Stratford Greens Regional Association

02/15/2022

Islanders are what makes Prince Edward Island the beautiful, diverse place it is. - thanks for all you do to keep each other healthy, safe, and strong.

02/11/2022

01/30/2022

Reaction from groups involved in P.E.I.'s education system is mixed as students prepare to head back to class Monday for the first time in 2022.

01/19/2022

Despite having two years to plan for the COVID outbreaks happening in long-term care (LTC) today, the King government did nothing.
Earlier this week, Peter Bevan Baker, Leader of the Official Opposition, called on Premier King to take immediate action to address the growing crisis in long-term care. Since then, the Official Opposition continues to hear from concerned families of LTC residents and healthcare workers. They are worried and scared for the safety of both residents and workers. It is time for this government to accept the responsibility of oversight of our LTC facilities.
During Michele Beaton's calls with the Minister of Health and Wellness this past weekend, it became apparent that he is either unaware of the issues or is waiting for someone to tell him what to do. Therefore, she is calling on the Premier to direct his Minister of Health to immediately enforce the CPHO protocols designed to protect the residents and staff at our LTCs. This includes following the Health PEI COVID-19 Clinical Operational Plan (October 2020) that clearly outlines what do in the event of an outbreak in LTC homes.

Specifically, she is calling on government to:
1. Ensure all LTC facilities are following CPHO guidelines for isolation of positive cases
2. Allow one Partner in Care to access the facility during a COVID outbreak to ensure that residents are cared for physically and mentally;
3. Utilize the LTC Mobile Rapid Response Outbreak Team to help with isolation, contact tracing, and testing of both residents and staff
4. Isolate all LTC residents who test positive for COVID-19 in dedicated LTC COVID-19 Care Units or to acute care.

She is also calling on Premier King to spend the $6M available in the federal Safe Long-term Care Funding and show Islanders how it was used.

There has been a colossal failure in leadership in this area up to this point. It is time for this government to step up and do the job it was elected to do.

here:http://ow.ly/FxuV50HxYBV

01/19/2022

Yesterday’s COVID briefing brought in much-needed restrictions to address the growing cases of COVID in our province. However, with the announcement came very little on how government will support Island workers during this stressful time. This is leading to many questions about where they fit into the King government’s plans to keep all Islanders safe.

First of all, the restrictions announced yesterday include only a partial shutdown of businesses. What is considered essential, and why are some things that were not deemed essential in prior lockdowns now open? In fact, there has been no discussion of what is or is not essential this time around. For example, we see gyms closed while retail remains open even though we know physical activity is a critical component of Islanders’ physical and mental health.

For businesses that are public facing, what is government doing to ensure those workers are protected? Public health guidance is shifting away from cloth masks to masks like 3-layer masks or N95s as the best protection against the airborne transmission of COVID. Is government making these masks available to workers?

It was also surprising to not hear of any support being made available to retail workers who have no choice in this partial lockdown. They are unable to access existing help and must go to work regardless of their personal health and family circumstances. This, and government’s delay in convening cabinet committees to support social and economic responses to the pandemic, shows the Premier failed to plan for this scenario.
Read the full statement here : https://www.greenparty.pe.ca/trish_altass_inconsistency_of_covid_restrictions_and_lack_of_support_for_island_workers

01/17/2022

Politics CAN be done differently on Prince Edward Island

01/14/2022

It has been more than a week since the King government further delayed the reopening of schools for Island children. During the briefing Dr. Morrison was asked if the measures the government is putting in place going forward were in place today, would schools be returning to in-person learning. Her answer was “No.”

“Islanders want to see their children safely back in school, and they want to know government is using this time to ensure we can indeed safely return to school. Unfortunately, I don’t see anything to suggest we’re better off today than we were last week,” said Lynne Lund, Official Opposition Critic for Education and Lifelong Learning. “After an additional week to prepare, Islanders are asking: is the CPHO confident the government has done enough to safely reopen schools on January 17th? And if we are delaying again, what will the government do differently to improve things?”

With the planned reopening only days away, Islanders are still waiting for an update from the government on details.

“We have been hearing from Island parents and teachers who want children to return to schools but are concerned not enough is being done to ensure a safe return to schools when there is widespread community transmission,” said Lund.

