Parents in Canada have recently been faced with a big question — to school or not to school during the coronavirus pandemic.
Eddy Sousa and his wife flip-flopped on the answer for their five-year-old daughter. They initially signed her up for class in Etobicoke, Ont. but are now keeping her at home.
The big reason?
“The fact her classroom, even on a good day, has no air circulation,” Sousa told Global News.
“She originally had 23 kids in her class and then we received an email from the principal saying they’re going to maximize classes to 27… I feel like after all the precautions we’ve taken — staying away from people, controlling our circles — it’s all out the window.”
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Experts agree that ventilation is key to helping quell the risk of COVID-19 indoors. Schools, in particular, can be poorly ventilated spaces where people crowd and spend whole days in close contact — all things public health officials say can foster outbreaks.
The virus is spread by droplets, predominately large ones. If the air is not properly circulated, they can linger in the air for minutes to hours. It’s part of the reason why public health officials have encouraged us to go outside when socializing with others.
While Canadian schools have introduced a host of COVID-19 protocols, experts and advocates agree improvements to HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems are not getting the attention — or funding — they deserve.
2:38 Ontario schools consider outdoor education due to poor ventilation indoors
Ontario schools consider outdoor education due to poor ventilation indoors
“Keeping kids in the same groups during school reduces the risk of spread between groups, but you also want to reduce the risk of spread within that group. That’s where air quality really matters,” said Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto.
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“Why do we reduce class sizes? Why are we wearing masks? Why do we get kids to sit two metres apart? The goal is so they don’t inhale each other’s droplets. Taking droplets out of the air is a no-brainer.”
Problems with schools
Opening doors and windows can help get air moving, but in many Canadian classrooms, it’s not that easy.
Fix Our Schools, an Ontario-based parent advocacy group, crowd-sourced ventilation issues for schools across the province. Some schools had windows that “barely open” while others had classrooms with windows that don’t open at all. Even schools identified as brand-new buildings were listed as having classrooms with windows that don’t function.
Funding was an issue long before coronavirus came along, said co-founder Krista Wylie. The pandemic has exacerbated the need, she said, but those needs still feel out of reach.
While the Ontario government has allocated $50 million in funding to improve HVAC systems in schools, it came only two months before classes were due to begin. It also came long after SickKids’ report cited ventilation as an important element in a safe reopening, as well as guidance from the Public Health Agency of Canada, as she pointed out.
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“You’ve got medical professionals telling you ventilation is key. You know that the 5,000 school buildings in your province have a gross amount of disrepair, and yet the province waited two months to announce a pittance in funding,” she said.
“On a per-school basis in Ontario, it’s $10,000 a school. It’s nothing. Truly, it’s nothing.”
Ontario, however, is one of the few provinces to mention ventilation systems in their back-to-school plans.
Quebec has also announced $50 million to upgrade ventilation and HVAC systems in schools, which reopened far earlier than Ontario’s. In Nova Scotia, the education minister has said that every school will have its system checked and maintained but provided no concrete plan. Calgary’s board of education is currently reviewing its ventilation systems at its facilities across the city.
But with the school year already underway, Wylie worries about how quickly improvements can be made and to what degree.
“School boards have been put in an untenable position. They’re beholden to the tender process, which takes time,” she said. “And because they’re chronically underfunded, they tend to feel pressured to choose the lowest-cost option, which should not be the criteria for all projects.”
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1:51 Critics say quality air ventilation will be difficult to achieve in schools
Critics say quality air ventilation will be difficult to achieve in schools
Not all improvements the same
The funding allocated so far for HVAC improvements “doesn’t even pass the laugh test,” said Jeffrey Siegel, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto who researches and consults on building ventilation and indoor air quality.
“The fundamental issue is that this is expensive to do under any circumstances, schools can be particularly so.”
While it’s a big task, he said the wrong approach is to “throw up our hands” and only make small changes. There are less costly and quicker improvements that can be made, but it’s not a long-term solution, he said.
Each school will be different, according to Siegel, and it needs to be assessed that way before making changes.
“We want to prioritize schools that are in the worst shape, even though in many ways they’re the hardest problems to solve,” he said. “There are obviously some very nice newer schools, but there are some older schools, we want to look at who it serves.”
