Opinion
Onto the next pandemic
By Harvey Schipper September 14, 2020
Canada is in a unique position to be a, if not the, world leader in preparedness. We now have an unprecedented opportunity to reframe our thinking of what a pandemic represents, and in so doing, we can potentially create a revolutionary and science-driven health economy. Here’s what we need to do.
Canada's deputy medical health officer Howard Njoo, Canada's chief medical officer Theresa Tam, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Health Minister Patty Hajdu, and Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne, pictured Jan. 26, 2020, in the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, less than a month before the WHO declared the COVID-19 virus a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. Our fair performance comes in spite of the fact that we appear to have starved a world-leading epidemic early warning unit, our Global Pubic Health Intelligence Network, born out of SARS, just in time to miss the early signs of COVID, writes Harvey Schipper.
TORONTO—As we emerge from our first encounter with COVID-19, we are beginning to take stock of where we stand and what we have learned. It has been a humbling, at times quite frightening, and at other times even hopeful experience.
Disclosure: The licence to share this op-ed widely was purchased after its publication date. All op-eds that appear in The Hill Times, including this one, pass through the editorial-oversight process, which includes fact-checks and edits for style, grammar, and punctuation. Editorial is not involved in the licensing process.
Related Stories
Increasing tally of early voters adding new dimension to campaign calculus
Advance voting jumped as much as 19.5 per cent this election, and use of special ballots, the majority of which are filled out ahead of election day, increased by roughly 59.4 per cent.Trudeau ‘dodged the bullet’ but will now run the country and party from a ‘weakened’ position, say politicos
'They had that big stick in their hand, which was the election call. They cannot call an election for at least the next year, without the opposition doing egregious things,' says pollster Greg Lyle.Conservative Party national councillor launches online petition to oust O’Toole
For the first time in the party’s history, a Conservative member has initiated a petition to call a referendum on the party leader. But, the Conservative Party’s president has questioned the online petition’s validity.Political leaders need to address violence, hate seen on campaign trail, say experts
Centre on Hate, Bias, and Extremism director Barbara Perry says there has been a 'perfect storm' that has led to the incidents of hate and violence that have been seen on the campaign trail. Ex-Ontario House leader Naqvi will take procedural bonafides to the Commons
Along with his time as House leader, the Liberal MP-elect served under the Wynne government as Ontario’s attorney general, minister of community safety and correctional services, and as labour minister.Minor House shakeup sees more than 40 new faces preparing to enter Parliament
With 34 ridings with no incumbent contesting the race and a total of 16 flipped seats, at least 44 new people are projected to join the House's class of 2021, including the first Filipina-Canadian to hold federal office.Veteran provincial politician Yasir Naqvi’s win keeps Ottawa Centre under federal Liberal banner
'These are big shoes,' Yasir Naqvi said of previous MPs who represented Ottawa Centre, Ont.Trudeau Liberals return to preside over minority Parliament after mid-pandemic election
As of press deadline on Sept. 21, the Liberals had won or were leading in 156 ridings, the Conservatives 121, the Bloc Québécois 32, the NDP 27, and the Green Party in two.‘It looks like nobody wanted an election and no one got what they wanted’: what pollsters, politicos, and reporters had to say about Election 44
Difficulties with voting captured the attention of Canadians on Twitter, as many complained of long lines, being turned away at polls and issues with Elections Canada's website.Trending Stories
