Prepare for Winter Emergencies

submitted by Leeds, Grenville, and Lanark District Health Unit

Since December 2022, our region has experienced a few significant winter weather events which may have caused interruptions in our daily lives such as power outages, disrupted holiday plans, driving to and from school or work.

Knowing that several weeks of winter remain, we strongly recommend that you prepare yourself and your family (including pets) for future weather-related storms. Winter weather events can cause power outages, delays in delivery of supplies (including food and medication) and dangerous travel conditions.

It is important to have an emergency kit that can sustain your family for a minimum of 72 hours to help you through times when services may not be readily available. When creating your kit, consider sufficient amounts of non-perishable food that can be prepared without cooking, a supply of bottled water, medication, first aid kit, clothing and blankets. Flashlights and extra batteries, and a portable radio will help keep you in touch with your community. Be aware of where important papers are stored and ensure you can access them quickly if needed. Consider the needs of those who rely on you, including children, those with special needs and elderly parents. Have a plan for where you can meet should you get separated and have a common contact person designated outside of your area so you can let each other know how you are doing. Use the buddy system to check in on family, neighbours and friends.

It’s always best to stay home during inclement weather, but if you must travel, ensure that your vehicle is equipped with winter tires, relay travel plans to a friend or family member and don’t forget to check in after arriving at your destination. Be sure to keep a winter driving survival kit in your vehicle and always check the weather and road conditions before you travel.

When cleaning up from a winter, storm it’s important to be mindful of the hazards that may exist; hazards such as extreme cold temperatures, icy conditions and heavy snow. These types of hazards can cause injury and possibly death.

Extreme cold temperatures can cause hypothermia and unprotected skin can freeze in as little as 10-30 minutes. During very cold weather, everyone is at risk; however the elderly, infants and children, people taking certain prescription medications, and people with preexisting health conditions are in greater danger.

Icy conditions can increase your chances of falling and experiencing an injury. Take extra precautions when walking on icy surfaces, walk like a penguin (slow with a narrow stride and feet angled out).

Shovelling heavy snow is certainly a work-out so it’s important to know how to do it without running the risk of injury. Being active regularly (150 min a week) and doing strength training twice a week can help prevent injury as your body will be in better shape when you start. Warm up first, take is slow and take breaks, shovel smaller amounts of snow if the snow is heavy and use proper technique.

Love, Rose

Winter is great IF you are dressed for it. Canadian winters may be a shock, especially for newcomers to Canada. These tips from the Red Cross are helpful for anyone to use before venturing outside in cold weather: Cover your head and upper body to keep heat in. Wear a hat and layers of clothing made of wool or synthetic woven fabrics.

Cover up exposed areas like your ears, nose, cheeks and fingers.

Change into dry clothes as quickly as possible if you get wet in the cold.

Avoid tight clothing or footwear that can impair circulation.

Bring extra clothing along in case you need it.

Shelter yourself from the wind if you feel cold – a tree, hill, embankment or other shield will work

We also suggest checking out the Emergency Preparedness section and Exposure to Hot/Cold TemperaturesLeeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit on our website for more information including fact sheets and links to emergency preparedness sites to help you be equipped and stay safe. You can also connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @LGLHealthUnit for important public health updates. You can also call 1-800-660-5853 with any questions.

COVID-19 Vaccination Statistics

submitted by Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit

Municipal Office Hours

Update

The Municipal office is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Visit our events calendar to find out what’s happening in the community: northgrenville.ca/community-and-culture/resources/community-events.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

COUNCIL MEETINGS

Please see the Council agenda for further details on how to participate in Council meetings. All Council meetings will be live streamed on YouTube at: youtube.com/user/NorthGrenville/ featured and on the Municipality’s website at: northgrenville.ca/council-government/council/ meetings-agendas-and-minutes.

To make a deputation in relation to an item on the agenda, please provide your comments no later than two hours prior to the start of the meeting to clerk@northgrenville.on.ca.

Council agendas are available at: northgrenville.ca/council-government/council/meetingsagendas-and-minutes.

• Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. (Open Session) Draft Budget Presentation

• Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. (Open Session)

• Tuesday, February 21, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. (Open Session)

• Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. (Closed Session)

VOLUNTEER AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Digital Service Squad Member

The Municipality of North Grenville is seeking to fill one temporary position for a Digital Service Squad–Team Member (12 month contract). Interested applicants may submit a cover letter and resume outlining qualification in confidence to Human Resources by 4:00 p.m. Friday, February 10, 2023. Visit www.northgrenville.ca/careers for details and more information on how to apply.

Summer Student Opportunities – Parks, Recreation and Culture

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture is currently accepting applications for various full and part-time spring/summer student positions. For a full list of available positions and information on how to apply, please visit www.northgrenville.ca/careers. Please submit applications to hr@northgrenville.on.ca by 4:00 p.m. on March 10, 2023

The Municipality of North Grenville

285 County Rd. 44, PO Box 130 , Kemptville, ON K0G 1J0 Tel: 613-258-9569 Fax: 613-258-9620 general@northgrenville.on.ca www.NorthGrenville.ca

Building: 613-258-9569 x130 Fax: 613-258-1441

Fire Services Info: 613-258-9569 x201

Fax: 613-258-1031

By-Law Services: email: bylawinquiries@northgrenville.on.ca

613-258-9569 x211

Police Administration: 613-258-3441

Animal Control: 613-862-9002

New bill addressing violence against pregnant women

submitted by We Need a Law

When a pregnant woman is a victim of violent crime, our law is unable to account for her pre-born child in charging or sentencing a criminal.

As of January 30, 2023 a total of 530,282 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered in the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit (LGLDHU) region since January 2021.

716 COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the previous week.

Our vaccination dashboard, available on our website, has all the details and will be updated again Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

Health Canada reports no elevated risk of mRNA vaccines causing strokes. As of January 1, more than 7 million bivalent mRNA vaccines have been administered to date in Canada and both PHAC and Health Canada have not observed an increased risk of strokes.

Alberta Health Services has declared an outbreak of pertussis (whooping cough) in parts of southern Alberta. Whooping cough can be very dangerous to infants, and is preventable by routine vaccination. By age two, children should have received four doses of the pertussis vaccine. Vaccines are a safe and effective way to protect against many serious diseases.

Scarborough Health Network provides one-to-one confidential phone conversations with a doctor to answer questions about vaccines in a supportive, multi-lingual space.

School Immunization Program

Immunizations given in the school program:

Meningococcal ACYW-135 one dose

Hepatitis B two doses, 6 months apart

HPV 9 two doses, 6 months apart

Dates and locations of school clinics in NG area (beginning with grades 9-12):

Notre Dame Catholic High School – February 17

North Grenville High School - February 23

Any changes to this schedule will be communicated through the your child’s school.

To check what the Health Unit currently has on record for your child’s immunizations – you can use the ICON portal (will need their health card to sign in)

“The Criminal Code states that babies are not recognized as ‘persons’ under the law until they are fully born,” said Anna Nienhuis, spokeswoman for We Need a Law, a national grassroots campaign advocating for legal protection for pre-born children. “As a result of our country’s hard pro-abortion stance, we cannot count any pre-born children as persons under the law, so pre-born victims of crime receive no justice from our criminal justice system.” The Government of Canada and other sources acknowledge that pregnant women are at greater risk of intimate partner violence than other women. “These women and their pre-born children are uniquely vulnerable,” said Nienhuis, “yet our law offers them no additional protection and does not even recognize their child if it dies before birth as a result of a violent crime.” Earlier today Member of Parliament Cathay Wagantall introduced a bill to try to change that. Bill C-311, the Violence Against Pregnant Women Act, would instruct judges to consider pregnancy as an aggravating factor in sentencing, thereby considering any harm done to a pre-born child. This would be a step toward real justice for pregnant women and their children who are victims of violence. More than 80 women in recent Canadian history have been assaulted or killed by an intimate partner, and had their pre-born child die as a result. None of those families had justice for both victims. “In crimes against pregnant women, there are always two victims,” said Nienhuis. “We want the law to see them both.”