Pleas to U.S. to share vaccine supplies with Canada unlikely to ‘resonate’ in short term, say lobby groups
Ottawa could have luck down the line appealing to the United States to share some coronavirus vaccine doses with Canada, but as a short-term fix, it’s unlikely with little evidence the U.S. has a “surplus” to go around, say some lobby groups and health experts. The reality is that production capacity “is tight everywhere and […]
As pandemic brings federal government’s role into focus, parties reel in donors
The pandemic appears to have created an unlikely opening for parties to reel in donors, with homebound Canadians of all political stripes more willing to hear from parties and to engage politically, say politicos. “There’s a general phenomenon that is lifting all boats, in a way. Voters are generally a more captive audience this year […]
Canada raised domestic manufacturing ‘at every turn’ with suppliers, told capacity ‘too limited’: Anand
Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada “proactively and repeatedly” approached manufacturers to push domestic vaccine production, but the country’s biomedical capacity was “too limited” to justify the investment of capital and expertise to start manufacturing. Her department, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), “frequently, forcefully, and aggressively” brought the issue to the table, raising it […]
PHAC and Health Canada have not been assets in this pandemic
MONTREAL—I sometimes find real interest in the obscure. So, my interest was piqued by a story hidden away on the inside pages, about the release of a September 2020 report on the government’s pandemic response, titled “Lessons Learned from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s COVID-19 Response (Phase One)” prepared by the Office of Audit […]
MPs call out Wall Street as GameStop stock skyrockets
Hedge funds were the target of bipartisan criticism in the midst of a volatile week in the stock market. When questioned about GameStop’s stock price and its implications in a Jan. 28 press conference, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who serves Burnaby South, B.C., told Global News that small day and retail traders were not the […]
Second COVID wave, vaccine issues rapidly unwinding any and all political assumptions
OTTAWA—Politically, everything we have surmised about the impact of COVID-19 is no longer applicable. Last year, the tragedy of the pandemic assumed a fairly linear political narrative. For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, this revolved around his government’s unprecedented rollout of financial aid to keep the economy on life support and help millions of individuals—plus the […]
Intellectual capital is Canada’s most important natural resource
COVID-19 is taxing the world’s health-care systems like never before, and Canada is no exception. During this challenging time, one of the many lessons being relearned is that we need to keep mobilizing our intellectual capital so that we can continue to develop innovative products and solutions that benefit Canada and the global community. Globally, […]
Big outbreak of partisan positioning not helpful for pandemic problem solving
OTTAWA—While driving through Ottawa last week, of course on an essential journey, I was listening to my friend Evan Solomon’s show on CFRA. It had been another day of finger pointing, carping, and moaning among governments over who was to blame for the latest pandemic management challenges. Solomon summed up the political buzzing nicely, “Enough […]
Most online users report seeing false, misleading COVID-19 information, but few verify accuracy: report
The vast majority of Canadians who turn to the internet for updates on the pandemic said they encountered suspicious information, but only a small fraction checked its accuracy, suggested a new Statistics Canada report. In a new survey released Tuesday, the agency said 96 per cent of Canadians surveyed reported seeing information on COVID-19 they […]
Defending sluggish vaccine rollout, Hajdu says feds anticipated low volume of doses
Health Minister Patty Hajdu defended Canada’s immunization campaign before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, saying she anticipates a smoother rollout as it progresses, because more vaccines will likely be approved in the months ahead. “We knew early on that we would not have a volume of vaccines,” said Ms. Hajdu (Thunder Bay-Superior North, Ont.), adding […]
