Gov. Gavin Newsom had some advice Saturday for people upset over the shut-down order, some of whom have started holding public protests, including one Friday in Huntington Beach.
“I just want to encourage people that when you practice your free speech — which I don’t [just] embrace, I celebrate — just do so safely. This virus knows no political ideology. It doesn’t know if you are Republican or Democrat, supporting the president, opposing the president, so practice physical distancing.
“Make sure that you are not infecting others. Even if you feel healthy and have no symptoms, you can spread this.”
The governor said he will not be swayed by public protests in deciding when to reopen the state.
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“We are going to do the right thing, not judge by politics, not judge by protests, but by science.”
A group of more than 100 protesters demanded that California ease stay-at-home restrictions that have helped slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The protesters claimed the dangers of the coronavirus and benefits of social distancing are overblown, despite scientific evidence to the contrary.
OTTAWA – Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and MPs from several other parties were on Parliament Hill Thursday to call for the Senate to pass a Bloc bill on supply management.
The private member’s bill seeks to protect Canada’s supply management system during international trade negotiations.
The dairy, egg and poultry sectors are all supply managed, a system that regulates production levels, wholesale prices and trade.
Flanked by a large group of people representing supply-managed sectors, Blanchet commended the cross-party support at a time when he said federal institutions are at their most divided.
The Bloc has given the Liberals until Oct. 29 to pass two of its bills — the supply management bill and one that would boost old age security — or it will begin talks with other opposition parties to bring down the minority government.
The Liberals have already signalled they don’t plan to support the Bloc pension legislation, but Liberal ministers have spoken in support of supply management.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
OTTAWA – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he’s in favour of mandatory, involuntary drug and psychiatric treatment for kids and prisoners who are found to be incapable of making decisions for themselves.
He said earlier this summer he was open to the idea, but needed to study the issue more closely.
His new position on the issue comes after the parents of a 13-year-old girl from B.C. testified at a parliamentary committee about her mental health struggles before her overdose death in an encampment of homeless people in Abbotsford, B.C.
They said their daughter was discharged from care despite their repeated attempts to keep her in treatment.
Poilievre says he’s still researching how mandatory treatment would work in the case of adults.
Compulsory mental health and addictions care is being contemplated or expanded in several provinces as communities struggle to cope with a countrywide overdose crisis.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
