'Ironic' that strip club has more COVID-19 protection than Ontario schools: manager
A Toronto gentleman’s club has required mandatory vaccines for patrons for three weeks now, and according to the manager, his staff feel much safer and there have been no complaints.
The unity displayed at Filmores can’t seem to be found in Ontario's government, where political finger-pointing isn't doing anything to advance a mandatory vaccine or vaccine passport policy that could prevent a more serious fourth wave of COVID-19, Kaspar Cameron, the club’s entertainment manager, said.
“The morality of it, the ethical responsibility of it, is what is guiding us. And I find it ironic that it has to be a strip club that leads,” Cameron said.
He said his staff got together and asked for vaccines to be required for their safety. No patron is allowed in without demonstrating that they have at least one vaccine dose, he said.
“The last thing anyone wants to feel in a strip club is worry about their safety, just be relaxed and have fun, not be worried about stuff,” Cameron said.
It’s a policy that wasn’t included in Ontario’s plans to reopen schools for September — though children from grades one to twelve will have to wear masks — and one that could make a difference if it was used in workplaces in general as the province prepares for the fourth wave of COVID-19.
“People are talking about mandatory vaccinations and vaccine passports,” Dr. Anna Banerji of the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health said.
“We really need to change the way we think about COVID. We need to keep places safe, homes safe, workplaces safe. The best way to do that is vaccination.”
Toronto Mayor John Tory said he was in favour of such a policy, but said implementing it shouldn’t be up to the city.
“We need an overall plan. We can’t afford to have a patchwork quilt of chaos, where York and Durham and Peel and Toronto and different employers within the banking system do things differently. People are going to be confused and that is a danger,” he said.
If a regional patchwork would be bad, a provincial patchwork would be even worse, according to Ontario’s Solicitor-General, who said she wrote the federal government asking for leadership.
“It becomes critically important, because we don’t want 13 different vaccine passports and certificates across Canada,” Sylvia Jones said.
The argument that no one can do anything until one person does everything is actually the opposite of the way the Canadian system of government works, says constitutional lawyer Andrew Furgiuele.
“Legally, there are pretty defined areas where they can act,” he said.
Furgiuele says health is typically the domain of the provinces, but local governments can pass bylaws, and the federal government can step in if there’s a national interest, just as it did with the carbon tax.
“The quickest way through the knot is for the first person to make a cut. Someone’s got to do something,” he said.
A system of checks and balances then kicks in as other levels of government rush to oppose or follow the move.
In the carbon tax example, it was actually B.C. that imposed it first, before it was adopted at the federal level, despite challenges from other provinces.
“As frustrating as it is, this is part of the classic general manoeuvring of government,” he said. “This is part of the natural functioning of our democracy.”
Watching that manoeuvring from Filmores, Cameron said his experience in the last three weeks has convinced him his club is on the right track — and he’s hoping politics will catch up.
“The tail’s wagging the dog again. That’s all we’re talking about, the tail. Not the majority of people who want to be safe,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
1 person killed and 23 injured in a bus crash in northern Maryland, police say
One person was killed and 23 others were injured when a bus crashed early Sunday on Interstate 95 in northern Maryland, police said.
Nylander defends Leafs' core after playoff exit, Toronto again picks up the pieces
William Nylander stood in a solemn visitors locker room at TD Garden just before midnight. The Maple Leafs had battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss. Nylander's message was emphatic.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.