Latest / VOCM On Demand / VOCM News Midday Update September 6th

Transcript

VOCM News Midday Update September 6th · VOCM On Demand

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: I'm Beth Fagan. A man whizzing down the highway at
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: twice the posted speed limit has lost his license and motorbike.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: RNC had the radar set up on the Team Gushu
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Highway yesterday, clocking a rider going 160 kilometers per hour
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: in an 80 kilometer per hour zone. Police also seized
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: the bike and ticketed him for excessive speed. The mayor
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: of St. John's says everyone is seeing growing public safety
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: concerns in the community, but what they're not seeing is
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: the collaboration needed among all three levels of government in
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: taking a compassionate yet serious approach to addressing the problem.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Open intravenous drug use, aggressive behavior, and vagrancy in public spaces,
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: once rare, has become commonplace. And that's what's prompted Danny
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Breen to reach out to the provincial and federal governments
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: looking for help in addressing the complex problem and restoring
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: a sense of public safety.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: I do believe that we need to have a greater
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: police presence, not only in the downtown, but we need
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: a trail system. There's people now that are concerned about
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: walking in our trail system. We have people that go
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: and seek services, people that need assistance. So they go
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: and get a service in the morning, whether it's a
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: meal or whatever appointment. But what are they doing for
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: the rest of the day? What kind of programs are
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: available today?
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: The provincial government has opened a portal on its EngageNL
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: website to allow residents to submit their questions on the
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: Churchill Falls Agreement. The portal will be open until September 10th.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: A special sitting of the House of Assembly will begin
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: September 14th to allow experts to provide more detail on
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: the agreement. Class size and composition remain pressing concerns for
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: teachers as they head back for another school year. NLTA
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: President Dale Lamb says retention and recruitment and the shortage
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: of substitute teachers also remain at the forefront for members.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: The education accord released last year has yet to be
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: fully explored and implemented, having been tainted by the revelation
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: that hundreds of citations were AI-generated. Lamb says some 400
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: teachers contributed to the report and last year's controversial revelations
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: compromised the integrity of its findings.
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: I've had several of those. reach out to me as
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: well as community organizations saying where do things stand. So
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: when you hear that, you know, there was maybe irresponsible
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: use of artificial intelligence, that's disconcerting because as educators, you know,
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: to compromise the integrity of the findings is certainly concerning,
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: especially where there were so many involved.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: And back to school is just around the corner, and
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: while it's an exciting time for many students, for kids
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: in the 2SLGBTQI plus community, it can bring added fear, stress,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: and anxiety. Of those, 62% report feeling unsafe walking through
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: the halls of their own schools, according to a recent
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: national survey. That's a concern for It Gets Better Canada,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: a group dedicated to fostering a caring school community. Executive
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Director Omid Razavi says school can be challenging and confusing
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: for students who are having trouble relating to their peers.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: He says intolerance and the political climate in some jurisdictions
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: make it even harder for some kids.
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: Or if your access to safe and affirming spaces are
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: at risk, which is what we're seeing, you know, in
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: unfortunately anti-LGBTQ plus laws and policies in some provinces. harmful
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: rhetoric from political leaders and hate crimes on the rise,
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: it's never been more important to be vocal about the
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: needs of 2SLGBTQ plus youth and how we can support them.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: That's the news. I'm Beth Fagan.