Doubtful, but few of them would have the balls to actually follow through on their threats.Even fewer would have the energy to get off the couch and go out. I don't know if they could track down the calls, but internet warriors should not be hard to find. Give them a public flogging.
SARS‑CoV‑2 (COVID-19)
- Thread starter B00Mer
- Start date
The only time I ever had a flu as an adult was after getting a flu shot because I was working ambulance part time. Had a low grade flu for 3 weeks. Never do it again. Even the public health nurse that administered it said she never gets one.
You spelled indoctrinated wrong. There are much safer and better remedies that Naturopaths have, that can be ingested instead of injected.
"WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has “low confidence” in its own conclusion."
Low confidence ≠"never really any doubt"
Actually, low confidence leaves room for a LOT of doubt.
Thank you for showing you have no absolute understanding at all about how the flu vaccines work. You want to know why you got the flu? Because more than likely, it was for the ASSUMED strain of flu that year, and NOT the actual strain of flu you got. That's how it always works and why some people get it, some don't. Or your immune system just sucked that year and you got it regardless.
"Low grade flu"? Was that your "official" diagnosis or just your assumption? Cause that's not a 'thing' diagnostically.
So you never go to a doctor?
Well that's on you and you do you. But that doesn't mean doctors are 'indoctrinated'.
You are though so maybe it's just projection.
Nah, he's a rough, tough firefighter in BC. Whiskey and biting a leather belt'll get him through.
Only for my drivers medical. I give him $225, and he signs the paper and sends it in. Last 2 times he never even put a cuff on me.
I live with a naturopath, so I don't need to see a pill pusher unless I get hurt, which I try not to do. Last time was early covid time, air nailer bounced and put a nail through my finger. QB is too small to have a clinic, so I went to the primary care in Parksville. Had a young lady doing her practicum and a nurse deal with it. First thing she said was, " I have never seen anything like that before." Made me like her. I said, "first time for everything".
Can't do whiskey. A long time ago one of my native friends told me I shouldn't do whiskey. Said it made me go white man. Don't like the taste anyway.
Only drink whiskey when you want to get stupid drunk . Most don’t want to get stupid drunk .
Well great for you.
Some of us actually do need doctors.
So while I won't shit on your "naturopath", don't shit on doctors. Each have their place in health care, IMO and just because you may think you know more than them, doesn't mean you do.
New COVID-Like Bat Virus Discovered in China
[VIDEO]China discovered a new bat coronavirus capable of infecting humans. The virologist behind the discovery, known as China’s "bat woman," works for a Chinese lab—the Wuhan Institute of Virology, accused of leaking the COVID-19 virus. President Donald Trump signs an order blocking Chinese investments in U.S. tech and other strategic fields. China is threatening retaliation. Is Trump's China tariff push sparking a shift? An American tech giant just announced hundreds of billions of dollars in new U.S. investments, creating tens of thousands of jobs. China and Russia mark the third anniversary of Russia’s Ukraine invasion, affirming their "no limits" friendship. This comes just after Trump’s "very good talks" with Russia.
Uptake of COVID-19 booster shots has plummeted. Here’s why scientists are concerned
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Nicole Ireland
Published Mar 08, 2025 • 4 minute read
Infectious disease experts are urging seniors to get the latest COVID-19 booster shot as uptake plunges five years after the coronavirus pandemic struck.
“We see that the protection is needed most for those who are at highest risk of COVID-19 severe disease,” said Matthew Tunis, executive secretary for the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).
For most others, it’s not as urgent.
Tunis, a microbiology and immunology specialist, noted that thanks to high rates of early vaccinations, hybrid immunity is so prevalent in Canada that much of the population is well-protected against serious illness.
NACI issued COVID-19 guidance in January to that effect, and it’s meant to stand through summer 2026, barring the emergence of any variants that cause severe illness in the broader population.
Unlike influenza, COVID-19 has not settled into a seasonal pattern and is present year-round, Tunis said.
