Canadians plan to break COVID rules for spring break

With spring break coming up, a significant number of Canadians are planning at least some activities that run counter to the COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines set by their province.

When looking at underlying motivators for rule-breaking, pandemic fatigue and other justifications of behaviour are common.

B.C. residents appear to be the worst in the country when it comes to the proportion of residents who are not following all of the rules all of the time.

When it comes to following provincial restrictions and guidelines, about one-half (48%) of Canadians claim to be following all of them all of the time, and the remainder are breaking the rules to some degree or another.

A further 36% claim they follow nearly all of the restrictions and rules nearly all of the time.

Only a small proportion are following them most of the time (8%), and few claim to be breaking rules more blatantly than that (7% following the rules some of the time, rarely or never).

A surprising finding is that

B.C. residents are least likely to feel that they are following all of the rules and regulations all of the time relative to residents of other provinces.

Only 34% of B.C. residents claim they are following all of the rules all of the time, which is 1422 points lower than in other regions.

Instead, British Columbians have more people (48% compared to between 24% and 36% in other regions) following the restrictions only “nearly all the time.”

When it comes to specific spring break activities, there’s a wide range of actions that many Canadians are contemplating that would constitute bending or breaking the rules put in place by various provincial governments.

We asked about a list of 11 possible spring break activities and found that 63% are considering doing at least some of the activities on the list; only 37% will ‘definitely not’ or ‘probably not’ do any of them.

Topping the list is the finding that about half of Canadians are considering having an indoor visit with family members (50% “definitely will,” “probably will” or “might or might not”) or friends (49%) outside of their immediate household during the spring break period.

Between one quarter and onein-three Canadians are contemplating driving to a vacation destination (30%), staying in a hotel (28%) or their vacation property (24%) or skiing at a resort outside their community (23%).

Between one in six and one in five Canadians are thinking of taking a flight to visit family within their province (19%), a flight to a vacation in Canada (18%), a flight to a vacation destination outside Canada (16%) or elsewhere in Canada to visit relatives (16%).

Rule-breaking considerations are substantially higher among 18-34 year olds relative to any other age group (numbers are 10 to 20 points or even higher compared 35-54, and 55-plus year olds).

Albertans tend to be the worst offenders when it comes to rulebreaking spring break intentions.

B.C. residents are the least likely among any in Canada to take a flight of any kind, particularly compared to Ontarians and English Quebecers.

Insights West compiled a list of eight possible reasons that some Canadians are not following the rules and regulations all of the time and found ranging levels of agreement that help us understand some of the underlying motivators for breaking the rules.

The largest proportion (39%) they feel they can break the rules occasionally because they keep their bubble small and still feel like they are doing the right thing—a sentiment that is pretty consistent across the country.

A similarly high percentage feel that they can occasionally visit members outside their household because they keep their bubble small (36%).

Some that don’t always follow all of the rules indicate they are careful when they break them (34%).

Pandemic fatigue is also a factor in some of the rule-breaking and bending that is occurring across the country.

One-third (32%) believe that to stay happy and mentally healthy, they are breaking the rules occasionally.

Taking it a step further,

28% say they are tired of the all the rules and recommendations, so they feel it is OK to bend them.

Other reasons for rule-breaking and bending is confusion over the rules (27%), feeling the rules are unnecessary, so they bend them (23%), and believing their health risk if they get COVID-19 is low, therefore they feel entitled to bend the rules (18%).

“Early indications are that a significant number of Canadians are planning to bend the rules during spring break and beliefs around it being OK to bend those rules are likely the reason for the slow decline in the COVID-19 numbers” says Steve Mossop, president of Insights West.

“What is interesting is the wide number of reasons Canadians give in justifying their rulebreaking behaviour.

“When it comes down to it, less than half of us are serious about following all of the rules, and that is problematic if we want to see a faster decline of the numbers.”

Poll results are based on an online study conducted Feb. 3-7 among a sample of 1,614 English-speaking Canadians. The

margin of error is +/– 2.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Insights West is a marketing research firm based in

Western Canada.

AA meeting

Women’s AA Meeting held every Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Emmanuel Church in Westbank. Use south entrance (facing towards Peachland). COVID-19 protocol is in place.

Online story time

Okanagan Regional Library offers Online Story Time with Ardie from 10:30 to 11 a.m. There will be stories, rhymes and songs to keep the family dancing, singing and learning together. This program is directed at children up to five years old and their families. Register online at orl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar to receive the Zoom link to join. Free.

Toastmasters

Become the speaker and leader you were meant to be at the Westside Toastmasters Club. The club meets at 7 p.m. online through Zoom. For more information or to find the Zoom link, go online to 872.toastmastersclubs.org.

