Tag: nanny state

Four Toronto-area school boards reschedule upcoming PA days due to solar eclipse risks

The 2024 total solar eclipse and its potential risks have forced at least four school boards west of Toronto to reschedule their professional activity days in April, according to officials.

In announcements published this week, Peel District School Board and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board said the previously planned PA day on May 17 will now take place on April 8, when the celestial event will blot out the sun across eastern Canada for a few minutes.

“…There are risks associated with viewing a solar eclipse,” the school boards said in matching news releases, citing the Canadian Space Agency’s guidance. “Looking directly at the sun, without appropriate protection, can lead to severe eye damage or loss of eyesight, even during an eclipse.”

The boards said that because the eclipse will occur around the same time students are dismissed, moving the PA day to April 8 will “ensure that students will not be outdoors during” that time.

Last week, Halton District School Board and Halton Catholic District School Board also jointly announced that they were moving their scheduled April 22 PA Day to April 8. The boards said the decision was made in consultation with student transportation services.

“By rescheduling the PA Day to coincide with the eclipse, we mitigate possible student​​​ transportation and safety concerns and challenges for families that could arise as a result of the darkness that would be experienced while students are being dismissed from school,” the boards said in a statement.

Keep reading

US tourist shocked when he was asked to sign ‘release form’ after ordering hamburger cooked medium at Toronto Hilton

Is there anything more disconcerting than being asked to sign a waiver before tucking into a hamburger?

An American visitor to Toronto shocked hundreds of Reddit users last week by sharing that he was asked to sign a waiver when he ordered a medium-cooked hamburger at a Hilton hotel restaurant.

“I ordered my burger medium and the waiter took it with no question or comment,” he wrote in a post captioned “Toronto burger came with a release form.”

“She brought it and it looked great! When I had my first bite she brought me a release form and said we always make our burgers well done, but since you wanted it medium … you should sign this.”

The poster said that upon the special “medium” request, the waiter informed the man that the only burger option was well done and requested them to sign the form.

The form stated it would clear the hotel restaurant against any claims for damages related to any foodborne illnesses arising from the medium-cooked burger.

Keep reading

Toronto Bans Tobogganing on 45 Hills, Puts Up Warning Signs

Talk about a slippery slope. Toronto recently erected warning signs on 45 hills around the city that read: “Tobogganing is not allowed.”

The warning further clarifies that “hazards such as trees, stumps, rocks, rivers or roads make this hill unsafe.” The signs also include a URL for a website where kids can find one of 27 tobogganing-approved hills. (Not even a QR code?)

Ricki Gurwitz, a Toronto mom of two, is exasperated.

“The fear of liability is ruining modern childhood,” she says. “I used to toboggan all the time with friends when I was a kid, and it was one of my favorite parts about winter.”

Bill Steigerwald, a longtime newspaper writer and author of 30 Days a Black Man, agrees.

“There are too many nanny rules aimed at making the world so safe that people, and especially kids, are not allowed to do anything outdoors but sit on a bench,” he says.

Toronto City Councilman Brad Bradford also opposes the ban.

“Frankly, it’s embarrassing,” he told The Toronto Star. “This is part of the Canadian experience, growing up in winter cities, and Toronto shouldn’t be the exception to that.”

Not only do kids lose out when trees become an obstacle to outdoor fun, but so does the city itself. Anti-tobogganing legislation makes Toronto “move in the direction of no-fun city,” says Bradford.

Last year, the city put up bales of hay around the trees on the popular hill in Bradford’s district to avoid crashes. Now, tobogganing is banned on that hill. (Of course, crashing into a solid bale of hay is perhaps not so different from crashing into a tree, in this humble correspondent’s view.)

Maybe it’s just that nobody wanted to bother with the bales this year, mused Philip Howard, an anti-bureaucracy crusader and author of Everyday Freedom.

“Memories of a fun place have been yanked away from families in Toronto,” he says.

Keep reading

Date rape drug test kits soon to be required at bars, nightclubs in California

In California it is about to get a lot harder for partygoers and revelers at bars and nightclubs to have their drinks “roofied” unwittingly.

A new law known as AB 1013 will go into effect in the Golden State this July that will require all bars and nightclubs to keep testing kits at their establishments that can detect drugs like Rohypnol, ketamine or the sedative GHB.

According to the bill, these business owners must offer to sell their customers the unexpired testing devices “at a cost not to exceed a reasonable amount based on the wholesale cost of those devices” or offer them for free.

There must also be signage at the facilities that read: “Don’t get roofied! Drink spiking drug test kits available here. Ask a staff member for details.”

The law goes into effect July 1, 2024, and will be repealed on Jan. 1, 2027, unless reinstated by the California General Assembly. The bill was proposed California Democrat Josh Lowenthal.

The kits will include a straw, sticker and strip to detect the “date rape drugs” in drinks.

Keep reading

Spain considers banning smoking and vaping on ALL beaches

Spain is considering banning smoking on all beaches as it presses ahead with tough new measures.

The Spanish Ministry of Health has confirmed a new crackdown on both smoking and vaping and says people’s health has to be protected.

One of its new priorities is to resurrect the anti-smoking plan which will include extending smoke-free spaces to terraces, beaches and cars in the presence of minors and pregnant women.

‘We must look at the law again because we cannot turn our backs on the only measure that can give the population more years of life and a better quality of life, which is to reduce smoking,’ said Health Minister Mónica García.

The Comprehensive Plan for the Prevention and Control of Smoking 2021-2025 was finalised a year and a half ago but has not yet seen the light of day.

The Ministry of Health says it wants to ‘remove it from the drawer’ and expand the ban on tobacco consumption to more areas.