For that reason, along with the fact that immunity starts to wane about six months after getting a COVID-19 shot, NACI strongly recommends two doses per year of the most up-to-date vaccine for the most vulnerable. That includes seniors who are 80 years and older, residents of long-term care homes, and adults and children six months and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised due to an underlying condition or medical treatment that suppresses the immune system.
NACI also strongly recommends one shot per year for people between 65 and 79 years old, pregnant people, health-care workers, racialized groups and those with underlying medical conditions that could make them sicker if they get a COVID infection.
As for everyone else, individuals can decide whether they need a booster, ideally in consultation with a health-care provider, Tunis said.
Even though they may still get the virus, this group should have enough immunity from earlier vaccinations, infections or both to protect them from serious illness, infectious disease researchers say.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, more than 80 per cent of Canadians have had their primary two-dose series of COVID-19 vaccine. Uptake among seniors was very high, with more than 95 per cent of people 60 and over getting at least one dose.
As the virus that causes COVID-19 mutated into variants that could evade the immune system — most notably Delta and Omicron _ manufacturers have updated the vaccine for booster shots.
But public enthusiasm for boosters has waned in recent years. The Public Health Agency’s most recent data from June 2024 shows only 18 per cent of the overall population got an updated shot for the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant.
Seniors have continued to get booster shots at much higher rates than the rest of the population but their uptake is also on the decline. Only about 62 per cent of people 80 and older got the XBB.1.5 shot — leaving an unacceptably high number of older seniors underprotected, experts say.
“Vaccine uptake among the vulnerable populations is the biggest issue,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO).
“They’re (designated) vulnerable for a reason. The evidence shows that they can get really sick and potentially die if they get COVID if they’re not up-to-date on their boosters,” she said.
PHAC did not have uptake data for the most up-to-date booster, targeted to the Omicron KP.2 subvariant, available since last fall. Experts fear the uptake among seniors is just as low.
“As people get older … their immune system sometimes needs a little bit more of a kick, like to get going. So those boosters can be really, really important,” Rasmussen said.
Up to this point, the federal government has paid for COVID-19 boosters. This year, that responsibility shifts to the provinces and territories.
Although they will still work with the federal government to get the best price through bulk procurement, each province and territory will decide how much of the latest booster to order and who will be eligible for the shots.
The Canadian Press reached out to all provinces and territories to ask what their COVID-19 vaccination rollout would be in the coming year. Many said they were reviewing NACI’s guidelines and did not yet have their fall plan — including whether or not they would fund the shot for people outside of the priority groups.
The exception was the Northwest Territories, which said in an emailed statement it would not turn anyone away.
“Targeted campaigns are not meant to exclude individuals but to help clients, families and communities quickly identify who is at most risk and make informed decisions,” a spokesperson said.
Experts say it’s important for the public to understand what the COVID-19 vaccine does — and what it doesn’t.
In the past, people commonly believed vaccines were only effective if they prevent infection, like the measles vaccine, which ensures the virus can’t replicate in the body. If enough people are vaccinated, that results in the most robust form of herd immunity, said Rasmussen.
But it’s very difficult to make a vaccine that does that for viruses that mutate, including COVID-19 and influenza, she said. That’s why the measure of success for the COVID-19 vaccine is its high effectiveness at preventing people from becoming seriously ill, being hospitalized or dying.
“Having a vaccine that is really good at preventing you from even getting infected is wonderful,” said Matthew Miller, director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University in Hamilton.
“But I would argue that it’s even more important that a vaccine prevents severe manifestations because, you know, we can all kind of deal with common cold-like symptoms,” he said.
Tunis, of NACI, said the advisory committee continues to monitor COVID-19 to determine if it needs to change its guidance.
“We’ve seen strain updates roughly every year,” he said.
“It’s entirely possible that the virus changes again and the hybrid immunity that’s been established needs to actually be propped up with vaccination for younger populations.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Nicole Ireland
Published Mar 08, 2025 • 4 minute read
Infectious disease experts are urging seniors to get the latest COVID-19 booster shot as uptake plunges five years after the coronavirus pandemic struck.
