Latest news with #Longfield
National Observer
6 days ago
- Politics
- National Observer
Ontario court halts Ford's plan to tear out Toronto bike lanes
Protected bike lanes in Toronto must remain in place for now, an Ontario judge said on Tuesday. The Ford government had appealed a previous ruling that ordered the bike lanes to remain, but failed. A superior court judge said the bike lanes can't be removed until an ongoing Charter challenge is resolved. The challenge, brought by Cycle Toronto and two individual applicants, targets the Ford government's anti-bike lane legislation, Bill 212 — the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act — and argues that removing the lanes violates Charter rights to life and security of the person, and puts cyclists' lives at risk. The bill grants the Ford government unilateral authority to remove municipal bike lanes. One of the provisions requires the provincial transportation minister to remove bike lanes on the three major Toronto streets. The government claims the change will alleviate traffic congestion and improve emergency response times, but no evidence has been provided to support this; meanwhile, opponents introduced government reports into evidence that suggested the bike lane removals could cause a rise in collisions without even saving any commuting time. In April, an Ontario superior court judge granted a temporary injunction to prevent the government from removing the bike lanes while the case is being considered. In May, the Ford government sought leave to appeal the injunction. But in Tuesday's decision, the court rejected the request and upheld the injunction. Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto, told Canada's National Observer that the court's decision to reject the Ford government's appeal is a strong signal the case is being taken seriously. 'We're obviously very pleased about this decision,' Longfield said. 'With this legal decision, I think it's a good opportunity for the province to sort of abandon this bad faith culture war and instead collaborate with municipalities on real, data-driven solutions to give people more transportation options.' A superior court judge said the bike lanes can't be removed until an ongoing Charter challenge is resolved. Dakota Brasier, director of media relations for Ontario's transportation minister, said the government will continue with the design work needed to begin removing bike lanes and get some of the province's 'busiest roads moving as soon as possible.' 'While we respect the court's decision, our government was elected with a clear mandate to get people out of traffic by restoring driving lanes,' Brasier said. Bronwyn Roe, a lawyer at Ecojustice representing the applicants, welcomed the court's decision and said the evidence clearly shows that removing heavily used, protected bike lanes on major Toronto routes would put cyclists' lives at risk. 'The government cannot be allowed to jeopardize the safety of Ontarians or violate the Charter-protected rights to life and security of the person,' Roe said in a statement. Looking ahead, Longfield stressed the importance of a full court victory, saying it could help set a precedent for how cycling infrastructure is protected in the future. At the same time, he believed there was still time for the province to reconsider whether the legislation was truly in the public interest. The City of Toronto estimates the cost to taxpayers for removing the bike lanes could reach $48 million, with the city having already invested $27 million in their construction. Restoring vehicle lanes will likely offer minimal improvements in travel time and undermine the public health, environmental and economic benefits of active transportation, the report warns. Bike Share Toronto has experienced impressive growth, with memberships doubling from 18,000 in 2020 to more than 35,000 in 2023, the report notes. Total trips by bike share surged from 2.9 million in 2020 to 5.7 million in 2023.
Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
A slump in children getting vaccines could thwart bid to wipe out disease
More parents have been saying no to vaccines for their children which could derail plan to "eradicate" cervical cancer by 2040 A slump in the number of children being vaccinated in schools is threatening a plan to 'eradicate' cervical cancer in England. Schools are seeing a reluctance by some parents to get their children protected against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, since the end of the pandemic. There has been a 17 percent fall in the numbers getting the jab for HPV which causes 99 per cent of all cervical cancers, killing thousands of women every year. The main reason for the drop off has been blamed on 'vaccine fatigue' which has also hit children's injections for measles, meningitis and diphtheria. Other factors have been increased pupil absences from school since Covid - which has almost doubled. In 2023 to 2024, 1.49 million children were persistently absent from school, 20 per cent of all pupils. Before Covid it was 11 per cent. One reason given by School Age Immunisation Services (SAIS) providers for the gradual decline in HPV coverage is the number of non-returned and declined consent forms from parents. There has also been a 'vaccine hesitancy and fatigue' following the pandemic. Staffing issues making it more 'challenging' to chase up parents for their forms have also been blamed. Over the years the double whammy of vaccination and smear-test screening has meant death rates have fallen by 75 per cent since the 1970s. By 2019 the figure in England had dropped from 853 to 685 deaths a year. But there are concerns the battle against cervical cancer could be derailed with the 90 per cent of girls aged 12 to 13 having vaccinations before the pandemic, dropping to 73 per cent last year. For boys, it went from 82 per cent to just 68 per cent. NHS England is now launching a catch-up campaign for children, according to the Sunday Times, in a bid to eliminate the disease by 2040. To keep on track it has to get vaccination rates back up to 90 per cent by 2030. The campaign will ask parents to talk about why they have declined the jabs. All youngsters aged 12 and 13 are eligible for HPV vaccinations and adults can also request one from their GP up to the age of 25. Caroline Temmink, NHS England's director of vaccination, said she was still very confident that cervical cancer could be eliminated and the vaccine rates could be restored. "But we need parents to work with us," The Sunday Times reported. "It's really exciting to have the opportunity to say to this whole generation that cervical cancer and some other cancers shouldn't be a risk for you." London has the worst rate of this vaccine coverage, down as low as 61 per cent, while in the wider southeast of England it is up to almost 80 per cent. Baroness Longfield, executive chairwoman of the Centre for Young Lives, said: "Progress is being made in boosting school attendance, but the numbers are still unacceptably high. All the evidence shows that missing school impacts on attainment and life chances, Children who are severely or persistently absent are inevitably at greater risk of missing out on important health interventions, including HPV jabs. The drop in uptake since Covid is extremely concerning, and a setback in the battle to eradicate cervical cancer by 2040." The HPV vaccine was introduced in 2008 and is initially offered to 12 and 13 year-olds but school vaccination providers will also offer jabs to pupils aged up to 15 and 16.
