Engineers among the hidden heroes amid pandemic
WATERLOO, ONT.—What would our shelter-in-place COVID-19 experiences be like in Canada without engineering technology advancements such as smart phones, Zoom, Amazon, or Netflix? What would the mortality outcomes of COVID-19 be without technology advances in health care that have allowed us to decode the novel coronavirus genome in a month, access geospatial information systems to […]
Federal policy will need to pivot from support to recovery
The coronavirus pandemic has brought economic shock faster and more severely than the 2008 global financial crisis. In contrast to the financial sector factors that led to the events of 2008, the shock of COVID-19 has stemmed from the government’s necessary and humanitarian response to impose stay-in-place orders and business shutdowns to fight COVID-19. The […]
Too many front-line workers not getting personal protective equipment
Our health-care professionals in direct contact with patients who are infected, or presumed to be infected, with COVID-19, are making the selfless decision to put the lives of others ahead of their own. Now, more than ever, they need to be propped up, cheered on and profoundly thanked. But more importantly, they need to be […]
Side effects may vary: lack of evidence prompts vigilance when considering contact-tracing apps
Mother’s Day is fast approaching. If you’re like me—lucky enough to have a loving mother who lives relatively nearby—the prospect of a hug-less Mother’s Day, thanks to COVID-19, is your current gloomy reality. Evidence tells us that hugs spread COVID-19, and that seniors are particularly susceptible to the worst of the disease. So, many of […]
Don’t let privacy concerns complicate necessary data sharing to combat public health threats
Health surveillance systems are key cornerstones to protecting populations from emerging public health threats. In Canada, these systems fall under shared responsibilities between local, federal, and provincial and territorial (FPT) agencies. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) creates the common elements to manage this system within a national framework to standardize data collection and […]
Monetary policy in the time of COVID: obscure, but vital, BofC gets a new governor
OTTAWA—Covering Ottawa for years, I wrote thousands of articles about economics, politics, and so forth. Of these, one article that received an unexpectedly huge public response concerned of all things the staid, hermetic Bank of Canada. The story recounted a quixotic court case intended to force Canada’s central bank to fundamentally reinterpret its mandate and […]
For the Armed Forces, the bonds go far deeper than camaraderie
OTTAWA—On April 29, sources within the military community began contacting Esprit de Corps magazine with information that a potential tragedy was unfolding in the Mediterranean. Our first reaction was to treat the rumours as a possible “fake news” story, initiated by a NATO adversary to spread discrediting disinformation about the Canadian Armed Forces. However, as […]
Isolation tips: coping with long, annoying commercials
In this latest of my series of intermittent public service columns on how to cope with life in pandemic isolation, we’ll tackle the conundrum of how to manage confinement coexistence with Donald Trump. In our old-timey lives, when escape from the hourly onslaught of Trumpian nonsense was just that third trip to the store in […]
Putting off budget planning a poor way to map out the future
When Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced earlier this year that the Liberals would be presenting their first minority budget on March 30, there were a great number of questions to be answered. How would the Liberals be attempting to fulfill their campaign promises? Who would the government be talking to? What compromises was it going […]
With strong privacy rules, Canada and the EU could combat COVID-19 together
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we are facing an unprecedented challenge for our health-care systems, economic stability, and way of life. Technology and data have a significant role to play in combating this major crisis. Digital tools, from contact tracing and warning apps to telemedicine or symptom checkers, can really make a difference. They can, in […]