“We see that the protection is needed most for those who are at highest risk of COVID-19 severe disease,” said Matthew Tunis, executive secretary for the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).
For most others, it’s not as urgent.
Tunis, a microbiology and immunology specialist, noted that thanks to high rates of early vaccinations, hybrid immunity is so prevalent in Canada that much of the population is well-protected against serious illness.
NACI issued COVID-19 guidance in January to that effect, and it’s meant to stand through summer 2026, barring the emergence of any variants that cause severe illness in the broader population.
Unlike influenza, COVID-19 has not settled into a seasonal pattern and is present year-round, Tunis said.
For that reason, along with the fact that immunity starts to wane about six months after getting a COVID-19 shot, NACI strongly recommends two doses per year of the most up-to-date vaccine for the most vulnerable. That includes seniors who are 80 years and older, residents of long-term care homes, and adults and children six months and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised due to an underlying condition or medical treatment that suppresses the immune system.
NACI also strongly recommends one shot per year for people between 65 and 79 years old, pregnant people, health-care workers, racialized groups and those with underlying medical conditions that could make them sicker if they get a COVID infection.
As for everyone else, individuals can decide whether they need a booster, ideally in consultation with a health-care provider, Tunis said.
Even though they may still get the virus, this group should have enough immunity from earlier vaccinations, infections or both to protect them from serious illness, infectious disease researchers say.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, more than 80 per cent of Canadians have had their primary two-dose series of COVID-19 vaccine. Uptake among seniors was very high, with more than 95 per cent of people 60 and over getting at least one dose.
As the virus that causes COVID-19 mutated into variants that could evade the immune system — most notably Delta and Omicron _ manufacturers have updated the vaccine for booster shots.
But public enthusiasm for boosters has waned in recent years. The Public Health Agency’s most recent data from June 2024 shows only 18 per cent of the overall population got an updated shot for the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant.
Seniors have continued to get booster shots at much higher rates than the rest of the population but their uptake is also on the decline. Only about 62 per cent of people 80 and older got the XBB.1.5 shot — leaving an unacceptably high number of older seniors underprotected, experts say.
“Vaccine uptake among the vulnerable populations is the biggest issue,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO).
“They’re (designated) vulnerable for a reason. The evidence shows that they can get really sick and potentially die if they get COVID if they’re not up-to-date on their boosters,” she said.
PHAC did not have uptake data for the most up-to-date booster, targeted to the Omicron KP.2 subvariant, available since last fall. Experts fear the uptake among seniors is just as low.
“As people get older … their immune system sometimes needs a little bit more of a kick, like to get going. So those boosters can be really, really important,” Rasmussen said.
Up to this point, the federal government has paid for COVID-19 boosters. This year, that responsibility shifts to the provinces and territories.
Although they will still work with the federal government to get the best price through bulk procurement, each province and territory will decide how much of the latest booster to order and who will be eligible for the shots.
The Canadian Press reached out to all provinces and territories to ask what their COVID-19 vaccination rollout would be in the coming year. Many said they were reviewing NACI’s guidelines and did not yet have their fall plan — including whether or not they would fund the shot for people outside of the priority groups.
The exception was the Northwest Territories, which said in an emailed statement it would not turn anyone away.
“Targeted campaigns are not meant to exclude individuals but to help clients, families and communities quickly identify who is at most risk and make informed decisions,” a spokesperson said.
Experts say it’s important for the public to understand what the COVID-19 vaccine does — and what it doesn’t.
In the past, people commonly believed vaccines were only effective if they prevent infection, like the measles vaccine, which ensures the virus can’t replicate in the body. If enough people are vaccinated, that results in the most robust form of herd immunity, said Rasmussen.
But it’s very difficult to make a vaccine that does that for viruses that mutate, including COVID-19 and influenza, she said. That’s why the measure of success for the COVID-19 vaccine is its high effectiveness at preventing people from becoming seriously ill, being hospitalized or dying.
“Having a vaccine that is really good at preventing you from even getting infected is wonderful,” said Matthew Miller, director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University in Hamilton.