‘The first steps are to get it out of the box,’ said Monica García. ‘We will have to look at each of the cases and each of the assumptions.

‘What we plan to is study what that plan is going to be, if it needs to be expanded, if it needs to be modified, but we do have a firm commitment to those recommendations.’

Keep reading

WHO Calls for Punitive Booze and Soda Taxes on the Anniversary of Prohibition Repeal

How do you mark the anniversary of Prohibition’s repeal? At Reason we celebrate the hard-won victory of (relative) sanity that led to the passage of the 21st Amendment repealing the 18th Amendment and clearing the way for Americans to again (legally) consume alcoholic beverages. We also point to lessons that can be learned from failed efforts to use the force of law to prevent people from making their own choices.

But if you’re an international nanny-stater, you use the day to call for restrictions on popular beverages.

“WHO calls on countries to increase taxes on alcohol and sugary sweetened beverages,” the World Health Organization headlined a December 5 press release, precisely 90 years after the ratification of the 21st Amendment. “The World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing today new data that show a low global rate of taxes being applied to unhealthy products such as alcohol and sugary sweetened beverages (SSBs). The findings highlight that the majority of countries are not using taxes to incentivize healthier behaviours.”

Admittedly, WHO is a meddlesome world organization, so one can’t expect it to always be aware of important political dates in any one country. Still, the irony is rich enough to make you reach for something sweet and buzz-inducing. Why not double down on control-freakery on a day when Americans with a modicum of historical awareness reflect on the defeat of such efforts?

That said, WHO didn’t call for outright bans on sweet and boozy drinks. The idea is to hike prices through the tax system so that people—presumably those with less money—can’t afford them and therefore become slimmer and more sober.

“Taxes that increase alcohol prices by 50% would help avert over 21 million deaths over 50 years and generate nearly US$17 trillion in additional revenues,” insists WHO.

WHO also points to polling data showing that majorities in multiple countries support sin taxes on alcohol, sugary drinks, and tobacco. Presumably, those surveyed could purchase fewer such products of their own accord but want pressure applied from above on those who might choose differently.

But what people support in the abstract isn’t the same thing as what they actually do when living under real-life policies. Laws and unintended consequences have a funny way of colliding again and again.

Keep reading

White House Delays Implementing Ban On Menthol Cigarettes Until At Least 2024

According to a Dec. 6 updated regulatory agenda, the review process will now continue into 2024, with a current target date of March to possibly implement the ban.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been developing a rule to eliminate menthol as a characterizing cigarette flavor since 2022. The federal agency estimates a ban on the flavor additive could prevent 300,000 to 650,000 smoking deaths over several decades. They claim most of the preventable deaths would be among minority groups and Americans of African descent, who disproportionately smoke menthol cigarettes.

In the proposed rule, the federal agency said the new product standard would reduce the appeal of cigarettes, particularly to youth and young adults, and possibly decrease the likelihood of them progressing to “regular cigarette smoking.” If the rule is successfully implemented, cigarette companies will have one year to phase out menthol. It’s unclear if they would face any penalties for failing to adhere to the new rule.

“In addition, the tobacco product standard would improve the health and reduce the mortality risk of current menthol cigarette smokers by decreasing cigarette consumption and increasing the likelihood of cessation,” the FDA rule reads.

According to the FDA, menthol is a flavor additive with a mint taste and aroma that aids in reducing the harshness and irritation of smoking. It says the additive also helps boost the appeal of cigarettes and makes the menthol variants interact with nicotine in the brain, enhancing the nicotine’s addictive effects.

Anti-smoking groups have been backing the FDA’s efforts since the beginning. Following the updated rule implementation date, some of the anti-smoking groups warned the delay could see the effort to phase out menthol held up indefinitely.

Keep reading

Drunks WON’T be able to get into driverless cars after a boozy evening: Ministers dash hopes of the futuristic vehicles acting as chauffeurs following a heavy night

Driverless cars promise motorists hands-off journeys, which many have hoped might allow for a couple more pints at the pub before travelling home.

But those planning to use their autonomous vehicle as a personal taxi service should beware, with the government announcing legislation to make sure it is treated like drink driving.

Being over the limit, going on your phone or having a nap behind the wheel of the futuristic cars will be illegal, according to documents published alongside the Automated Vehicles Bill which was announced in this week’s King’s Speech.

The Law Commission has already drawn up a draft proposal for legislation around the legal use of driverless cars and vehicles on Britain’s roads. 

Motorists must ‘remain in a fit state to drive’ while their car is on the road, and there must be a ‘user in charge’ who is able to take control if the self-driving system requests for them to do so.

Drivers will still need to be sat in the front seat and have a driving licence to operate their vehicles, and failing to do so could open them up to prosecution.

Keep reading

Rishi Sunak unveils crackdown on ‘worrying’ child vaping epidemic and announces kids aged 14 and under will NEVER be able to buy cigarettes under new ban

Rishi Sunak today unveiled bold plans to stamp out the child vaping epidemic and ban kids aged 14 and under from ever legally being able to buy cigarettes. 

The proposed law will annually raise the age of legal purchase of tobacco from the current 18 by one additional year every 12 months.

It will see England follow in the footsteps of New Zealand, which last year adopted the same policy for everyone born after 2009. Under the Prime Minister’s proposed plan, the Government will stick to the same age threshold.

Thinktanks and smoking rights groups reacted with anger to the ban, labelling it as ‘hideously illiberal and unconservative’.

However, health groups and cancer charities lauded the announcement and said it would save thousands of lives from cancer.  

The PM also announced a crackdown on vaping amongst children promising to look at banning child-friendly flavours and packaging that encourage kids to pick up the habit. Disposable devices are also in the firing line.

Keep reading