The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Vaccinations in Ontario long-term care homes have prevented hundreds of COVID-19 deaths and thousands of infections, scientists advising the province said in a report released Monday.

The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table said that eight weeks after vaccinations began in December, infections were reduced by 89 per cent among long-term care residents and by 79 per cent among workers.

Deaths from COVID-19 among long-term care residents were reduced by 96 per cent over the same period.

GUEST: Dr. Paula Rochon, Senior Scientist with the Women’s College Research Institute and a Professor with the Department of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto

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Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign started on the same day in December as the United States, but it now lags dozens of countries, including its southern neighbor, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is feeling the pressure.

Canada’s lack of domestic vaccine production is at the root of the problem, forcing the country to depend on foreign companies with production abroad.

GUEST: Anita Anand, Federal Procurement

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When will it end? When will life return to normal?  Will we have another lockdown?  When will I get my vaccination?  These are the questions on the minds of all Canadians. 

The Scarsin Decision Support Team has been building a robust scenario for Ontario for the balance of 2021. They looked at more than 70 factors, including school opening, business restrictions, lockdowns, new more infectious variants, citizen behavior and vaccine deployment to answer these, and other questions.

GUEST: Paul Minshull, CEO of Scarsin, Modelling Expert

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New U.S. guidelines say people fully inoculated against COVID-19 can drop some precautions when gathering with others, but at least two provincial health ministers say existing public health advice holds for now.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that Americans who have waited two weeks since their second required shot can spend time with other immunized people indoors without masks or social distancing.

The same applies to gatherings by those at low-risk of severe disease, such as fully vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy grandchildren.

GUEST: Barry Pakes, Professor with Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast Part 2:  

A 3-hour special featuring Mohawk College & partners

Our partners were involved from the very beginning of this program. Partners like HOPA (the first employer to partner with Mohawk, before City School was even launched) offered feedback and guidance that shaped the way City School was first designed. And we have continued that level of strong collaboration ever since, through our Employer Engagement Strategy, supported by the Government of Ontario.

GUEST: Emily Paivalainen, Communications and Community Relations Coordinator with the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority

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The City School model works in commercial and industrial sectors as well. Walters has been a longstanding partner with City School, guiding training and engaging with students during the training process

GUEST: Natalia Strelbytsky, VP People and Culture with Walters Inc

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Partnership with City School takes many forms. Through the Employer Engagement Strategy some employers provided feedback to surveys and market research responses. Others help to shape curriculum. Some are engaged in placements and employment. - In the case of FORA, a previous experience with City School resulted in involvement as a host site for City School’s second mobile classroom

GUEST: Marty Verhey, Owner of FORA Outdoor Living

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City School training creates opportunity for entry level employment and provides a free college credit for people who complete the course, providing a pathway to more education and a certification

GUEST: Nicole Guerriero, Director of Education, Literacy and Math Academy with Lama

GUEST: Yasmine Nzeba, Staff member with Lama

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There is a huge demand for workers in the food processing sector. The partnership with FPSC is an example of City School’s ability to work with partners to quickly address an employment/industry need

GUEST: Deanna Zenger, Project Manager of “Succeeding at Work” with Food Processing Skills Canada

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We have research that demonstrates the success of City School: to reconnecting people with post-secondary training to providing skills training that leads to direct employment to helping employers quickly fill skilled and unskilled workforce gaps to offering a measurable return on investment (Deloitte reports) - This model isn’t unique to any one sector, or any one region. City School is nimble and scalable and can be deployed in other communities across the country where there is a labour shortage or a skills gap that needs to be addressed. - The pandemic recovery is going to define new jobs and emerging sectors – it will be a green resilient recovery and City School is prepared to engage with employers and all levels of government to help people return to meaningful work, for the benefit of people, of employers and of the entire community.

GUEST: Ron McKerlie, President of Mohawk College

GUEST: Jim Vanderveken, Dean Centre for Community and Experiential Learning at Mohawk College

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast Part 1:  

A 3-hour special featuring Mohawk College & partners

City School by Mohawk is a proven model of community collaboration that has successfully connected people with post-secondary education and with meaningful employment. - We would not have been able to launch and grow and expand into a number of employment sectors without the input, guidance and direct engagement of our employer partners. That is really what this morning is about – celebrating partnerships and community support. - Traditional models of education saw students graduating and leaving a college and finding their own way to employment. This program builds a bridge of support and training that leads directly to employment.

GUEST: Ron McKerlie, President of Mohawk College

GUEST: Jim Vanderveken, Dean Centre for Community and Experiential Learning at Mohawk College

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City School’s rapid skills training model is well suited to support the post-pandemic economic recovery. It’s clear that people who were impacted in some areas of work will have to retrain in order to regain meaningful jobs. - Community involvement, from the City and other community organizations, is key to providing the support people need to get trained and get working - Prior to the pandemic, there was a skills gap and a workforce deficit in Hamilton that City School is helping to address.

GUEST: Norm Schleehan, Director of Economic Development for the City of Hamilton

GUEST: Grace Mater, Director of the City of Hamilton

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Working with Thrive, City School has already been involved in training health and community services workers, like PSWs. The employer has been engaged with the college and with City School in all aspects of this process.

GUEST: Lucy Sheehan, Executive Director of the Thrive Group

GUEST: Shari-Lee Srigley, Director of Development Employee with the Thrive Group