“But I would argue that it’s even more important that a vaccine prevents severe manifestations because, you know, we can all kind of deal with common cold-like symptoms,” he said.
Tunis, of NACI, said the advisory committee continues to monitor COVID-19 to determine if it needs to change its guidance.
“We’ve seen strain updates roughly every year,” he said.
“It’s entirely possible that the virus changes again and the hybrid immunity that’s been established needs to actually be propped up with vaccination for younger populations.”
Uptake of COVID-19 booster shots has plummeted. Here’s why scientists are concerned
Experts are urging seniors to get the latest COVID-19 booster shot as uptake plunges five years after the coronavirus pandemic struck
Defendant in $250 million pandemic food fraud case pleads guilty to wire fraud
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Steve Karnowski
Published Mar 07, 2025 • 3 minute read
MINNEAPOLIS — A man accused of witness tampering in a courtroom hallway pleaded guilty Friday to wire fraud for his role in a scheme that prosecutors said stole $250 million from a federally funded program meant to feed children.
The allegation of witness tampering against Abdinasir Abshir, 32, of Lakeville, surfaced last month in the trial of the alleged ringleader, Aimee Bock, the founder of the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future, and Salim Said, a former Minneapolis restaurant owner.
Seventy defendants have been charged altogether. Abshir was the 37th to plead guilty. Five were convicted last year in the first trial. The ongoing trial of Bock and Said is the second in the case. Abshir was due to stand trial in August as part of a later group.
That first trial was marred by an alleged attempt by some defendants and people linked with them to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash. That juror went straight to police. That led to tighter security for Bock’s trial, and additional precautions ordered by U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel.
Under Abshir’s plea deal, both sides agreed that federal guidelines recommend 63 to 78 months in prison on the wire fraud count, a sentence made tougher because of Abshir’s attempt to intimidate the witness. He also agreed to pay nearly $2.3 million in restitution and forfeit a 2021 Range Rover he bought with his proceeds.
Brasel noted that she is not bound by the recommendations and did not set a sentencing date.
Prosecutors alleged that Abshir approached a government witness and asked to speak with him in a courthouse bathroom. That witness, Sharmake Jama, the former owner of a Rochester restaurant, pleaded guilty earlier and agreed to testify against Bock and Said. Jama declined to enter the bathroom and instead told his lawyer, who informed prosecutors.
Earlier that day, court filings show, Abshir and another man had entered the courtroom loudly, apparently aware that a postal inspector was expected to testify about Abshir’s role. Abshir and the other man sat in the front row, close to the jury box, and continued to be disruptive until security approached them and they left.
Then Abshir approached Jama, who was sitting on a bench in the hallway, waiting to testify.
Abshir was later taken back into custody. In a detention order Thursday, Magistrate Judge Tony Leung found probable cause that Abshir committed a felony by attempting to intimidate Jama.
“Like the jury tampering that has been alleged to have occurred in the only other Feeding Our Future case tried thus far, intimidation of a witness is also a direct attack on the integrity, efficacy, and reliability of this nation’s judicial system,” Leung wrote. “The disregard for norms of laws and rules is all the more brazen in the context of the heightened scrutiny after the jury tampering charges stemming from the previously tried case.”
Abshir was accused of opening a fraudulent food distribution site called Stigma Free Mankato. Prosecutors allege he and his brother falsely claimed to have served more than 1.6 million meals to children in 2020 and 2021 in Mankato, a city of about 46,000 people. They allegedly collected $5.4 million. Abshir admitted to his role in that, and to paying $100,000 in bribes and kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee.
Defense attorney Craig Cascarano acknowledged that it was “a huge misstep on his part” for Abshir to approach the witness.
“It was a shocking incident,” Cascarano told the judge.
In ordering Abshir held without bail, Brasel cited the “flagrant actions” he took “not very far” from her bench, after warning him that going forward, it would be “a really bad idea” to for him try to talk to other witnesses or defendants.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Steve Karnowski
Published Mar 07, 2025 • 3 minute read
MINNEAPOLIS — A man accused of witness tampering in a courtroom hallway pleaded guilty Friday to wire fraud for his role in a scheme that prosecutors said stole $250 million from a federally funded program meant to feed children.
