Canada In The News
 

The latest news from across Canada.

Feel free to post any information you find that may be of interest to others.

Edmonton Mask Exemption Cards
 

The City of Edmonton has launched a new program meant to help those with conditions that make it difficult to wear a mask identify themselves as being exempt from the city’s mandatory mask bylaw while in public spaces.

According to Ward 3 City Coun. Jon Dziadyk, the exemption card program was officially launched this weekend at a series of recreation centres around the city.

“What we have developed is a card system that will indicate to those challenging someone not wearing a mask that they indeed are exempt,” Dziadyk said Sunday. “A lot of people are quite happy to receive these cards.”

According to the city, while the new rules mean face masks are required indoors, there are exceptions to the bylaw, including those with physical or mental concerns. Those who have limitations in wearing a mask do not need to explain why, but Dziadyk explained the card program was launched after hearing about some tension in public spaces.
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“A lot of people have medical or other exemptions, and it might not be clear to the naked eye what those exemptions are, so there has been reports of some friction amongst customers,” he said.

“I think that we can trust the public to ask for the card if they require one.”

However, one Edmonton physician says that he believes there are actually very few people with legitimate medical exemptions.

“There are very, very few medically indicated reasons for not wearing a mask,” Dr. Darren Markland, an intensive care physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, said Sunday. “And they all tend to revolve around neurological or psychiatric conditions.

“I’m not saying these aren’t real things, but they are the minority of cases.”

Markland said that he was not surprised to see masks come out as a political issue in many regions of the world, including in Edmonton.

“Mask policy was going to be contentious no matter how we brought it out,” he said. “Masks work because people want to use them. If you are concerned about your fellow citizen, and you are concerned about keeping the pandemic in check until we have a cure or a vaccine, then you’re going to do a mask and you’re going to do it properly.

“Once you go to mandating masks, that changes the situation dramatically,” Markland said. “Suddenly you are imposing your will on somebody.


Markland added that he believes the new exemption card program “completely invalidates the bylaw.”

Coun. Dziadyk said Sunday that he believes the majority of people will still be wearing masks, even with the card system. “Everyone needs to wear a mask indoors unless you are exempt,” Dziadyk said, adding that Edmontonians should also be following public health orders including social distancing and frequent hand washing.

Markland said that he wants all Edmontonians to realize that COVID-19 is still a very real risk.

“I see the worst-case scenario as an intensive care physician,” he said. “I see young people who die from this. We know it can affect every organ in the body,” Markland said. “It can leave people with permanent forms of arthritis or kidney failure.

“Just like everyone was thinking they were going to win the 50/50, no one thinks they’re going to lose the COVID game.

“We’ve got to keep on, we’ve got to keep being strong about this. Because come fall, we’re going to see the second resurgence.”

Mask exemption cards are available at the following locations in Edmonton:
Terwillegar Community Rec Centre
Clareview Community Rec Centre
The Meadows Community Rec Centre
Commonwealth Community Rec Centre
Kinsmen Sports Centre, Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre
The Jasper Place Leisure Centre

Those who request a card will not be expected to provide proof of why they need it.

City council approved the bylaw in a 10-3 vote on July 29. Councillors Jon Dziadyk, Tony Caterina and Mike Nickel voted against the bylaw. It came into effect Aug. 1.



Source: globalnews.ca
Website: https://bit.ly/30JLAdZ
Date: August 9, 2020

KFC Canada
 

KFC Canada introduces their plant-based sandwhich and plant-based popcorn and when asked if the plant-based items are cooked separately this response was given...

"Our plant-based sandwich and popcorn are cooked in a designated fryer, HOWEVER, it may be cooked in the same oil or using the same equipment as our Chicken. Our specialty is Kentucky Fried Chicken after all! We’ll let you decide if that’s suitable for you." :blink:




Source: Twitter
Date: August 10, 2020

Canada in the News
 

Well, of late we have acquired the West Nile Virus found in mosquitoes about 1/2 hr from where I live. We have also had and are having over 400 people ill from eating onions with samonella from the U.S. (one company) This includes red, white, sweet onions. We don't need any more from Mother Nature ty.

Onion Recall Expands After Hundreds Sickened In Salmonella Outbreak...
 

For a complete list, visit the FDA website.
For some reason it won't let me post the link!

Canada in the News
 

Yes moe I see that 50 states are also affected but I was just putting in Canada news sorry bout that. All of North American is under attack from one way or another and Mother Nature shows no mercy. These things have to include floods, tornadoes, fires, and both countries wanting to ditch their country heads. I guess it has to be to try to make sense of all the years the world has been used and abused by us.

`
 

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-m...-safety-alertshttps://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-m...onions-because

states included too

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-m...onions-because these are the states list look for click here and the list comes up

Oh, OK thanks ~ocean...:hangloose:

Covid Outbreak At FGF Brands
 

The outbreak took place at FGF Brands, an industrial bakery from May 18, and was lifted by Toronto Public Health on June 24.