“This is not the time for platitudes and words. Government has the responsibility to provide the tools, assurances, and leadership necessary to keep Islanders safe,” said Lund. “Teachers pivoted. Parents pivoted. This is hard for everyone, but Islanders are ready to do what is necessary. While children and teachers have been learning and teaching remotely and parents have scrambled to balance work and at-home learning for the last two weeks, what has the government done? It’s time for Premier King and Minister Jameson to clearly explain their plan to keep Island children safe.”

https://www.greenparty.pe.ca/what_is_the_king_government_s_plan_for_back_to_school_and_when_will_they_share_it_with_islanders

01/13/2022

While the King government is failing to control the spread of Omicron in this COVID wave, community organizations have gone above and beyond to ensure that vital services continue to be offered in a safe way. Community organizations serve our most vulnerable Islanders including seniors, persons with disabilities, children, the homeless and people at risk. One way they have ensured safety is through the use of rapid tests to detect and prevent the spread of COVID.

Now the King government has directed PEI nonprofits and charities to apply through the Canadian Red Cross to access a federally funded rapid test supply rather than through the province. Based on recent information from the Canadian Red Cross (PEI Division), it generally takes 2-3 weeks to receive, process, and approve applications, and then coordinate shipments of test kits. This means for organizations applying today, they may receive their supply of tests by the end of January, provided their application is even approved.

Michele Beaton is deeply disappointed that the King government, through its own failure to plan, has left community service providers with no immediate access to tests as existing supplies are running dangerously low. However, she is not surprised. This government has continually demonstrated that it does not make vulnerable Islanders a priority. Action for them is usually an afterthought and is often treated as an inconvenience.

Minister Ernie Hudson can make an improvement if he chooses to take action. Michele Beaton is calling on him to immediately provide rapid tests to community organizations that are waiting for approval and/or shipment from Red Cross.

To read the full story click here http://ow.ly/mTte50Hu2Jn

01/11/2022

As Peter Bevan-Baker pointed out yesterday, we are facing a dangerous threat to our long-term care homes due to understaffing, with the potential to harm Islanders who represent some of our most vulnerable population, senior citizens.

Green Opposition Health Critic Michele Beaton agrees, and offers a few ideas for things that can be done now and that can go a long way to helping the situation.

First, the government can offer staff on understaffed units pay incentives. For example, a unit requires eight staff members to be fully staffed. If one person cannot make it in for the shift, the amount of wages for that missed person would be divided up by the staff that were available for the shift.

Secondly, the government can make sure childcare at or near Island hospitals and long-term care facilities is available and covered. This is especially important given schools are out and families are in need of help arranging care for children.

Finally, the government can offer incentives for Islanders to complete RCW and LPN courses. It can subsidize the cost of tuition for both Holland College and Marguerite Connolly Training & Consulting. For this subsidy, students would sign a return for service agreement.

Among the most disappointing things about our healthcare system is the lack of care, direction, planning, and presence by the Minister of Health. Islanders expect their government to be present and available at all times, especially during times of crisis. They do not expect their government to abandon its responsibility and for the Minister of Health to go AWOL.

https://www.greenparty.pe.ca/michele_beaton_statement_on_how_to_improve_staffing_concerns_in_long_term_care

01/06/2022

Prince Edward Island is facing the biggest threat to our healthcare capacity since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Islanders are anxious and are asking many important questions about how prepared we are to face this unprecedented rise in cases on our small Island. This is a time we should be hearing from the person in charge of our healthcare system but for some unexplained reason, the Minister of Health is nowhere to be found.

Every other province in Canada has regularly heard from their Minister of Health. During briefings these Ministers provided updates about responses to the pandemic, outlining plans and providing scientific evidence showing their response is appropriate and adequate to meet the pandemic confidently. PEI’s Minister of Health Ernie Hudson is conspicuously and embarrassingly absent from our health briefings.

Minister Hudson has a moral and ethical responsibility to competently lead our healthcare system. He has an obligation to explain to the Islanders he serves how he is ensuring we have the capacity to meet this rise in cases of COVID.

By continuing to be absent and unavailable, the Minister is ducking his responsibility to be accountable to the public. He must make himself available to provide clear answers and assurances to Islanders. It is the job he was appointed to by the Premier.

On behalf of Islanders Honourable Peter Bevan-Baker is asking:

Premier King, why aren’t you demanding your Minister do the job he was appointed to do?

Minister Hudson, will you finally make an appearance and explain why healthcare capacity has not improved under your watch?

Read the full release here: https://www.greenparty.pe.ca/peter_bevan_baker_minister_ernie_hudsons