The allegation of witness tampering against Abdinasir Abshir, 32, of Lakeville, surfaced last month in the trial of the alleged ringleader, Aimee Bock, the founder of the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future, and Salim Said, a former Minneapolis restaurant owner.
Seventy defendants have been charged altogether. Abshir was the 37th to plead guilty. Five were convicted last year in the first trial. The ongoing trial of Bock and Said is the second in the case. Abshir was due to stand trial in August as part of a later group.
That first trial was marred by an alleged attempt by some defendants and people linked with them to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash. That juror went straight to police. That led to tighter security for Bock’s trial, and additional precautions ordered by U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel.
Under Abshir’s plea deal, both sides agreed that federal guidelines recommend 63 to 78 months in prison on the wire fraud count, a sentence made tougher because of Abshir’s attempt to intimidate the witness. He also agreed to pay nearly $2.3 million in restitution and forfeit a 2021 Range Rover he bought with his proceeds.
Brasel noted that she is not bound by the recommendations and did not set a sentencing date.
Prosecutors alleged that Abshir approached a government witness and asked to speak with him in a courthouse bathroom. That witness, Sharmake Jama, the former owner of a Rochester restaurant, pleaded guilty earlier and agreed to testify against Bock and Said. Jama declined to enter the bathroom and instead told his lawyer, who informed prosecutors.
Earlier that day, court filings show, Abshir and another man had entered the courtroom loudly, apparently aware that a postal inspector was expected to testify about Abshir’s role. Abshir and the other man sat in the front row, close to the jury box, and continued to be disruptive until security approached them and they left.
Then Abshir approached Jama, who was sitting on a bench in the hallway, waiting to testify.
Abshir was later taken back into custody. In a detention order Thursday, Magistrate Judge Tony Leung found probable cause that Abshir committed a felony by attempting to intimidate Jama.
“Like the jury tampering that has been alleged to have occurred in the only other Feeding Our Future case tried thus far, intimidation of a witness is also a direct attack on the integrity, efficacy, and reliability of this nation’s judicial system,” Leung wrote. “The disregard for norms of laws and rules is all the more brazen in the context of the heightened scrutiny after the jury tampering charges stemming from the previously tried case.”
Abshir was accused of opening a fraudulent food distribution site called Stigma Free Mankato. Prosecutors allege he and his brother falsely claimed to have served more than 1.6 million meals to children in 2020 and 2021 in Mankato, a city of about 46,000 people. They allegedly collected $5.4 million. Abshir admitted to his role in that, and to paying $100,000 in bribes and kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee.
Defense attorney Craig Cascarano acknowledged that it was “a huge misstep on his part” for Abshir to approach the witness.
“It was a shocking incident,” Cascarano told the judge.
In ordering Abshir held without bail, Brasel cited the “flagrant actions” he took “not very far” from her bench, after warning him that going forward, it would be “a really bad idea” to for him try to talk to other witnesses or defendants.
Defendant in $250 million pandemic food fraud case pleads guilty to wire fraud
A man accused of witness tampering in a courtroom hallway pleaded guilty to wire fraud for his role in a scheme that stole $250 million
COVID-era official’s ‘credibility’ in ruins since City Hall firing
Author of the article:Justin Holmes
Published Mar 09, 2025 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 6 minute read
Five years ago, when most of Toronto was losing its cool, Charles Jansen was in his element.
Jansen, now 66, is the kind of guy who figures out how to get things done, often under pressure. That’s how he made his name in the military: managing logistics, from the Toronto G20 summit to Afghanistan.
That’s what he was doing in March 2020, when COVID was starting to change how Toronto residents lived. City Hall’s leaders came up with the what and the why, and he had to figure out the how.
“I’m the type of person that enjoys a challenge,” he said. “Give me a really good challenge, let me get my teeth into it, give me the latitude to explore and expand, and what you’ll get at the end of it will be wonders.”
