Victoria Bee

The true understanding of life isn’t measured on a test, but in the way we treat others.

[TLDSB @TLDSB]

TLDSB graduating students pursuing apprenticeships, their parents/guardians, and educators, are invited to attend an upcoming information session being held virtually on Wednesday, June 19 at 6:30 p.m.

Learn more: https://t.co/QF7BNN92Qk

[OSSTF Communications @osstf]

“Services are no-longer available outside of school... we have students coming to school w/ unique challenges & then the services are cut w/in the school as well. It creates a perfect storm.”

Educators SPEAK OUT on increasing violence in #OntEd schools!
https://t.co/ub91tPsvcd

[Victoria Bee @VictoriaBee3]

@hhs4152 We loved your presentation! Such a cool robot and such amazing teamwork. ❤️

[Hoya Robotics 4152 @hhs4152]

Thanks Saint Mary's. We loved sharing our robotics journey with you!

[Thomas Piggott MD PhD @twpiggott]

Deeply disappointed to learn that funding has been cancelled for the wastewater surveillance program in Ontario.
This has been critical information not only for COVID-19, but other infectious disease threats (Influenza, RSV, MPox, Polio & now H5N1) in Ontario.

[John Fraser @JohnFraserOS]

How is it that spending $1 billion to get booze at the corner store, just a year earlier, is a higher priority for @fordnation than the basic healthcare services that Ontario families depend on?

[Science girl @sciencegirl]

Animal speed comparison

[Bev 🇨🇦 @Garnet_2203]

Pierre Poilievre doesn’t care about people. He’s using them for political gain. “If you care about people and alleviating suffering…..” 👇👇👇👇@CBC @RosieBarton #PierrePoilievreIsUnelectable #PierrePoilievre @PierrePoilievre #canada #NeverVoteConservative #CarbonTax #AxeTheTax #Diagolon

[Hoya Robotics 4152 @hhs4152]

We will be competing at the Ontario District Championship next week. Check out our journey so far this season. Thanks to Wilson for putting the video recap together.
https://t.co/8EUow74R1v

[Paul G. Brandon @PaulGBrandon]

Posted at my doctor's office.
#onHealth

[The Chill Activist @chillactivist]

@TorontoStar Why is he holding rallies 2 years before an election? @ElectionsCan_E please help us understand. I don’t think 🇨🇦 needs constant US style campaigning. All he can do is run the US Maga playbook. This is not the kind of politics any of us should want to see here.

[Dan Rather @DanRather]

If I may, there’s something I need to get off my chest.

As democracy remains under siege, it has been frustrating to watch how the press covers politics these days.

I am reminded by lessons that came to me during the Nixon years as a CBS News correspondent, which I’ll add here:

1. Enough with Both-sides-ism

When one side lies intentionally and repeatedly, they are no longer entitled to the benefit of the doubt. They should be held to account, right away. Do not simply repeat the narratives they spew.

2. Prioritize Live Fact-Checking

Rigorous and robust fact-checking is the best defense against misinformation, intentional lies, and deflection.

If Trump says the sky is green, the story isn’t that the sky is now green; the story is that the sky is still blue and Trump got it wrong.

3. Ask Lawmakers Hard Questions

Ask about the fundamental principles of democracy. Push them to go on the record that Biden won the 2020 election.

Ask if they support the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

This writing is not to offer any claim of knowing it all. Your correspondent has made his share of mistakes, but after more than seven decades I believe I have picked up a few useful guideposts.

Good journalism is always worth it. Our democracy depends on it.

↓

For the rest of my list, please see my the latest post of my independent newsletter – the link is in my Twitter biography.

[Kimiko Shibata 🦋 @ESL_fairy]

There is not any more “fat to trim” in #OntEd.

[Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board @SMCDSB]

🚨School Bus Cancellations for Feb. 28, 2024🚨

All school buses and vans have been cancelled in Simcoe County and Muskoka.

Schools are open for student learning.

🚌https://t.co/IBpdWNgfZs

[Colin D'Mello | Global News @ColinDMello]

NEW: The Ford government is freezing the beer tax for 2 years, until just before the next election.

