COVID-19 derails global quest to end tuberculosis
The health inequities made clear by COVID-19—like the hoarding and accompanied famine of vaccines between wealthy and low-income countries—reinforce a fact that those working and living with neglected diseases like tuberculosis have long known to be true: power relations dictate whose lives are worth saving and whose are not. Before COVID-19, tuberculosis (TB) was the […]
In ‘backdoor socialism’ we trust?
OTTAWA—Seems like I just dislodged myself enough from Candice Bergen’s socialist backdoor to realize that something just shifted in Canadian politics—and not soon enough. Late Monday night, CBC reported that the Liberals and the NDP entered into a supply and confidence agreement until 2025. What this means is that the NDP will support the Liberals […]
Hard-hit downtown Ottawa businesses looking to rebound after COVID, convoy shutdowns
Following two years of a pandemic, with tens of thousands of public servants working remotely and only now starting to come back into their workplaces, local businesses, employees, and residents who frequent the area in and around the Parliamentary Precinct have been hit hard. In addition to the pandemic’s disruption, further dislocation associated with “Freedom […]
Lack of leadership to unite Canadians could bring in American-style divisive politics in Canada, warn political insiders
The lack of leadership at the federal level to unite Canadian could bring in American-style divisive politics in the country which means politics will be a lot more about emotion and less about finding the best way forward, warn political insiders. “It means we move along to the same path, the Americans have moved on […]
Guaranteeing Canada’s food sovereignty
For the last two years, the agriculture and agri-food sectors have been under a great deal of strain due to the COVID-19 pandemic: labour shortages, management difficulties, the scarcity and inflation of inputs, and the unavailability of efficient transportation to and from production sites. These major, complex challenges have far-reaching consequences. That is why the […]
Feds ask Parliamentarians to approve $190.3-billion of $397.6-billion main spending estimates so far for 2022-2023
The government is asking Parliamentarians to approve $190.3-billion out of a total $397.6-billion in spending for the 2022-23 fiscal year, a nearly $50-billion jump over last year’s main spending estimates. In the last Parliament, the main estimates presented $142-billion requiring parliamentary approval. The 2021-22 main estimates kicked off with a total $342.2-billion, but following additional […]
Two years later, the colour of one’s skin still affects vaccine status
Whether you agreed or vehemently disagreed with the so-called Freedom Convoy’s tactics, chances are you’re tired of this pandemic. Over the winter, many Canadians have caught COVID-19 and fared relatively well thanks to being vaccinated. People are increasingly resigned to living with the virus, and ready to move on with their lives. But this newfound […]
Governments sometimes don’t grasp human nature, and that’s a problem
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—It is a lesson I never forgot. In March of 2000, I was in Bangladesh, speaking to a group of doctors and administrators at UNICEF, where I had been hired to promote funding to deal with the presence of arsenic in 10 million tubewells in that country. I laid out the objectives of our […]
The discontented COVID-protection protesters: who are they?
They occupied Ottawa for weeks and established blockades at the Canada-U.S. border. At the genesis of the “Freedom Convoy 2022,” the message appeared to be truckers opposed to the vaccine mandate, Canada—and the United States—imposed in order for their crossing the border. But on the first full day of the Jan. 29 demonstration in the […]
Immunocompromised can’t be left behind as COVID restrictions lift, warns Sen. Griffin
As governments across the country ease public health restrictions, advocates for people with compromised immune systems are reminding policy-makers about the increased risks to people who are especially vulnerable to COVID. P.E.I. Senator Diane Griffin said she is concerned about the possibility that governments, businesses, and most people will revert to pre-COVID habits, leaving people […]