Global News
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Canada election 2025: Guelph
Guelph is a federal riding located in Ontario. This riding is currently represented by Liberal MP Lloyd Longfield who first took office in 2015. Longfield collected 29,382 votes, winning 42.11 per cent of the vote in the 2021 federal election. Longfield is not running in the 2025 election. Voters will decide who will represent Guelph in Ontario during the upcoming Canadian election on April 28, 2025. Visit this page on election night for a complete breakdown of up to the minute results. Candidates Liberal: Dominique O'Rourke Conservative: Gurvir Khaira NDP: Janice Folk-Dawson Green: Anne-Marie Zajdlik Marxist-Leninist: Elaine Baetz People's Party: Jeffrey Swackhammer Independent: Michael Wassilyn Canadian Future Party: Yurii Yavorskyi
The Independent
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
All schools should be ‘singing schools', says think tank in push for children's creativity
A new report suggests every primary school should become a "singing school' where music, drama, and visual arts are just as integral as literacy and numeracy. The Centre for Young Lives think tank and the Child of the North initiative say teachers should be given the time and resources to nurture children's creativity through singing, music, painting, drawing and acting. Among its recommendations is a call for the Government to put creativity and the expressive arts 'at the heart' of the primary school curriculum. 'A career in the arts, music, and cultural industries must not become the preserve of only the most advantaged,' former children's commissioner for England Baroness Anne Longfield, executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said. 'Creativity and the expressive arts should be part and parcel of every child's education from primary school, not just a small minority.' The report has called for a £150 million 'arts premium fund' to develop the existing primary school workforce and train new teachers to provide arts learning. It added that the Government should expand arts and music education – including offering free music or singing lessons for three years for every primary school child who wishes to learn. The report said: 'A cultural shift is required to create inclusive schools and give the next generation the skills they require to grow the UK 's economy—one that places creativity and the arts at the heart of education and gives the creative industries the workforce they require. 'Schools should not merely be places of 'reading, writing and maths' but spaces where young people can express themselves, explore diverse identities, and develop the critical thinking skills needed to thrive. Embedding creativity into the curriculum is essential. 'Every primary school should be a 'singing school,' where music, drama, and visual arts are as integral as literacy and numeracy.' The organisations have called for the arts to be integrated in subjects like history and science, and for Ofsted to recognise the importance of creativity and the arts in its inspections. Baroness Longfield added: 'Britain's children have got talent – but we are often too slow to nurture it and we are frequently failing to harness the innate skills in our communities through our education system. 'This is hindering the ability of our country to flourish and thrive. 'Many of our most successful musicians and bands have benefited from a rich, cultural, and creative education in the private school sector. 'We need to invest in boosting the opportunities of children in our state schools, from all backgrounds, as part of a bold ambition to develop truly inclusive education, support creativity throughout childhood and to tackle problems like the attendance crisis and attainment gap.' Camilla Kingdon, former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: 'We cannot afford to continue to squander the innate talent that exists everywhere in our country. 'We must encourage our future Benjamin Zephaniahs, Ed Sheerans, and Bridget Rileys – we have a rich cultural heritage to nurture. We want a society where children of all abilities and talents can flourish. 'That relies on creating an environment that enables a child to discover their hidden musical talent, or their under-developed dramatic skills, or their untapped artistic ability – and this cannot be reliant on having parents who have time and resources to nurture these talents. 'We must have an education system that sees investment in art and creativity as equally important to languages and maths or science. 'There cannot be a hierarchy of talents – all of them are important and should be collectively nurtured by society.' A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'High and rising standards are at the heart of this Government's mission to break down barriers to opportunity and we are committed to ensuring access to the arts is no longer the preserve of a privileged few. 'To support this, we are investing in music education through our £79 million music hubs programme, a £25 million investment in instruments and equipment and our music opportunities pilot. 'The curriculum and assessment review is also bringing together leading education experts, leaders and staff, to consider how to ensure young people get the opportunity to access a broad and balanced curriculum.'
