Toronto man gives children anti-vaccine postcard with their Halloween candy
A Toronto man who gave children an anti-vaccine postcard along with their Halloween candy says he does not feel bad about doing it.
Erin Clifford said her eight-year-old going door-to-door on Halloween in Little Italy was supposed to be something normal in the middle of the pandemic, instead she ended up ticked-off.
"(He) put it in my kids bag of treats," Clifford said. "I just got really upset that that's how they would do it."
"It's a kid’s holiday. There's no place for it. We wouldn't be sending out pro-vaccine messages on Halloween. You were sending it straight to my kids and it was attached to something they wanted."
CTV News Toronto spoke with the man who said he handed out the postcards with the treat on Halloween, but wouldn’t appear on camera.
He said he "absolutely does not feel bad" about handing them out because it’s such an important issue.
He said he gave out 30 of postcards, with two sets of parents handing them back.
One mother told CTV News Toronto she felt the postcard scared children.
Patrick Bednarek's eight-year-old also received the postcard.
"Little disappointed that Halloween was being used as an opportunity to communicate these perspective to an audience, which is a younger audience that can’t make the choice themselves to get vaccinated yet," Bednarek said.
Parents who discovered the postcard in the loot said they aren't totally surprised, as people on both sides of the vaccine debate are passionate.
"It was a fun night, and didn't mar my kid's experience, but it marred mine," said Clifford.
"He [my 8-year-old] didn’t really have a perspective on it one way or the other. It was more I noticed it among the parents getting together chatting about it thinking it was awkward on Halloween," Bednarek said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
NEW 'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Canadian couple among tourists on sinking sailing boat tour abroad
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Accused of burglary at stepmother's home, U.S. senator says she wanted her father's ashes: charges
A Minnesota state senator and former broadcast meteorologist told police that she broke into her stepmother's home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to burglary charges filed Tuesday.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.