Mark H.

That is exactly what I have an issue with. I don’t own guns, never have, never will. I have an issue with a PM being able to arbitrarily decide that an issue does not require debate. I don’t care what the issue is, it should go through the mandated readings in the house and then be sent to the senate. If this wasn’t an emergency a year ago, then it’s not an emergency now.

So, when Harper ran on reducing the GST, for example, it still went through the House of Commons. I don’t agree that having something in an election platform means you can ignore established parliamentary procedures.

That you don’t seem to see the history (those bullet points) I provided as the primary reason there are so many Aboriginal people in our prisons - I find that weird. I understand your point about the assault rifle comparison.

Ok, I’m not defending the gun laws. I was responding to what you said about our First Nations people.

You said if we didn’t have Aboriginals our crime rate would be lower. All of my ‘bullet points’ are to show that the issues with Aboriginals and crime rate are a collective responsibility. You can’t just abuse a segment of your population, leading to widespread poverty, and then somehow dismiss them - we are living with the legacy of pushing them aside, of categorizing then as wards of the state and of putting them into residential schools. No, you don’t take this grade 12 teacher’s for it, I pointed you to some credible sources.

I’ll give it to you straight up. I have taught gr. 12 Law for about a dozen years, and I have several police officer friends, they come to my class as guest speakers. Yes, about 90% of the criminals they deal are repeat offenders. Yes, the correctional system has a high number of Aboriginal inmates. But to say our crime rate would be lower if we didn’t have any Aboriginals? The issues with Aboriginals are not only the fault of Aboriginals, not by a long shot. 1. The longest running human rights abuse in recorded world history is residential schools in Canada. From New France in 1600s until the last one closed in 1996. 2. If you want to learn more about residential schools for Aboriginals, go to the Canadian Encyclopedia and search residential schools. I would also recommend reading ‘Clearing the Plains’ by James Daschuck. 3. Even just a cursory glance at the current situation, shows a situation that will naturally create a higher crime rate. All of it created by government legislation, namely, The Indian Act. a) Funding per person that is below welfare levels, with local politics worsening the situation, due to unfair distribution. b) Education funded at a rate of $4300 per students, when the public education system is spending $10 000 per student. c) Teaching staff that will be snapped up by school divisions in large urban centres, as soon as they have gained experience and proven to be effective. I could go on, but considering all of the above, it is clear that the high Aboriginal crime rate is a shared responsibility. I also want to add one final point - it’s not that Australia and New Zealand don’t have Aboriginals - they actually have world renowned English as a second language education programs for their Aboriginal students.

The problem with people deciding what is best for themselves - if it doesn’t work out they need the government and the health care system just like everyone else. And if deciding what is best for themselves means ignoring science, that is a huge problem. If Sweden really was thinking that this was just another virus, perhaps they should have considered the impacts of the Spanish Flu, over 17 million deaths world wide, from a population of 1.8 billion.

But surely not overwhelming the health care system would result in fewer deaths? It’s hard to imagine that the idea is to have the same number of deaths, but to just spread them out more. That would make Heath care almost redundant.

Yes, I’m at a Hutterian school that is part of the public system, so I teach the mainstream curriculum.

Stiffer penalties will do nothing to change cultures or improve poverty and hunger. The United States already has some of the stiffest penalties in the world, they are clearly not the answer. Since you cited Australia - I am quite sure their stability does not come from tough prison sentences. The return of the death penalty? Now there would be an exercise in futility.

Your first paragraph - I can't even wrap my head around that. Your second paragraph - it's mostly about what you do as an individual highschool student. The learning opportunities are more than adequate. The biggest adjustment would be less hands on learning at University.

Yes, we will all get the virus eventually; and it really doesn't matter where we came into contact with it. School bus, classroom, grocery store, hair dresser et. al. Governments are opening up economies and schools, knowing full well that the virus is still here. They are calculating that the rate of infection will be slower than it was in late March / early April.

1. She’s a woman. 2. You are assuming schools would open exactly the way they were when they closed. 3. It could be something like teachers being able to take small groups of students for tutoring. Of half the class comes one day, the second half the next day. 4. Maybe more parents could drive kids. All things considered, many will probably choose to. 5. Finally, they are going to allow businesses to run camps for the children of employees, up to 30 kids per camp. In that case, they may as well open schools with some restrictions.

I believe the U of W collegiate is considered part of the K - 12 system, except for those students who can count the remedial course(s) as part of their degree. Some degrees allow Highschool level pre-calc as a credit, for example.

