An Investigation into the Failure to Implement a Universal School Lunch Program during WWII and Postwar Reconstruction in Canada: The Case of Ontario

The purpose of this research is to investigate the various social, political and economic factors that contributed to Canada’s failure to implement a universal school lunch program during the 1940s. Although Canada developed several other social welfare programs in the post-war period, it remains one of the only industrialized nations that does not provide hot meals to children in elementary or secondary schools. Data from the province of Ontario, a major site of postwar reconstruction and policy-making, has been taken up to inform the broader national discourse on school lunches from the 1940s. National, Ontario provincial and City of Toronto archival records were collected and analyzed according to common themes, in order to identify key barriers that constrained government support of a hot meal program. Archival records were identified using key words, and were limited to materials created between 1930-1952. Analysis suggests that sufficient need for a hot meal program had not been established during the 1940s. Despite misleading nutrition messages, rates of malnutrition and nutrient-related disease were at an all-time low, and many Ontario school boards did not appear to have the necessary infrastructure required to supply all pupils with hot meals. The Canadian government had already employed significant resources to improve existing social security programs by coupling them with health education. This strategy reflected a shift in understanding malnutrition as a knowledge-based problem, as opposed to income-based. This understanding was further reinforced through the moralized dissemination of nutrition information, which placed blame on women for improperly raising their children. Ultimately, the strong uptake of nutrition as a public health issue in Ontario may have limited prospective responses to solutions already utilized in the public health domain, and directed favour away from a universal school lunch program for Canada.

Physical and Chemical Performance Testing of Ontario Asphalt Pavements

Thermal and fatigue cracking are the two of the major pavement distress phenomena that contribute significantly towards increased premature pavement failures in Ontario. This in turn puts a massive burden on the provincial budgets as the government spends huge sums of money on the repair and rehabilitation of roads every year. Governments therefore need to rethink and re-evaluate their current measures in order to prevent it in future. The main objectives of this study include: the investigation of fatigue distress of 11 contract samples at 10oC, 15oC, 20oC and 25oC and the use of crack-tip-opening-displacement (CTOD) requirements at temperatures other than 15oC; investigation of thermal and fatigue distress of the comparative analysis of 8 Ministry of Transportation (MTO) recovered and straight asphalt samples through double-edge-notched-tension test (DENT) and extended bending beam rheometry (EBBR); chemical testing of all samples though X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR); Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) higher and intermediate temperature grading; and the case study of a local Kingston road. Majority of 11 contract samples showed satisfactory performance at all temperatures except one sample. Study of CTOD at various temperatures found a strong correlation between the two variables. All recovered samples showed poor performance in terms of their ability to resist thermal and fatigue distress relative to their corresponding straight asphalt as evident in DENT test and EBBR results. XRF and FTIR testing of all samples showed the addition of waste engine oil (WEO) to be the root cause of pavement failures. DSR high temperature grading showed superior performance of recovered binders relative to straight asphalt. The local Kingston road showed extensive signs of damage due to thermal and fatigue distress as evident from DENT test, EBBR results and pictures taken in the field. In the light of these facts, the use of waste engine oil and recycled asphalt in pavements should be avoided as these have been shown to cause premature failure in pavements. The DENT test existing CTOD requirements should be implemented at other temperatures in order to prevent the occurrences of premature pavement failures in future.

Finding Common Ground: A Critical Review of Land Use and Resource Management Policies in Ontario, Canada and their Intersection with First Nations

This article provides an in-depth analysis of selective land use and resource management policies in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It examines their relative capacity to recognize the rights of First Nations and Aboriginal peoples and their treaty rights, as well as their embodiment of past Crown–First Nations relationships. An analytical framework was developed to evaluate the manifest and latent content of 337 provincial texts, including 32 provincial acts, 269 regulatory documents, 16 policy statements, and 5 provincial plans. This comprehensive document analysis classified and assessed how current provincial policies address First Nation issues and identified common trends and areas of improvement. The authors conclude that there is an immediate need for guidance on how provincial authorities can improve policy to make relationship-building a priority to enhance and sustain relationships between First Nations and other jurisdictions.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF STRAIGHT AND RECOVERED ASPHALT BINDERS FROM ONTARIO

Thermal and fatigue cracking are the major pavement distresses that contribute to a drastic reduction of the pavement’s service life and performance in Ontario. Chemical oxidation and hardening of asphalt binders deteriorates its physical properties since physical properties of asphalts depend on its chemical composition. This thesis is aimed to establish a relationship between physical and chemical properties of asphalt binders. A secondary objective is to show the strong correlation between CTOD and temperature. All recovered and straight Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) samples were investigated using conventional Superpave® test method dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) as well as improved MTO test methods such as extended bending beam rheometer (eBBR) and double-edge-notched tension (DENT) test. DENT test was conducted for all Ontario contract samples at three different temperatures based on their performance grade after three hours of thermal conditioning and compared the results in terms of essential work of fracture, plastic work of fracture and CTOD at different temperatures. Good correlation exists between CTOD and temperature according to the DENT data. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis was conducted to detect the presence of heavy metals such as zinc and molybdenum believed to have originated from waste engine oil. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed to determine the abundance of functional groups such as carbonyl, sulfoxides, polyisobutylene, etc. XRF and FTIR analysis confirmed that most of the samples contain waste engine oil and/or oxidized residues, which is believed to be a root cause of premature pavement failures.