Teachers and maintenance staff should be involved in identifying certain “high-risk” rooms, he said, including hallways and bathrooms. From there, if there’s nothing to be done in terms of getting fresh air in, portable air filters are one solution.
Some schools might already have decent ventilation systems and may only need better filters. Others might need to readjust traffic flow in hallways and between classes.
The “substantial investments” get trickier, he said. For one, significant work can’t be done when there are kids in the school. There are also challenging building design problems and remediating asbestos from systems that might follow.
“Not only that, but the last thing you want to do is spend money quickly because it will achieve much less benefit than spending the same amount well.”
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Sousa, who is a realtor, knows that all too well.
He felt that when Ontario announced its funding for HVAC systems in schools that it was too little, too late, further emphasizing his decision to keep his young daughter at home.
“In my line of work, sometimes I have to book repairs for homes. It may take weeks or months,” he said.
“No matter the money they propose, it will take time to realize where that money should be going. By then, I wouldn’t be surprised if case numbers are already rising and schools close again.”
2:36 HVAC repairs unlikely to be complete by school reopening
HVAC repairs unlikely to be complete by school reopening
Winter — and heating — is coming
The bigger concern on the horizon for schools is cold weather, Furness and Siegel agree.
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Windows are more likely to be shut as buildings turn to heating systems to keep kids warm.
Viruses love cold, dry air, Furness said, and people become more susceptible to respiratory viruses during the winter.
“If your ventilation plan has cold and dry air circulating, you’re potentially facilitating transmission.”
In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford has set Thanksgiving as a target for when improvements to school ventilation systems should be made.
Furness said meeting that target would require a “brilliant job,” which he isn’t hopeful for. Even then, “that’s four or five weeks of unprotected kids in schools,” he said.
But Siegel is a bit more optimistic.
Schools might be able to scoot by with ventilation tweaks over the next few weeks, he said, but the “triple whammy” of increased community transmission, improperly ventilated buildings during the heating season, and COVID-19 fatigue within school staff and students will be the real test.
“We should be investing for that time of the year,” he said.
“Whether $50 million will do that much about that problem is another question entirely.”
TORONTO – Will Taylor Swift bring chaos or do we all need to calm down?
It’s a question many Torontonians are asking this week as the city braces for the arrival of Swifties, the massive fan base of one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to descend on the downtown core for the singer’s six concerts which kick off Thursday at the Rogers Centre and run until Nov. 23.
And while their arrival will be a boon to tourism dollars — the city estimates more than $282 million in economic impact — some worry it could worsen Toronto’s gridlock by clogging streets that already come to a standstill during rush hour.
Swift’s shows are set to collide with sports events at the nearby Scotiabank Arena, including a Raptors game on Friday and a Leafs game on Saturday.
Some residents and local businesses have already adjusted their plans to avoid the area and its planned road closures.
Aahil Dayani says he and some friends intended to throw a birthday bash for one of their pals until they realized it would overlap with the concerts.
“Something as simple as getting together and having dinner is now thrown out the window,” he said.
Dayani says the group rescheduled the gathering for after Swift leaves town. In the meantime, he plans to hunker down at his Toronto residence.
“Her coming into town has kind of changed up my social life,” he added.
“We’re pretty much just not doing anything.”
Max Sinclair, chief executive and founder of A.I. technology firm Ecomtent, suggested his employees avoid the company’s downtown offices on concert days, saying he doesn’t see the point in forcing people to endure potential traffic jams.
“It’s going to be less productive for us, and it’s going to be just a pain for everyone, so it’s easier to avoid it,” Sinclair said.
“We’re a hybrid company, so we can be flexible. It just makes sense.”
Swift’s concerts are the latest pop culture moment to draw attention to Toronto’s notoriously disastrous daily commute.
In June, One Direction singer Niall Horan uploaded a social media video of himself walking through traffic to reach the venue for his concert.
“Traffic’s too bad in Toronto, so we’re walking to the venue,” he wrote in the post.
Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green says the public agency has been working for more than a year on plans to ease the pressure of so many Swifties in one confined area.
“We are preparing for something that would be akin to maybe the Beatles coming in the ‘60s,” he said.
