remove lice and test patients for COVID-19 at the same time.

Alliance/Lice Troopers CEO Arie Harel did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Alliance Vice President Daniel Harel.
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W. K. Lis said:
Shows us how addicted Doug Ford is towards the almighty automobile gods.

Ignoring transit operating subsidies for the little "folks" and GO/UPX & TTC fare integration..
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Does that mean the McGuinty-Wynne Liberals also bowed down to the car gods and ignored the little people?
 
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