That’s the part of Jansen’s story few Torontonians know about. The part that made front-page news was when he was fired, without warning or much of an explanation, on March 18, 2020.
“My credibility disappeared,” he said, “right for that one little thing.”
Jansen had retired from the military and was considering a second career in HR when, in late 2019, an opportunity with the city came along that “looked like a perfect fit,” and close enough to his longtime home in Bolton. Toronto’s office of emergency management (OEM), as it was known then, had back-to-back acting directors and needed stability.
“To me,” Jansen said, emergency management was “a good challenge. It was an opportunity to serve again – you know, people. It was an opportunity to help people, especially in the time of their lives when the worst situation has happened, a disaster of some form.”
As director, Jansen reported to one of the deputy city managers, Tracey Cook. But “because I was new, they wanted me to report administratively” to Matthew Pegg, then chief of Toronto Fire Services, “so that I would learn the culture of the city and see how things are going.” (Pegg declined to be interviewed for this story. Cook did not respond to a request for comment.)
Jansen said things started well, but the political world of City Hall made for a culture clash.
“I think part of the problem is, in the military, you focus on your people – your people and the mission, right? And you make sure that your staff are looked after, you build the right kind of environment, you encourage, you motivate, you don’t throw anybody under the bus, you try to evolve and develop,” he said.
“And what I saw in the city environment, it was basically a bit cutthroat. Everybody was jumping to get to that next position up. They didn’t have an issue at all about tossing somebody under the bus.”
He said that included Pegg. When COVID really got rolling, Jansen said, the fire chief seemed to be positioning himself as if he were “saving the world, so to speak.”
“I started noticing a lot of things shifting and moving around, and me being pushed further and further aside so that the limelight was going his way,” Jansen said.
Meanwhile, Jansen was trying to direct the city’s limited pandemic supplies — surgical masks and the like — to municipal staff such as front-line workers and first responders. He was frustrated that directors of departments well inside City Hall’s walls were helping themselves to the goods – and few people were questioning that process.
“It’s a matter of co-ordination, which is really what the role of OEM was, to co-ordinate,” he said, “and unfortunately, it turned out that that really isn’t what they wanted. They really just wanted someone who was going to be like an incident commander and you’re just gonna direct some stuff, and leave it at that.”
Jansen worked with Dr. Eileen De Villa, who led Toronto Public Health during the pandemic, on a presentation on how to rethink City Hall during COVID.
“I sent it up to Pegg to look at, I sent it up to Tracey … nothing. No peeps, no word, nothing,” Jansen said. “I go to brief all the department heads and they were ready to hang me. ‘There’s no way we’re gonna look at having people remotely work during the pandemic. There’s no way we’re going to look at shutting down in-customer services just because there’s a pandemic.’
“The heads and that were so focused on maintaining that little empire that they had built,” he added, “as opposed to sitting back and saying: ‘How can we work together? … Can we change how we do some of our business?’ And they were completely unwilling to even think about that, even though, roll the clock forward, they did exactly that.”
Before long, Jansen said, Pegg had taken over a much larger role at emergency management, and he was now largely left with planning duties. One morning, he was directed to a meeting with Cook and an HR rep. He was out.
It was March 18, 2020. COVID was a full-on crisis – but, Jansen said, his probation was almost up, and they didn’t think he was the right fit.
Jobs come and go, but Jansen said the way his firing was handled “killed me the worst.” Reporters were told Pegg was in charge – and had been since the outbreak of COVID – but City Hall gave no details about Jansen’s departure.
“That basically meant OK, so, each of the newspapers, the media had to then come up with their own idea – ‘Well, why would they have fired the guy? What could have happened wrong?’ Nobody bothered to provide any kind of clarity or discussion about it, and so there was this whole flue of articles – you know, ‘Charles Jansen, director of OEM, fired at the height of COVID’ – big headlines,” Jansen said.
Even worse was when his family saw an old photo of Jansen with his wife attending a gala in the news coverage. “My wife was devastated,” he said. “Why do you drag my wife into something like this?”