The tax was slated to increase by 4.6% on Mar 1.

It means $200 million in forgone tax revenue for the province.

#onpoli

[Floyd Ruskin @dontrailtalkerTO @floyd_ruskin]

The Ford govt is bound and determined to strip science education and fun from Ontario residents.
Support the efforts to stop this ill advised plan.
Sign the letter and if you can donate
Fundraiser by Save OSC : Campaign to Save Ontario's Science Centre https://t.co/cpWXSw8gYj

[Tyler Watt 🇨🇦 @tylerwatt]

Ontario’s Conservatives are cutting school bus eligibility for most age groups.

Gr 9-12: Must live over 3.2km (doubled)

Gr 4-8: >1.6km

Gr 1-3: >1.6km (doubled)

Kindergarten: >800m (2x)

This will impact many especially in rural areas. #onpoli #onted

https://t.co/wt50QTk1ib

[Toronto Star @TorontoStar]

#Breaking: TDSB votes in favour of changing P.A. day for total solar eclipse https://t.co/00oA2LFapM

[Mike Farwell @farwell_WR]

As it turns out, the health minister is in Kitchener today. I hope she spends six minutes listening to this before her remarks later this morning. I hope you can find six minutes to listen to it as well. It's important.

[Julia Malott @AlottaMalotta]

Please share this widely! I couldn't be more terrified of our country's healthcare crisis and @ONThealth can do better!

Ontario healthcare is broken and we've long known it. It's been like this my entire lifetime, and I'm not exactly young.

This is my daughter's IV line, which she's been connected to since 2:00am this morning. She's been awake for well over 24 hours, as have I, as we await care at @StMarysGenHosp in Kitchener, Ontario.

We arrived shortly after 10:00pm yesterday evening after my daughter complained of excruciating abdominal pain. As usual, care took hours to arrive. She was given a bed where she squirmed and sobbed until finally, shortly after 2:00am, the doctor paid her a visit and ordered pain meds to make things bearable.

It was evident by 4:00am that we were almost certainly looking at appendicitis, as the pain was centralizing in the lower right quadrant. We all suspected this, but we couldn't confirm until 8:00am because... apparently we don't have ultrasound technicians during the evening. No one has medical emergencies in the middle of the night, I suppose?

For those who haven't had the pleasure of an inflamed appendix, appendicitis often leads to a ruptured appendix after a period of increasing pain, and that rupture can be fatal. Fortunately for us that hasn't happened yet, but time matters. There's nothing this hospital can do for us as 'we need to confirm it's appendicitis'. We wait until 8:00am

By 5:00am we are told that my daughter needs to give up her emergency room bed. Someone else needs it. She is still in pain, but will now make due sitting in the waiting room, putting pressure on her abdomen in the process. There's no negotiation—there are no beds available.

We wait until 8:00am. We wait until 9:00am. Some guy walks in with a Tim Horton's cup during our tenure and gets the first ultrasound slot. I'm sure his condition was just as severe.

By 10:00am the doctor confirmed what had been evident for hours—we've got a case of appendicitis on our hands and we need to move forward with emergency surgery.

...Except... they can't do that in this particular hospital and @grhospitalkw doesn't have any beds available either. No one knows when they will have a bed for my daughter who is both sleep deprived and in critical medical condition.

I inquire. An hour? A bed by noon? Will we even get one today?

No one has an answer. No one wants to have the conversation. I can tell I am a burden to the overworked staff.

We return to the waiting room and my daughter keeps sitting. She's been awake now since yesterday morning. Her pain flares up every few hours and—after being brought almost to tears the edge is subdued with another dose of pain suppressants.

She's refused a bed because there are no beds available, and I can't take her home to her bed because she needs surgery—though there's none of that available either.

She hasn't eaten in more than 18 hours and she's been told that she's not allowed one bite because she might have surgery any moment... Or perhaps never... so we sit and wait—watching her IV machine go into upstream occlusion every 5 minutes. The nurses don't have time to do anything about it.

This is a simple problem to fix. Fund our healthcare system! @SylviaJonesMPP, @fordnation, our citizens deserve better.

Fix it!