Alzheimer webinars

Alzheimer Society of B.C. is offering free weekly webinars. Learn how dementia impacts bathing and hygiene and explore strategies for managing these changes at the 60-minute Focus on behaviour: bathing and hygiene webinar starting at 2 p.m. To register, go online to alzbc.org/webinars.

Action Down Under

Learn more about the habitat that snow provides at Regional Parks’ live online program, Snow – The Action Down Under from 3 to 4 p.m. This program is great as an after-school activity. Register online at rdco.com/parksevents and receive the Zoom link by email. Free.

Living the Seasons

Dive deeper into the syilx calendar and learn how we can live in harmony with the seasons at Living the Seasons: A Deeper Dive into the 13-month Calendar from 7 to 8 p.m. online through the Kelowna Museums and Wildrose Native Traditions. Tickets are pay what you can with $15 per household suggested. Register online at eventbrite.ca/e/nakwulamn-living-the-seasons-a-deeper-dive-into-the-13-monthcalendar-tickets-137322628679.

THURSDAY

Tai chi

Tai chi classes take place Monday and

Thursday at Kees Westside Tae Kwon Do building at 2109C Louie Dr. Beginner tai chi is from 9 to 10 a.m. and ongoing tai chi from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. For more information, go online to winecountrytaichi.ca or call 778-755-0987.

Puppet show

Okanagan Regional Library offers a funny puppet show in French for the whole family online from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Register online at orl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar to receive the Zoom link to join the program. Free.

Family storytime

Online Family Storytime is from 10:30 to 11 a.m. through the Okanagan Regional Library. Preschool children, toddlers and families can enjoy picture books, songs and rhymes from the safety of their homes via Zoom. Register at orl.evanced.info/ signup/Calendar to receive the link and password to join the event online. Free.

New to coding club

Intro to Coding Club: First Timers’ Class is available online from 5 to 5:30 p.m. through the Okanagan Regional Library. Kids eight to 12 years old can take in this 30-minute meeting and be introduced to the development platforms and familiarize themselves with the coding tools. This class is a prerequisite to the Online Coding Club. Registration is required to receive a link to the program at orl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar.

Coding club

Okanagan Regional Library’s Online Coding Club for kids eight to 12 years old takes place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Participants learn, create, develop and play together at this interactive coding program. To register, go online to rl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar.

Bath bombs

FRIDAY

Kids nine to 12 years old can create bath bombs online through the Okanagan Regional Library at Creative Power from 4 to 5 p.m. To register, go online to orl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar. Free.

Storytime

Storytime with Judy from the Okanagan Regional Library takes place from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. online. Newborns to five-yearolds can enjoy fun stories, rhymes, puppets and songs to keep the family dancing, singing and learning together. To register, go online to orl.evanced.info/ signup/Calendar. Free.

Seated tai chi

Seated form of tai chi at the Sarafanov

Ballet Studio, 2035A Louie Dr. Fridays from 9 to 10 a.m. for beginners and 10 to 11:15 a.m. for the ongoing class. New students welcome. For more information, go online to winecountrytaichi.ca. or call 778755-0987.

Read Woke Challenge

Teens can join the Read Woke Book discussions for a casual chat about the book they’re reading from 4 to 5 p.m. online through the Okanagan Regional Library. To learn more about the Read Woke Challenge, go online to orl.bc.ca/teenread-work. To register and receive the Zoom link for the discussion go online to orl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar. Free.

SATURDAY Storytelling workshop

Learn about some traditional stories from the syilx culture from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at an online Storytelling Workshop hosted by Regional Parks in partnership with Wildrose Native Traditions. Register online at rdco.com/parksevents and receive the Zoom link by email. Cost: $10.

Online Storytime

Okanagan Regional Library offers Online Storytime from 10:30 to 11 a.m. with stories, rhymes, and songs to keep the family dancing singing and learning together. Participants will need a device and internet to participate. Register online at orl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar to receive the Zoom link to join the program. Free.

Wittle Warhols

Wittle Warhols, the Kelowna Art Gallery’s free art making program for three-to fiveyear-olds, live streams from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on the Kelowna Art Gallery’s Facebook page Activities will focus on art exploration through creative play using accessible art, craft, and household materials. Supply lists will be posted in advance on the Kelowna Art Gallery Facebook page. Wittle Warhols takes place the final Saturday of each month.

Tai chi

MONDAY

Classes take place Monday and Thursday at Kees Westside Tae Kwon Do at 2109C Louie Dr. with beginner tai chi from 9 to 10 a.m. and ongoing tai chi from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. For more information, go to winecountrytaichi. ca or call 778-755-0987.