The bad press dogged him on the job hunt. Jansen at the best of times battles PTSD, and this pushed him “over the deep edge.”
“There was a while there where, yeah, it was extremely dark,” he said.
A lot has changed since. Pegg, Cook and De Villa have retired from the city. Jansen’s ultimate successor, Joanna Beaven-Desjardins, was made executive director when emergency management became a stand-alone division at City Hall.
City Hall officials said they do not comment on personnel matters and Pegg’s successor, Fire Chief Jim Jessop, declined to speak to the Sun about Jansen’s tenure. In a brief statement, a city representative said emergency management was “a unit inside Toronto Fire Services” until 2022, and Pegg would’ve had “oversight” of the office.
A person who worked in the office during Jansen’s tenure, who the Sun is not naming given the sensitivity of the subject, said staff heard nothing about the firing beyond what reporters were told at the time.
It simply appeared Pegg and Cook’s “displeasure with Jansen” had been building before he was let go, the person said.
Jansen wound up solving the hard problems again, this time with the federal government. He told the Sun about leading an app that serves as a one-stop hub for Canadians when a loved one dies. It’s a different kind of emergency to manage. One silver lining: The guy who helped bring the remote work revolution to Toronto doesn’t mind working from home himself.
Working for Ottawa is “night and day” compared with City Hall, he said. The feds are “very open, very collaborative, very willing to share thoughts, ideas.”
“It’s not just pontificating and then making sure all the minions down below do it,” Jansen said. “No, they’re all right into it and they’re all right doing it.”
jholmes@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Justin Holmes
Published Mar 09, 2025 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 6 minute read
Five years ago, when most of Toronto was losing its cool, Charles Jansen was in his element.
Jansen, now 66, is the kind of guy who figures out how to get things done, often under pressure. That’s how he made his name in the military: managing logistics, from the Toronto G20 summit to Afghanistan.
That’s what he was doing in March 2020, when COVID was starting to change how Toronto residents lived. City Hall’s leaders came up with the what and the why, and he had to figure out the how.
“I’m the type of person that enjoys a challenge,” he said. “Give me a really good challenge, let me get my teeth into it, give me the latitude to explore and expand, and what you’ll get at the end of it will be wonders.”
That’s the part of Jansen’s story few Torontonians know about. The part that made front-page news was when he was fired, without warning or much of an explanation, on March 18, 2020.
“My credibility disappeared,” he said, “right for that one little thing.”
Jansen had retired from the military and was considering a second career in HR when, in late 2019, an opportunity with the city came along that “looked like a perfect fit,” and close enough to his longtime home in Bolton. Toronto’s office of emergency management (OEM), as it was known then, had back-to-back acting directors and needed stability.
“To me,” Jansen said, emergency management was “a good challenge. It was an opportunity to serve again – you know, people. It was an opportunity to help people, especially in the time of their lives when the worst situation has happened, a disaster of some form.”
As director, Jansen reported to one of the deputy city managers, Tracey Cook. But “because I was new, they wanted me to report administratively” to Matthew Pegg, then chief of Toronto Fire Services, “so that I would learn the culture of the city and see how things are going.” (Pegg declined to be interviewed for this story. Cook did not respond to a request for comment.)
Jansen said things started well, but the political world of City Hall made for a culture clash.
“I think part of the problem is, in the military, you focus on your people – your people and the mission, right? And you make sure that your staff are looked after, you build the right kind of environment, you encourage, you motivate, you don’t throw anybody under the bus, you try to evolve and develop,” he said.
“And what I saw in the city environment, it was basically a bit cutthroat. Everybody was jumping to get to that next position up. They didn’t have an issue at all about tossing somebody under the bus.”
He said that included Pegg. When COVID really got rolling, Jansen said, the fire chief seemed to be positioning himself as if he were “saving the world, so to speak.”
“I started noticing a lot of things shifting and moving around, and me being pushed further and further aside so that the limelight was going his way,” Jansen said.
