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Grant LaFleche Profile picture
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17 Sep, 6 tweets, 4 min read
Good afternoon. We took a deep dive into the social media universe of @peoplespca candidate social media accounts to see how they interact with the ongoing anti-vax protests targeting hospitals and Trudeau:

thestar.com/politics/feder…
We found at least 20% of PPC candidates are participants, and sometimes organizers of these protests, legitimatizing the conspiracy theories on display and providing a lift to the party.

thestar.com/politics/feder… via @torontostar
This story follows our look at how these protests have been organized:

Who’s behind the Justin Trudeau protests? This Newmarket mom is among the influencers urging people to show up and speak out against the ‘segregation of humanity’ thestar.com/politics/feder… via @torontostar
And @alexboutilier look at the support the PPC has found among white nationalist groups in Canada:

Far-right and white nationalist groups urge followers to support Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada thestar.com/politics/feder… via @torontostar
All of which is connected to the conspiracy theory community, which spreads disinformation online and has been used as a base for the PPC to launch its election campaign.
thestar.com/news/investiga… via @torontostar
Few PPC candidates responded to our requests for interviews. When Torstar reached out to PPC leader Maxime Bernier regarding his candidates’ presence at the protests, a senior party spokesperson replied: “Get lost, f---ing idiot.”

thestar.com/politics/feder…

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More from @GrantRants

Grant LaFleche Profile picture
21 Apr
Ok, Niagara, here is your local, weekly #COVID19 data deep dive. And, well, it is not looking good. The very preventable🌊3 is still growing. So let's break it down and look at where the region is at. (thread)
Active cases are now at a new record high of 2,020. With yesterday's two new deaths, the total loss in our community is at least 389 people (12 since April 1)

Niagara COVID-19 Infection curve public.flourish.studio/visualisation/… Visualised with @f_l_o_u_r_i_s_h
The infection rate shows no signs of slowing down (something that is reflected in a number of charts here.) with 199 cases confirmed today. There is no doubt that🌊 3 is, in terms of the infection rate, objectively worse than 🌊 2. (And again, this wave was preventable.)
Read 19 tweets
Grant LaFleche Profile picture
21 Apr
NEW: #COVID19 has claimed two more lives in Niagara.

That is 12 people, members of this community, who have died with the virus since April 1. As with 🌊2, Niagara politicians are silent as the death toll grows.

COVID-19 in Niagara: deaths over time public.flourish.studio/visualisation/…
I am not saying things like the George Floyd verdict are unimportant. They are very important. But this is 12 lives lost in this community in another pandemic that was entirely preventable had politicians at the provincial and local levels listened to the experts.
As I have said before, these are not just stats. They were people who contributed to this community and whose friends and family are grieving. The loss at least deserves some acknowledgement.
Read 5 tweets
Grant LaFleche Profile picture
20 Apr
Good afternoon, Niagara. Here is your quick Tuesday #COVID19 data snapshot. Remember, tomorrow is Wednesday, which is when we do our weekly data deep dive. (thread(

COVID-19 Niagara: New cases per day public.flourish.studio/visualisation/… Visualised with @f_l_o_u_r_i_s_h
So that's 144 new cases confirmed today, which as you can see above, shows the 3rd is shaping up to have a greater overall volume of infections than its predecessor wave. There is also no sign the trend is waning yet.
Looking at the basic indicators, active infections is now nearly at the 2nd wave peak (1854) with 1849 cases, and more on the way.

Niagara COVID-19 Infection curve public.flourish.studio/visualisation/… Visualised with @f_l_o_u_r_i_s_h
Read 18 tweets
Grant LaFleche Profile picture
13 Feb
The political #COVID19 debate has heated up in Niagara, on social media at least, with people attacking @mustafahirji and at least one regional councillor caught between questioning the MoH, pushing back against those who threaten to vote her out and pushing misinformation.
In a local hospitality Facebook page that has a lot of cross over with an anti-masker group, people are calling @mustafahirji names, calling for him to be fired and representing the data. Welland reg. coun, Leanna Villella is in the thick of it.
A couple of things to note about what the councillor says here.
The first is that the MoH does not "override" the province. The authority of an MoH is CREATED by provincial law. When an MoH issues a sec. 22 order, it is under his/her authority as granted by the province.
Read 18 tweets
Grant LaFleche Profile picture
13 Feb
So, some folks and politicians are reacting today's grey zone news by saying, in effect, "cases are very low, we should be red or orange zone."
This overstates where Niagara is, underestimates the 2nd wave, and redefines "low" when it comes to #COVID19 cases. (thread)
So let's look at some data. This chart is very helpful, looking at new cases per day, and can be a useful way to track the general path of the pandemic locally.

COVID-19 Niagara: New cases per day public.flourish.studio/visualisation/… Visualised with @f_l_o_u_r_i_s_h
Look at the last two weeks. Look at the summer. Which one is "very low"?
Read 16 tweets
Grant LaFleche Profile picture
12 Feb
"Not having those vaccines in time created the perfect storm," says @WSendzik, in talking about how Niagara's second #COVID19 wave claimed so many lives.
The mayor says "we have really got a handle on #COVID19."
This is not what yesterday's science table modelling showed, which indicated that without strong measures in place, we are headed for a spring 3rd wave.
The mayor is correct when he says the infection rate locally has dropped considerably in recent weeks. But as my reporting later today will show, that drop is VERY recent and @mustafahirji says he has to be pushed down further still.
Read 9 tweets

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