Tai chi

TUESDAY

Beginner and ongoing tai chi classes Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Central Okanagan Massage and Supply, 106 – 3535 Old Okanagan Hwy. Masks required. For more information, go to winecountrytaichi.ca or call 778-755-0987.

Regional Parks storytime

Regional Parks will release its pre-recorded Storytime video at 10:30 a.m. on their Instagram channel as well as one of the regional district’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/regionaldistrict.

Virtual Engineering Club

School-age children can take in

Okanagan Regional Library’s Virtual Engineering Club – Gusty Anemometers from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. To register and for a list of materials needed go online to orl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar.

Pyjama Storytime

Don’t forget your stuffy as you snuggle up for online Pyjama Story Time from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. with Judy from the Kelowna library featuring longer books, puppets, songs and rhymes. Register online at orl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar to receive the Zoom link to join the program. Free.

Readers program

Okanagan Regional Library’s the Readers program from 2 to 3 p.m. helps adults connect with fellow book lovers, learn about new books and share their opinions. Each week starts with a question or theme and the conversation goes from there. The program is over the phone. Call 778-6586394 or email access@orl.bc.ca to receive the conference line phone number and access code.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3 Mammogram Mobile

The B.C. Cancer Breast Screening Mammogram Mobile will be outside the Best Western Plus at 3460 Carrington Rd. March 3-6. Screening mammograms are performed in a comfortable and private space, using state-of-the-art digital mammography equipment. The vehicles include a reception area, dressing area, and mammography examination room. The coaches are also equipped with a wheelchair lift. Call 1-800-663-9203 to make an appointment.

The latest flotilla of spacecraft to arrive at Mars must make that world the most-visited planet in the solar system.

There are two reasons for this “group visit.” The missions were timed to be when Mars was particularly close to us. A shorter trip and an easier rendezvous means a given launcher can accommodate a bigger and more capable spacecraft.

Since our current method for travelling between planets involves a big shove followed by “falling all the way there,” the laws of orbital dynamics apply, which requires the launches to fall within a restricted window of time.

It is like throwing a baseball into the air and then throwing another one so that it gently nudges it.

We want to arrive at Mars with a low enough relative velocity to require just a small rocket shove to enter orbit or to dive into the atmosphere at the right angle.

The second reason is that Mars is currently a candidate for being the most fascinating object in the solar system.

Even today, as a cold desert world with a thin atmosphere, out of all the planets in the solar system it is the one most like ours, and one we could live on for long periods, with a lot of technical help of course.

Then there is the discovery that Mars was once a warmer, wetter world, with a thick atmosphere. There are dry water courses, canyons, lakes and seas over most of the surface.

The dry river beds are floored with water-worn pebbles and little round pellets of salts precipitated as the water disappeared.

Actually, today there is a lot of water on Mars, as layers of ice below the surface. On a really warm, summer day, close to the equator, temperatures may reach 20 C. This melts some of the underground ice, causing short-lived water flows down sandy slopes.

Even on those summer days, the temperature dives to far below zero at night. This raises the next fascinating issue; billions of years ago, when Mars was warmer and wetter, was there life?

We know that life appeared on our world very early, around 3.5 billion years ago, more or less as soon as our world had cooled enough for liquid water to accumulate on its surface.

Why could it not have been the same for Mars too? We are looking hard for traces of that ancient life, or even better, some it its hard-bitten descendants eking out a tough existence somewhere below soil level. Thanks to our robot explorers, we are learning about Martian geology and weather, and are piecing together what happened to Mars, and just as important, why it didn’t happen here.

In addition to our scientific curiosity, we have a special cultural attachment to the red planet. Ever since Percival Lowell mapped the canals, which were actually a combination of wishful thinking and poor observing conditions, and launched the idea of the Martians working hard to sustain life on a dying planet, we got the idea that the Martians might just want to come here.

This launched a stream of novels, movies and radio plays. We were usually saved by sheer luck.

In “War of the Worlds,” it was our bacteria, to which the Martians were not immune. In “Mars Attacks,” it was the lucky discovery that Martians could not tolerate yodelling country music.

Actually, it is unlikely that Martian life had a chance to evolve to the point of achieving interplanetary travel. Until around 500 million years ago, life here was single-celled bacteria and algae. Then things started to happen, with complex life forms appearing.

It looks as though Mars became the hostile place it is today, more than a billion years ago. Since Earth and Mars formed at the same time, it is reasonable that if life appeared on Mars, it happened at the same time as it did here, but never had time to get past the bacterial and algal stage. We could be wrong.

These videos of Mars are well worth watching:

youtube.com/watch?v=7zpojhD4 hpI

youtube.com/watch?v=0NRFk_j Nhek

TAPPING

Sky Gazing