Meanwhile, Jansen was trying to direct the city’s limited pandemic supplies — surgical masks and the like — to municipal staff such as front-line workers and first responders. He was frustrated that directors of departments well inside City Hall’s walls were helping themselves to the goods – and few people were questioning that process.
“It’s a matter of co-ordination, which is really what the role of OEM was, to co-ordinate,” he said, “and unfortunately, it turned out that that really isn’t what they wanted. They really just wanted someone who was going to be like an incident commander and you’re just gonna direct some stuff, and leave it at that.”
Jansen worked with Dr. Eileen De Villa, who led Toronto Public Health during the pandemic, on a presentation on how to rethink City Hall during COVID.
“I sent it up to Pegg to look at, I sent it up to Tracey … nothing. No peeps, no word, nothing,” Jansen said. “I go to brief all the department heads and they were ready to hang me. ‘There’s no way we’re gonna look at having people remotely work during the pandemic. There’s no way we’re going to look at shutting down in-customer services just because there’s a pandemic.’
“The heads and that were so focused on maintaining that little empire that they had built,” he added, “as opposed to sitting back and saying: ‘How can we work together? … Can we change how we do some of our business?’ And they were completely unwilling to even think about that, even though, roll the clock forward, they did exactly that.”
Before long, Jansen said, Pegg had taken over a much larger role at emergency management, and he was now largely left with planning duties. One morning, he was directed to a meeting with Cook and an HR rep. He was out.
It was March 18, 2020. COVID was a full-on crisis – but, Jansen said, his probation was almost up, and they didn’t think he was the right fit.
Jobs come and go, but Jansen said the way his firing was handled “killed me the worst.” Reporters were told Pegg was in charge – and had been since the outbreak of COVID – but City Hall gave no details about Jansen’s departure.
“That basically meant OK, so, each of the newspapers, the media had to then come up with their own idea – ‘Well, why would they have fired the guy? What could have happened wrong?’ Nobody bothered to provide any kind of clarity or discussion about it, and so there was this whole flue of articles – you know, ‘Charles Jansen, director of OEM, fired at the height of COVID’ – big headlines,” Jansen said.
Even worse was when his family saw an old photo of Jansen with his wife attending a gala in the news coverage. “My wife was devastated,” he said. “Why do you drag my wife into something like this?”
The bad press dogged him on the job hunt. Jansen at the best of times battles PTSD, and this pushed him “over the deep edge.”
“There was a while there where, yeah, it was extremely dark,” he said.
A lot has changed since. Pegg, Cook and De Villa have retired from the city. Jansen’s ultimate successor, Joanna Beaven-Desjardins, was made executive director when emergency management became a stand-alone division at City Hall.
City Hall officials said they do not comment on personnel matters and Pegg’s successor, Fire Chief Jim Jessop, declined to speak to the Sun about Jansen’s tenure. In a brief statement, a city representative said emergency management was “a unit inside Toronto Fire Services” until 2022, and Pegg would’ve had “oversight” of the office.
A person who worked in the office during Jansen’s tenure, who the Sun is not naming given the sensitivity of the subject, said staff heard nothing about the firing beyond what reporters were told at the time.
It simply appeared Pegg and Cook’s “displeasure with Jansen” had been building before he was let go, the person said.
Jansen wound up solving the hard problems again, this time with the federal government. He told the Sun about leading an app that serves as a one-stop hub for Canadians when a loved one dies. It’s a different kind of emergency to manage. One silver lining: The guy who helped bring the remote work revolution to Toronto doesn’t mind working from home himself.
Working for Ottawa is “night and day” compared with City Hall, he said. The feds are “very open, very collaborative, very willing to share thoughts, ideas.”
“It’s not just pontificating and then making sure all the minions down below do it,” Jansen said. “No, they’re all right into it and they’re all right doing it.”
jholmes@postmedia.com
‘UNDER THE BUS’: COVID-era official’s ‘credibility’ in ruins since City Hall firing
Charles Jansen was the guy who figured out how to make things happen. Then he became the guy Toronto City Hall fired at the start of COVID.