Transitioning Towards a Development Permit System: Recommendations for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Since 2007, Ontario Regulation 608/06 now provides all municipalities with the authority to establish a development permit system (DPS); however, much of this regulatory power and its functions are largely misunderstood by both professionals and the general public, which has led to a lack of widespread municipal implementation. One main contributor to the uncertainty is the lack of academic literature. Currently, the most comprehensive document has been produced by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH), Development Permit System: A Handbook for Municipal Implementation. The study’s key objective is to identify, analyze, and evaluate the MMAH Handbook in order to effectively provide an updated set of recommendations within the context of Ontario.

The relationship of E. coli and total coliform culture to the quantitative molecular detection of various fecal indicators, sources, and pathogens in private drinking water wells

Water remains a predominant vector for human enteric pathogens not just for developing countries but also developed nations, where numerous infectious disease outbreaks, linked to the contamination of drinking water have been documented. Private drinking water wells are a source of drinking water that is largely unstudied even though a significant percentage of the population in Ontario relies on wells as their primary water source. As there exists little to no systematic surveillance for enteric infections or outbreaks related to well water sources, these individuals may be at higher risk of waterborne infectious diseases. The relationships between various fecal indicators in the water of private drinking water wells, including E. coli, Total Coliforms (TC) and Bacteroides, and enteric pathogens, including Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella spp., and Shiga toxin producing E. coli, were studied. Convenience private well water samples collected from various regions of interest during the summer of 2014 underwent membrane filtration and culture to determine quantities of E. coli and TC colony forming units. 289 E. coli positive and 230 TC-only waters were successfully analyzed by individual qPCR assays for the aforementioned enteric pathogens. Microbial source tracking methods targeted to specific Bacteroides were used to determine the source of fecal contamination as either human or bovine. The source of fecal contamination varied by geographic region and is thought to be due to such things as differences in septic tank density and underlying geology, among others. Fecal indicators, E. coli and Bacteroides, were significantly correlated. E. coli as measured by qPCR was more strongly correlated to both total and human-specific Bacteroides genetic markers than culturable E. coli. Lastly, 1.9% of samples showed molecular evidence of contamination with enteric pathogens. Although low, this finding is significant given the limited volume of water available for testing, and suggests a potential health risk to consumers. Knowing the extent of contamination, as well as the biologic source, can better inform risk assessment and the development of potential intervention strategies for private well water in specific regions of Ontario.

Forging Iconographies and Casting Colonialism: Monuments and Memories in Ontario, 1850-2001

Commemorations are a critical window for exploring the social, political, and cultural trends of a specific time period. Over the past two centuries, the commemorative landscape of Ontario reaffirmed the inclusion/exclusion of particular racial groups. Intended as static markers to the past, monuments in particular visually demonstrated the boundaries of a community and acted as ongoing memorials to existing social structures. Using a specific type of iconography and visual language, the creators of monuments imbued the physical markers of stone and bronze with racialized meanings. As builders were connected with their own time periods and social contexts, the ideas behind these commemorations shifted. Nonetheless, creators were intent on producing a memorial that educated present and future generations on the boundaries of their “imagined communities.” This dissertation considers the carefully chosen iconographies of Ontario���s monuments and how visual symbolism was attached to historical memory. Through the examination of five case studies, this dissertation examines the shifting commemorative landscape of Ontario and how memorials were used to mark the boundaries of communities. By integrating the visual analysis of monuments and related images, it bridges a methodological and theoretical gap between history and art history. This dissertation opens an important dialogue between these fields of study and demonstrates how monuments themselves are critical “documents” of the past.

Decolonizing Pedagogies: Interrupting the Settler Colonial Narrative of Landownership in Ontario Social Science and History Curriculum

Drawing upon Ontario Social Science and History curriculum documents and textbook imagery and language, this paper examines how narratives of settler landownership strategically present Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples within the Canadian grand narrative. The curriculum and text material educators and learners are guided by ignore ongoing colonial violence towards Indigenous peoples and perpetuate the ideology of inevitable ‘peaceful’ interrelationships in national contexts. Learners develop identities in relation to land and how land is acquired. They come to understand themselves as part of a just nation in the particular sequence of Canadian Social Science and History teaching and learning. To go beyond simply adding content about Indigenous peoples in the classroom, educators and learners must adapt a decolonial approach to instead learn from Indigenous perspectives. Such a methodology would require the opening of a “third space” where the transmission of western curricular knowledge is interrupted. Educators and learners must create a space for problematizing the source itself and deconstruct the national grand narrative using inquiry, questioning and reflection, rather than repetition and regurgitation. This analysis reveals that particular placements of Indigenous peoples and settler Canadians in curriculum and classroom text material must be challenged by educators and learners to disrupt colonial narratives and to seek ongoing reconciliatory opportunities in and beyond the school walls.