Opening in August would be against the Public Schools Act. They would need to be able to justify it as a temporary emergency measure. Pallister stated when schools first closed, that they have no plans for opening school during summer break. In my opinion, it would be a poor plan for most students, kids just do not learn very well at that time of year. Now, University prep classes for grade 12 graduates in July and August, that could be doable. And I believe the U of W collegiate already does that.

Article in today's WFP. I agree with it - MB. government needs to look at what other jurisdictions are doing with reopening schools The province's decision not to reopen schools in any capacity is being questioned by a child psychologist who says students are falling way behind and may lose a year's worth of learning. "We’re now going to be talking six months of children out of school," said Jen Theule, an associate professor in school and clinical psychology at the University of Manitoba. "We’re not talking learning loss, we’ll be re-teaching an entire grade." In-person interactions with teachers and peers are critical in a child’s development, especially for children younger than 10, Theule said. A mother and expert in children’s mental health and education, she questions why creative ideas for resuming classes are missing from the province's plan. "The intensity of the presence of a large number of kids in a school makes social distancing all but impossible," Pallister said Wednesday, before noting the end of the year is fast approaching. He made the comments moments after introducing Manitoba's reopening plan, which includes allowing non-essential businesses to reopen next week. As far as Theule is concerned, there are safe options, and governments across the globe have tested some of them. In mid-April, Denmark reopened schools with drastic changes to the pre-pandemic routine: class sizes were reduced, students are only allowed to play in small groups and they are required to wash their hands hourly. Danish school employees must prioritize outdoor learning, prevent parents from entering schools and ramp up sanitation. In the U.S., President Donald Trump has urged states to reopen schools. In rural Idaho, administrators are mulling asking siblings to sit together on school buses, spaced out from other students. Closer to home, Quebec plans to reopen elementary schools in two weeks in areas where there have been few COVID-19 cases. Classes will be capped at 15 students and those who live with people with health conditions will be barred from attending. One Vancouver school has already welcomed back students with "exceptionally high learning needs" to receive face-to-face instruction. Discussion about any such measures in Manitoba have been secretive, if they have taken place at all. Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen did not agree to an interview this week. Instead, his office provided a general statement that noted the department is working with stakeholders on the file. The Manitoba Teachers’ Society did not provide comment on the subject either, redirecting a query to a quote from president James Bedford in a prepared release: "The safety of students and of all education staff is of the utmost priority, and teachers are committed to ensuring that our students continue to learn during these uncertain times." For parents, common concerns include their children's safety and ability to be asymptomatic carriers, as well as the unknown. "At least if they had more information at this point then they could prepare," said Brenda Brazeau of the Manitoba Association of Parent Councils. A member of a provincial task force on the COVID-19 education response, Brazeau has yet to hear any discussion about what reopening schools could look like. Meanwhile, Theule said it's important Manitobans start to consider their options. "We have to acknowledge teachers’ expertise," she said. "The idea that parents could do this is almost amusing. If all parents could do this, we wouldn't have a public school system." maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

The COVID 19 thread is back. I did not move any of the political posts, I just deleted them. They have already been discussed ad nauseum, over in yonder rambling thread.

Yes, that was allowed even before this announcement.

We don’t know the infection rate for the flu either, there is no way to know that, because most of us stay home and fight it on our own for the most part, so where would medical professionals get the data to compile those stats? I think the flu should not be compared to COVID because the following do not apply to Covid, at least not yet. a) There are flu vaccines that are at least reasonably effective b) Many people have learned what they need to do when cold and flu season comes around, to build up immunity and minimize contact with germs

You need to listen to more youtube experts. It's 5% because they are not testing everyone, and people who died from other causes are being recorded as COVID 19 deaths. There are real heroes out there, putting the true information on youtube. Best get over there and watch some truth before its removed. /sarcasm

The 10 person limit on gatherings was until May 1 - I'm thinking we will hear about that too.

Even if schools do reopen, field trips are all cancelled for this year. So, there is really no point in the Kids Fest being open, as field trips their major source of business.

I find that the #1 way to assess information is how they are presenting it. Listen closely to what they're actually saying. Is it it a 50 minute lecture that could be done in 10 minutes, because they are just saying the same thing in 10 different ways? Are they showing actual information and studies using slides, or are they just reading information and saying 'this is our data'? I watched a video yesterday, from a Dr. Erickson in California. He sounded reasonable, professional and sensible, but he was doing all of the above. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the video is no longer on youtube or MSN this morning. Here's a link to a rebuttal: https://calmatters.org/health/2020/04/debunking-bakersfield-doctors-covid-spread-conclusions/

His fallowers. That’s perfect, right on.

IMO, the Lions need to get their hands on the best OL in the draft. Their line play did improve later in the 2019, but it was still well below par.