Dozens of buses and streetcars have been added to transit routes around the stadium, and the TTC has consulted the city on potential emergency scenarios.
Green will be part of a command centre operated by the City of Toronto and staffed by Toronto police leaders, emergency services and others who have handled massive gatherings including the Raptors’ NBA championship parade in 2019.
“There may be some who will say we’re over-preparing, and that’s fair,” Green said.
“But we know based on what’s happened in other places, better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”
Metrolinx, the agency for Ontario’s GO Transit system, has also added extra trips and extended hours in some regions to accommodate fans looking to travel home.
A day before Swift’s first performance, the city began clearing out tents belonging to homeless people near the venue. The city said two people were offered space in a shelter.
“As the area around Rogers Centre is expected to receive a high volume of foot traffic in the coming days, this area has been prioritized for outreach work to ensure the safety of individuals in encampments, other residents, businesses and visitors — as is standard for large-scale events,” city spokesperson Russell Baker said in a statement.
Homeless advocate Diana Chan McNally questioned whether money and optics were behind the measure.
“People (in the area) are already in close proximity to concerts, sports games, and other events that generate massive amounts of traffic — that’s nothing new,” she said in a statement.
“If people were offered and willingly accepted a shelter space, free of coercion, I support that fully — that’s how it should happen.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Hundreds of Taylor Swift fans lined up outside the gates of Toronto’s Rogers Centre Wednesday, with hopes of snagging some of the pop star’s merchandise on the eve of the first of her six sold-out shows in the city.
Swift is slated to perform at the venue from Thursday to Saturday, and the following week from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, with concert merchandise available for sale on some non-show days.
Swifties were all smiles as they left the merch shop, their arms full of sweaters and posters bearing pictures of the star and her Eras Tour logo.
Among them was Zoe Haronitis, 22, who said she waited in line for about two hours to get $300 worth of merchandise, including some apparel for her friends.
Haronitis endured the autumn cold and the hefty price tag even though she hasn’t secured a concert ticket. She said she’s hunting down a resale ticket and plans to spend up to $600.
“I haven’t really budgeted anything,” Haronitis said. “I don’t care how much money I spent. That was kind of my mindset.”
The megastar’s merchandise costs up to $115 for a sweater, and $30 for tote bags and other accessories.
Rachel Renwick, 28, also waited a couple of hours in line for merchandise, but only spent about $70 after learning that a coveted blue sweater and a crewneck had been snatched up by other eager fans before she got to the shop. She had been prepared to spend much more, she said.
“The two prized items sold out. I think a lot more damage would have been done,” Renwick said, adding she’s still determined to buy a sweater at a later date.
Renwick estimated she’s spent about $500 in total on “all-things Eras Tour,” including her concert outfit and merchandise.
The long queue for Swift merch is just a snapshot of what the city will see in the coming days. It’s estimated that up to 500,000 visitors from outside Toronto will be in town during the concert period.
Tens of thousands more are also expected to attend Taylgate’24, an unofficial Swiftie fan event scheduled to be held at the nearby Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Meanwhile, Destination Toronto has said it anticipates the economic impact of the Eras Tour could grow to $282 million as the money continues to circulate.
But for fans like Haronitis, the experience in Toronto comes down to the Swiftie community. Knowing that Swift is going to be in the city for six shows and seeing hundreds gather just for merchandise is “awesome,” she said.
Even though Haronitis hasn’t officially bought her ticket yet, she said she’s excited to see the megastar.
“It’s literally incredible.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Via Rail is asking for a judicial review on the reasons why Canadian National Railway Co. has imposed speed restrictions on its new passenger trains.
The Crown corporation says it is seeking the review from the Federal Court after many attempts at dialogue with the company did not yield valid reasoning for the change.
It says the restrictions imposed last month are causing daily delays on Via Rail’s Québec City-Windsor corridor, affecting thousands of passengers and damaging Via Rail’s reputation with travellers.
CN says in a statement that it imposed the restrictions at rail crossings given the industry’s experience and known risks associated with similar trains.
The company says Via has asked the courts to weigh in even though Via has agreed to buy the equipment needed to permanently fix the issues.
Via said in October that no incidents at level crossings have been reported in the two years since it put 16 Siemens Venture trains into operation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
