Donald Fisher, known to some as ‘Scotty,’ is known to others as: Don, Pappa, Grandpa, very recently great-grandpa, ‘Buddy’ to his sister-in-law Evelyn, ‘My hero’ to his other sister-in-law, Jeannette, and Donnie-Onnie (thanks to his love of rhyming everyone else’s name.) You can also replace Fisher with its original, Odjig. More on that later. There is also ‘Odiepop,’ the name given to him by his grandson, Drake, and often called out to his grandfather while Fisher would take his daily walks past the school. A name also given to him by the entirety of Drake’s schoolmates, who would call out to him just as his grandson did. Other titles? Veteran of the Second World War, chief engineer on The Philip R. Clark, beloved Wiikwemkoong community leader, nonagenarian, recipient of the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Union of Ontario Indians, golf-enthusiast, a joker and … The first COVID-19 Vaccine recipient in Northeastern Ontario. He said it only hurts a little, just in case you were wondering. Donald Fisher (Odjig) was born in Wiikwemkoong (as it was then called) on June 18, 1926, to Dominic and Joyce Odjig (née Peachy). Fisher and his three older siblings were raised on a small family farm. Fisher left home at 15 to work at a lumber camp in Sault Ste. Marie, but the stories his father told of the First World War made him dream of fighting as well, and in 1943, Donald Odjig left the lumber yard to enlist, lying about his age in order to do so. He changed his name from Donald ‘Odjig’, to the English translation of the word, ‘Fisher’. An often-repeated story has Fisher telling the enlistment officer that, as the man’s friends recall, “Indians don’t have birth certificates.” Just like that, he’s going to war. Of course, while Fisher heard many stories of the war from his father, his own seven children never heard much. “Painful memories linger for Scotty,” said his daughter-in-law, Lynda Fox Trudeau. “He will not openly talk about his personal experiences of the war. He always swore he would never talk about it with his children, a personal promise he keeps to this day.” They know he received his training in Shilo, Man., and volunteered to become a paratrooper. As a member of the 1st Canadian Paratroop Battalion, Fisher was sent overseas on Christmas Day, 1944. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and on March 17, 1945, he crossed the Rhine River, fighting for his country until the end of the war. Well, sort of. The end of Fisher’s service is somewhat legendary among his friends and family, as related to Sudbury.com by his friends Patrick and Patricia Ryan, both retired teachers who have known Fisher since 1970. “He was with the first group of Canadians who met up with the Russians near the end of the war,” Patricia said. “While busy ‘celebrating’ with them, he fell off a horse, broke his ankle, and was shipped back to England. He used to laugh about his noble war injury!” She also said this sense of humour is the core of who Fisher’s being. “Don is a fun-loving extrovert. He never hesitated to voice his opinions and had no time for people who complained, but did nothing to change a situation. He is smart, well-read and kind. He does not suffer fools and demands the best from everyone. If Don was running anything, you knew it would be done the right way, and efficiently.” And her descriptor, ‘well-read,’ is an understatement. His favourite book? “Anna Karenina” (Leo Tolstoy, 1855). Another core part of who Fisher is? Wiikwemkoong. “With the ending of World War Two,” Fox Trudeau said, “Don began his 27-year chief engineer career, shipping iron ore on the Great Lakes. Upon the passing of his wife, Rosemary Peltier, he returned home to look after and raise his family. He embarked upon his next career working for the then Department of Indian Affairs for 17 years.” Fisher worked as a local government advisor for the department, a position that his colleague Larry Leblanc describes as “the federal government had finally realized that having Native people to communicate with Natives was a good idea.” Leblanc was also the person who sparked Fisher’s interest in running, something Fisher was not keen on previously. When he learned that Leblanc was a marathon runner, Fisher got curious and began training in secret on the island. He was shy, so he would run at dawn or at night, and no matter how hot the weather, never in shorts. Leblanc said Fisher told him, “I don’t want those old ladies seeing my butt.” But he later loved running so much, he helped the youth on the Island understand and love the sport as well. In addition to this, Leblanc describes him as a true community member. “He volunteered to coach countless hockey teams for I don’t know how many years. He initiated and developed community projects such as, Thunderbird Ballpark, the Wiikwemkoong Recreational Centre and, his pride and joy, the Rainbow Ridge Golf Course.” Those who speak of the golf course say that Fisher was the driving force behind its creation. Fisher is a big fan of golf and his grandson, Drake Trudeau, remembers getting ice cream with his grandfather and driving by to check on who was golfing at the golf course. Of all his accomplishments, Trudeau thinks his grandfather is proudest of “anything to do with golf.” Of course, because it is Donald Odjig Fisher we speak of, there are many other descriptors for him, courtesy of family and friends. For instance, he is regimented. Or so says his sister-in-law, Evelyn Corbiere, the one who calls him ‘Buddy.’ “Mostly everything he did was on a schedule. Our fond memory to illustrate this were their (Fisher and his late wife, Lori) Sunday morning coffee visits. Guaranteed, their vehicle would come down our road precisely at 8:25 a.m. so he and Lori would be here for 8:30. After a good visit, jokes and coffee and Lor’s one or two slices of bacon at exactly 9:10 he would say, ‘Okay Lor, time to go as I have to go for my walk’.” And there are few things Fisher likes better than a good joke. “Scotty always has a good joke,” said Donna Debassige, his friend and former colleague. Sister-in-law Corbiere adds, “He would tell jokes at social gatherings or after Couples’ Night at golf. Although the jokes were often repeated, or whether he needed reminders with the punchlines, we would all have a good laugh. He would always look at Lor for help, which made it funnier.” Plus, he knows the keys to good health, said his family. “He believes that a healthy diet of fish, a glass of red wine a day, exercise, and a good joke is the secret to living a long and fulfilling life,” said Fox Trudeau. A vaccine helps with that, too. “Scotty is important in so many ways that Wiky would not be the welcoming community it is today,” says Leblanc. “He was a band councillor, education committee leader, community recreation director, and a multi-sport player and coach. He loves children and would go out of his way to help them be better in every way. “This honourable man is more than just a friend to me. He is a mentor, a brother, a man devoted to the humanity around him. He always gave of himself – his all. He is a devout giver and leader. It is easy to say, ‘He is my brother.’ Chi miigwech Nitchke.” Jenny Lamothe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Sudbury.com
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
