Regina passes municipal ban on conversion therapy
Regina city council has passed its local ban on conversion therapy.
The bylaw bans the widely debunked practice of conversion therapy, which is intended to get people to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The ban makes it illegal for people to counsel others with the intent of changing their sexual orientation or gender identity.
No delegations or speakers were allowed to speak on Wednesday, as it was a simple vote on the third reading of the prospective bylaw. It passed 10-1.
Wednesday’s vote was the conclusion of a somewhat tumultuous process.
In April, council voted to bring forward a bylaw based on the conversion therapy ban that was passed in Saskatoon in February.
During public meetings in April, dozens of delegations from Alberta, Saskatoon and Ontario addressed council on the topic.
Many of the organizations opposed to the proposed bylaw used homophobic and transphobic rhetoric, saying any potential ban it would infringe upon their right to seek their choice of therapy while others cited religious freedom.
The majority of people from Regina were supportive of the bylaw ban. At the time, Coun. Cheryl Stadnichuk said there was a three to one ratio of people being supportive.
Cheryl Stadnichuk is the councillor for Ward 1 in Regina. (Cheryl Stadnichuk/Facebook)
“We’ve also heard from counselors and faith leaders who have said this will not affect their ability to counsel people. They do not see this by in any way. So we have heard that from people who actually do that counselling. And I’m going to take their word for it,” Stanichuk said at the July 14 meeting.
The bylaw could’ve actually been passed earlier except for a lone hold-out on council. Bylaws need three readings and votes to come into effect. All three can be done in one meeting if it is unanimous.
However, council voted 10 to 1 on the first and second bylaw readings. The lone vote against was Coun. Landon Mohl.
Mohl had requested changes to the bylaw allowing for some therapies to repress or reduce sexual attraction for a purpose unrelated to a desire to be heterosexual, such as for sexual addictions or celibacy.
On Wednesday, Mohl was once again the sole vote against the bylaw.
Sask. health workers are burning out, plus 3 other takeaways from this week’s COVID-19 check-in
The Saskatchewan government recently ceased its regular news conferences to discuss the province’s COVID-19 situation, but physicians with the Saskatchewan Heath Authority (SHA) have kept meeting to discuss the latest challenges they’re facing during the pandemic and posting about it online.
Their latest virtual town hall was on Thursday night.
Here are four takeaways.
- Despite health restrictions being lifted, ‘we’re still in a pandemic’
That was the message delivered by Cory Neudorf, a senior medical health officer at the health authority.
Saskatchewan’s test positivity rate began inching upwards one month ago. As of Thursday, it stood at five per cent, compared to around two per cent on July 12.
(SHA)
- Staff shortages could be a problem during a 4th wave
The intensive care units in Saskatoon and Regina currently have enough staff to meet demand, according to this slide:
(SHA)
But overall, health system remains under pressure, said Dr. Kevin Wasko, the SHA’s physician executive for integrated rural health, in an interview with CBC News just hours before the town hall.
“If we were to have a fourth wave come [in the] fall, it would look very different than what that looked like previously in the pandemic, because we don’t have the capacity anymore to surge like we did,” he said.
The sustained stress of the pandemic has taken its toll on health-care workers, Wasko said.
“What’s different now than was the case early on in the pandemic is that people are tired, people are burned out, there are people who have left the system, whether it’s because they decided this isn’t the profession for them or they opted to retire because they were eligible to do so. And what it has caused is a very real labour shortage,” he said.
(SHA)
Rural Saskatchewan and the province’s urban centres are feeling the pinch, Wasko said.
“The emergency department at [Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital], for instance, has had an exodus of nursing staff. In rural Saskatchewan, we’re having to put hospitals on diversion because we can’t staff the facilities with nurses or physicians because people are tired, and they’re not wanting to work overtime and put in that extra time when they’ve had such a long go over the past year and a half.”
- What can people do? Get vaccinated
People should also still mask up when in crowded indoor spaces.
(SHA)
- Our vaccine rates are lagging
As of Thursday, 64.9 per cent of the Saskatchewan population eligible for vaccination (people aged 12 and up) have been fully vaccinated.
That’s lower than every other province in Canada but one.
(SHA)
Regionally, full vaccine take-up in Saskatchewan ranges from as low as 33 per cent in the province’s far north central (a sparsely-populated area that includes Uranium City, Fond-du Lac and Stony Rapids) to as high as 70 per cent in Regina, the provincial capital.
The lower uptake in parts of the north comes despite the fact that people in northern Saskatchewan had earlier access to the vaccine than their southern counterparts.
(SHA)
Wasko said there’s an array of reasons why Saskatchewan people are choosing not to get vaccinated.
“There is some skepticism about the vaccine,” he said. “There’s definitely some misinformation or the perception that if you’re young and healthy, you’re not going to get sick anyway. And there is definitely a contingent of people who have really bought into that anti-COVID, anti-mask, anti-vaccine story or narrative. It is out there and it is alive and well, unfortunately.”
SHA issues COVID-19 exposure warning for Aug. 6 Roughriders game
The Saskatchewan Health Authority has issued a COVID-19 exposure warning after one or more people attended the game while likely infectious.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has issued a COVID-19 exposure warning after one or more people attended the game while likely infectious.
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In a release issued Friday afternoon, the SHA said the exposure happened in the Pil Country section at Mosaic Stadium between 5:30 and 11:30 p.m.
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Contact tracing is ongoing, but because the case was located in the Pil Country end zone, the SHA said tracing will be difficult.
“There is at least one case of an infected individual attending the game in this section,” said the release.
All individuals who attended the game, specifically those who were in the Pil Country section, should self monitor for COVID-19 symptoms until Aug. 20. If symptoms develop, start self-isolating immediately and seek testing, urged the SHA.
It is the same section several NDP MLAs were sitting in when they snapped a photo that caused controversy for the party.
“MLAs in this section were fully vaccinated and took precautions throughout the night. Out of an abundance of caution, they have since gotten tested for COVID-19, and they are negative. This underlines the importance of ensuring proof of vaccination at any major events and why we are encouraging people to go get vaccinated,” states an emailed statement from the NDP.
If you are already feeling unwell or were in contact with an ill individual while at the game or afterward, self-isolate and seek testing immediately, the release said.
Mosaic Stadium was filled to capacity during the Roughriders’ first football game since 2019. The team has opted not to require proof of vaccination for fans to attend games.