Liberals introduce bills to close sickness benefit loophole, allow pandemic-friendly court proceedings
After a month-long standoff in Parliament, the Liberal government has introduced a bill that will fix a legal loophole in the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit. Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough (Delta, B.C.) introduced Bill C-24 into the House on Feb. 25. The full title of the bill is An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act […]
NACI’s call to prioritize at-risk racialized Canadians reflects ‘deliberate attempt’ to recognize inequities, says expert
The feds’ immunization task force’s recent recommendation to prioritize racialized adults in the second stage of Canada’s vaccination campaign is a “deliberate attempt” to acknowledge the barriers faced by those disproportionately affected by the pandemic, but it will need to be adopted on a wide scale to be effective, says one expert. Carl James, a […]
AstraZeneca vaccine approval to give Canada ‘greater flexibility’ in distributing doses widely, says health official
Health Canada’s approval of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Friday will give Canada “greater flexibility” in distributing supplies more widely across the country once it starts to receive the more than 20 million doses on order, say federal officials. The two-dose AstraZeneca vaccine co-developed with Oxford University can be stored at refrigerated temperatures and has […]
January lobbying picks up from holiday slump
Lobbying activity rose slightly in January, with the holiday slump ebbing even as Parliament remained in recess and the usual legislative wrangling was more or less on hold. Last month, lobbyists filed 2,033 communication reports in the federal registry, an uptick of 8.6 per cent from the 1,872 filed in December. Activity was also up […]
Now is the time to think long term, plan for next pandemic or major health crisis
The global pandemic has gripped the public consciousness and is understandably top of mind for most of us these days. From lockdowns to facemasks to social distancing, COVID-19 has instigated societal transformations, unlike anything we have experienced in our lifetimes. As Canadians, we can take pride in knowing that our researchers have been at the […]
Advancing mental health has been my life’s work
When I near the end of a book I have particularly enjoyed, I begin to turn the pages at a more measured pace. The temptation, of course, is to race to the end. But I want to prolong that feeling–deep satisfaction with a dash of sadness–that precedes closing the cover one last time. So, I […]
‘Much water has flown’ since heated row over Trudeau’s farmers’ protest comments, says Indian envoy
While demonstrators stood across the street from India’s New Edinburgh High Commission protesting new farm laws as snow covered the national capital last week, inside, India’s envoy to Canada said a recent phone call between the countries’ two prime ministers has helped New Delhi and Ottawa move past a diplomatic row over Canadian support for […]
MPs, advocates urge more government action to combat ‘pandemic of anti-Asian racism’
Justin Kong, executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council’s Toronto chapter, doesn’t want focus paid to his own experiences of racism, which he says most racialized people have experienced, instead emphasizing the importance of the country coming together to make things better. He, along with several Members of Parliament and advocacy groups, have called […]
Liberal delay in moving on Bill C-19 ‘puzzling’ given election posturing, says NDP’s Blaikie
Tabled at the end of the fall sitting, Bill C-19, which proposes changes to the Canada Elections Act aimed at mitigating risks if an election is held during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been all but stagnant since—a lack of legislative progress NDP MP Daniel Blaikie calls “surprising,” given continued speculation of a snap election call. […]
Canada’s herd immunity goal could rise to 90 per cent amid COVID-19 variant surge, official says
Health officials are tweaking their estimates of herd immunity targets in Canada to up to 90 per cent in the face of emerging COVID-19 variants, members of the House Health Committee heard Monday. Typically, herd immunity to a virus sits anywhere between 50 and 90 per cent of a population, said Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief […]
