The role of the WHO in this crisis has been tarnished by politics
OTTAWA—In February of 1997, I was the acting deputy head of information at the World Health Organization, and was invited to a meeting of senior staff in the office of then-director-general Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima. We were arranged in a circle in the director-general’s office at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, as it was explained […]
‘The deeper the wound, the longer it takes to heal’: Trump’s threats undermine Canada-U.S. relationship, says former envoy
The Trump administration’s threat to withhold critical medical infrastructure has angered Canadians and may have deepened an already open wound in the Canada-U.S relationship, as politicos say the federal government needs to find alternate avenues to protect Canada’s most important alliance. Following a weekend of uncertainty over whether Ontario hospitals would receive much needed respirator […]
Team Canada shows co-operation pays after 3M mask supply threatened
OTTAWA—As Canada’s COVID-19 containment enters its fourth week, with many weeks still likely to go, a bouquet to some of our political leaders for how they handled U.S. President Donald Trump’s initial efforts to limit 3M from providing N95 respirator masks to Canada. Late last week, in a time when the world needed—and still does—co-operation, […]
MPs join fight to stamp out COVID-19 disinformation that’s ‘spreading faster than the virus’
The World Health Organization has warned of an “infodemic” of misinformation and disinformation around COVID-19, and as authorities, companies, and individuals work to combat it, two Members of Parliament have joined an international initiative aimed at calling out and fact-checking online content around the virus. “We’ve seen misinformation in many other contexts—electoral contexts and certainly other […]
Politicos honour ‘fierce campaigner’ Shirley Douglas
MPs across the partisan divide honoured the life of Canadian activist and actress Shirley Douglas after news of her death broke on April 5. Ms. Douglas—the daughter of past NDP leader and medicare founder Tommy Douglas—appeared in more than a dozen films and several TV shows throughout a career that spanned from 1953 to 2008. […]
Destiny’s child: the Queen as survivor
The 21st century, so far, has been the era of unprecedented, avoidable catastrophes. It dawned with suicide bombers mothballing the banality of evil by committing mass murder on live television, welcomed its second decade with a contagion of corruption that collapsed the global financial system, and greets its third with a viral contagion that threatens genocidal […]
We don’t know how this virus began, but we know how we can learn from our response
The internet is awash in conspiracy theories that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was due to an accidental or deliberate escape from a Chinese facility engaged in covert weapons development. A March 17 Nature Medicine article considered the possibility that the outbreak resulted from an inadvertent lab release of a virus under study but concluded “we do […]
Corporations stepping up shouldn’t mean their practices get a blind eye
When it comes to rationalizing potentially not-great decisions, defenders often pull out the old chestnut of perfection being the enemy of good. A few weeks ago, this was backed by compelling statements from Michael Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program. “If you need to be right before you move, […]
The fight against COVID-19 isn’t a war, and shouldn’t be described that way
OTTAWA—Whenever there is a crisis involving death and destruction, one of the first reactions of the media is to describe it as being akin to “a war zone.” A tornado rips through an urban centre and we are told that the wreckage looks “like a war zone.” A train derails and bursts into flames and […]
‘Critical situation’ in prisons as health-care workers threaten to walk over lack of protective equipment
Health-care workers in Canada’s federal prison system are on the verge of walking off the job over coronavirus-related safety concerns, according to their union, as pressure mounts on other public servants who would be tasked with handling the early release of inmates. “This is a very critical situation that we’re trying to resolve” with the […]
