Politics This Morning: Breaking with regulator, NACI advises against giving AstraZeneca vaccine to seniors

Good Tuesday morning, Canada's vaccine advisory committee has decided not to recommend the AstraZeneca vaccine for use by people 65 years and older, citing "limited information on the efficacy of this vaccine in this age group at this time." The National Advisory Committee on Immunization's guidance marks a departure from what Health Canada officials had previously advised last Friday, when the vaccine was approved. Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser, told reporters that though seniors were underrepresented in clinical trials, there was real-world evidence to show it was effective at "preventing severe diseases and hospitalizations" among older demographics, and the benefits outweighed the potential risks. Though non-binding, that recommendation could prompt provinces and territories to tweak their plans and limit allocation of that vaccine to younger adult groups. Like Health Canada, the committee recommended the second shot be administered four to 12 weeks apart from the first. Canada is anticipating the first shipment of 500,000 doses could arrive as early as Wednesday. Outgoing high commissioner to the U.K. Janice Charette is poised to return to her old role as clerk of the Privy Council. Ms. Charette will be filling in as top bureaucrat while Ian Shugart undergoes cancer treatment. She takes the reins on an interim basis March 9. In other changes, the Senate's Progressive Group has added a 12th member to its roster, with the departure of Northwest Territories Senator Margaret Dawn Anderson from the Independent Senators Group. In a statement, Sen. Anderson, who was appointed in 2018, said she "look forward to being able to lend a Northern perspective and apply my experience with consensus-based decision-making" in the group. Statistics Canada said the government's pandemic relief measures “more than compensated” for the losses lower-income households experienced, and instead, led to an uptick in disposable income, including among younger households. Independent Senator Diane Bellemare told The Hill Times the figures "show we’ve done the right thing while in the pandemic. Otherwise, the impact would have been worse.” Public Safety Canada is mounting an effort aimed at countering economic-based threats to national security, including the loss of valuable intellectual property and military and dual-use technology, per The Canadian Press. It's outlined as part of the department's 2021-22 plan, which also commits to undertaking a "national risk profile" assessment to "create a forward-looking picture" of Canada's risks and capabilities as it relates to natural disasters such as floods, wildfires, and earthquakes, and potential consequences for vulnerable populations. Those findings are expected to be released sometime in 2021-22. MPs on the Public Safety Committee, meantime, voted to call on cabinet ministers Bill Blair and Patty Hajdu and other federal officials to testify on the measures in place for ensuring the safety of quarantining travellers at government-designated hotels following allegations that two women were sexually assaulted during their stay. Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou's push to have her extradition case dropped might turn on whether her Charter rights were violated by Canada when border patrol agents detained her for three hours before the RCMP carried out a warrant for her "immediate arrest," according to CBC. What may be unlikely to sway the judge in British Columbia is the argument alleging political interference on the part of the former U.S. president who suggested her arrest was tied to its trade tiff with Beijing. In scheduled events, the House Special Committee on the Economic Relationship Between Canada and the U.S. is slated to hold its first hearing at 3:30 p.m. with Steve Verheul, chief trade negotiator, and Michael Grant, assistant deputy minister, as witnesses. Their appearance takes place on the heels of White House press secretary Jen Psaki shooting down the possibility that the United States could share its vaccine supplies with its neighbours—one of the clearest signals yet from the Biden administration that it plans to prioritize its residents. "The president has made clear that he is focused on ensuring that vaccines are accessible to every American. That is our focus," she told reporters, according to CBC. The Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations—which hadn't met since 2019—is scheduled to elect its chairs at 11 a.m. over Zoom. The Finance Committee, meanwhile, is expected to hold a clause-by-clause vote on Bill C-224, a Bloc private member's bill to create a single tax return to be administered by Quebec's revenue agency. Trade Minister Mary Ng is scheduled to co-host a virtual roundtable on women's entrepreneurship with her Swedish counterpart Anna Hallberg. That's happening at 10 a.m. Special Representative to the Prairies Jim Carr also has a virtual event lined up for 11 a.m., when he's expected to make an announcement in support of meat-processing companies across the region. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's itinerary today doesn't include his usual Tuesday morning presser. He is scheduled to speak with P.E.I. Premier Dennis King, whose province entered into a red phase as the number of new COVID-19 cases hit double digits, jumping from three to 18 in less than a week. The Hill Times

Politics This Morning: Breaking with regulator, NACI advises against giving AstraZeneca vaccine to seniors

Plus, Canada's outgoing high commissioner to the U.K. Janice Charette is taking over as interim Privy Council clerk while Ian Shugart undergoes cancer treatment. She starts the job, which she had once filled, March 9.

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Doing our part to vaccinate the world against COVID-19: AstraZeneca Canada

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Politics This Morning: Breaking with regulator, NACI advises against giving AstraZeneca vaccine to seniors

Plus, Canada's outgoing high commissioner to the U.K. Janice Charette is taking over as interim Privy Council clerk while Ian Shugart undergoes cancer treatment. She starts the job, which she had once filled, March 9.

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