In fast-moving political reality, Trudeau uses Incident Response Group to seek ‘quick resolutions’ to complex problems
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ad hoc cabinet committee, the Incident Response Group, has regularly met in recent weeks to discuss and to quickly communicate the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, Iran’s downing of the Ukrainian passenger flight, and ongoing rail blockades across the country. Ad hoc committees established by prime ministers to deal with […]
Chinese ambassador touts Beijing’s coronavirus response in panel on Canada-China relations
Chinese ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu touted the Chinese Communist Party’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, suggesting other countries could learn from its handling of the spread, while also doubling down on past statements blaming Ottawa for the deterioration in bilateral relations. Speaking at a panel in Ottawa on Tuesday hosted by the Pearson Centre, […]
Pharmacare’s time is now
In the next few weeks, the minister of finance will rise in the House and give a speech laying out the government’s budget priorities for the next year. National pharmacare must be at the top of that list. The three parties who promised pharmacare won a majority of the vote in the October 2019 federal […]
Advocate calling for a simplified suicide hotline number gets ally in Sen. Batters
A mental health advocate is appealing to MPs and Senators to rally behind an effort to shorten the 11-digit national suicide hotline to three digits. Kathleen Finlay, the founder of Zer0Now Campaign, a sexual trauma and mental health advocacy group, said simplifying the hotline to an “easy-to-remember” number—988—would be a life-saving measure when “seconds count.” […]
Winning the battle against the invisible coronavirus enemy will take confidence and solidarity
The pneumonia outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus has aroused world-wide public attention. At the moment, the Chinese government and people are making all-out efforts and racing against the clock to fight the epidemic. As a common challenge for human beings, the epidemic requires the joint efforts of the international community. China is making tangible […]
Is the ‘devil virus’ a ‘black swan’?
LONDON, U.K.—China officially went back to work on Monday, after an extended two-week Lunar New Year holiday, while the authorities struggled to get the spread of the new coronavirus under control. But a lot of Chinese are not going back to work yet, and the spread of the “devil virus” (as President Xi Jingping called […]
‘On the map’: military town welcomes Canadian evacuees from China
As the country watches how the 215 evacuees from coronavirus-hit China will be doing over the course of their government-ordered quarantine at the military base in Trenton, Ont., the backbench MP who represents the riding says he plans to let the experts do their jobs, and won’t be using the historic event for any political […]
Feds to charter second plane to evacuate Canadians in coronavirus-hit China
PARLIAMENT HILL—As evacuees make their way back to Canada amid the coronavirus outbreak, Ottawa is preparing to airlift those still stranded in China next week, federal officials said Thursday. “Approximately two-thirds of Canadians seeking to be evacuated would have left China [by Thursday],” said Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne (Saint Maurice-Champlain, Que.) during a press […]
Taiwan president’s re-election could signal diplomatic shift in China: analysts
The re-election of Taiwan’s president over her pro-Beijing rival has some China analysts concerned it could cause the superpower to shift gears with the self-ruled island, while Canada’s own diplomatic troubles with China prompt questions about Canada’s approach in the region. With Tsai Ing-wen entering her second term with 57 per cent support in the […]
Yes, the coronavirus is a threat to health, but we should not panic
OTTAWA—In the fall of 1996, I had just started work at the World Health Organization in Geneva as an information officer. Within a few days of my arrival, there was word of the possibility of cholera in the camps in then-Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in the Great Lakes Region, bordering Rwanda. These […]