When the health agency first declared the outbreak, in early June after conducting two waves of mass testing for all the team members, a total of 184 cases were confirmed out of a workforce of 2,000 people.

“These cases were largely confined to two facilities in Ontario out of a total of seven facilities that FGF owns and operates. We have NOT had any new cases since then,” Lori Procher, SVP Talent and Development of FGF Brands told Daily Hive in a written statement on Monday.

Procher added that the company took an “aggressive action” beginning at the end of January with the provision masks and gloves for all workers followed by physical distancing in early March.

The bakery’s Pandemic Response Team then developed more measures which include: increasing frequency of sanitizing common areas; installing plexiglass at tables in lunchrooms; hiring four nurses to assist with temperature checks and screening; adding five personal emergency leave days; and reducing non-essential production to have fewer workers on site.

“This has been an extraordinarily difficult time for everyone, and we are proud of each and every one of our Team Members who have come together to ensure that we did our small part in helping keep the Canadian food supply chain moving,” Procher said.

But, Wayne Gates an NDP critic for Workplace Health and Safety said that because the workers did not have access to paid sick days, it contributed to the outbreak.

“Today we learned that many workers became sick with COVID-19 and one worker tragically lost their life at FGF Brands, an industrial bakery in Toronto. They were low-wage, temporary workers with no access to paid sick days when the outbreak began. They came to work when they were feeling sick because they would not be paid if they stayed home,” the statement reads.

Gates added that after the outbreak, the workers were given “just a couple of paid sick days” but that was “too little and too late.”

Lack of access to paid sick time left these workers vulnerable to COVID-19, and led to a massive outbreak at this plant, and the loss of a life.”

She noted that all workers, including temporary workers, must be able to take time off when they become ill without worrying about lost wages or job security.



Source: dailyhive.com
Website: http://bit.do/fHo4e
Date: August 10, 2020

Air Canada Updates Flight Schedule
 

Air Canada has announced it’s discontinuing service on 30 domestic routes and closing eight stations at airports across the country amid weakened demand for travel due to the novel coronavirus and measures put in place to limit its spread.

Canada’s largest airline said in a statement Tuesday that most of the route suspensions will occur in the Maritimes, Ontario and Quebec, with a handful of closures affecting western routes between Saskatchewan and Ottawa.

“Air Canada expects the industry’s recovery will take a minimum of three years,” the airline said in a statement. “As a consequence, other changes to its network and schedule, as well as further service suspensions, will be considered over the coming weeks.”

READ MORE: Air Canada has more refund complaints in U.S. than any other foreign airline

The airline industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as governments implemented travel restrictions, which included limiting non-essential travel.

Since the pandemic began, Air Canada reported a net loss of $1.05 billion in the first quarter of 2020, including a net cash burn in March of $688 million. The carrier also announced in mid-May that it would have to lay off about 20,000 employees, representing more than 50 per cent of its staff.

2:17 [Video on main page] Coronavirus: Air Canada cutting domestic routes.

Air Canada said affected customers will be contacted and offered options by the airline.

3:47 [Video on main page] Coronavirus outbreak: Why won’t airlines give me my money back?

Here are the routes affected:

Maritimes/Newfoundland and Labrador
Deer Lake-Goose Bay
Deer Lake-St. John’s
Fredericton-Halifax
Fredericton-Ottawa
Moncton-Halifax
Saint John-Halifax
Charlottetown-Halifax
Moncton-Ottawa
Gander-Goose Bay
Gander-St. John’s
Bathurst-Montreal
Wabush-Goose Bay
Wabush-Sept-Iles
Goose Bay-St. John’s

Quebec and Ontario
Baie Comeau-Montreal
Baie Comeau-Mont Joli
Gaspé-Iles de la Madeleine
Gaspé-Quebec City
Sept-Iles-Quebec City
Val d’Or-Montreal
Mont Joli-Montreal
Rouyn-Noranda-Val d’Or
Kingston-Toronto
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London-Ottawa
North Bay-Toronto
Windsor-Montreal

Western Canada
Regina-Winnipeg
Regina-Saskatoon
Regina-Ottawa
Saskatoon-Ottawa



Source: globalnews.ca
Website: http://bit.do/fHo4X
Date: June 20, 2020

When Will Canada Get It's PPE Trudeau?
 

A Trudeau-appointed contractor who was tasked by the government to ship masks has failed to ship any. This came in spite of the contractor being awarded $382 million by the Trudeau government.

The government awarded this contract to Medicom—a Montreal-based company who do not have any factories in Canada, according to Blacklock's Reporter.

"To date the Public Health Agency has not received surgical masks from Medicom’s Canadian production facility," said a Public Health Agency spokesperson.

Medicom hubristically asserted that these masks would arrive quickly. Despite this having proven untrue, the Trudeau government is yet to pull the contract.

Medicom were awarded an unprecedented ten-year contract. All of this took place without bidding. The reason for this (if one is to be generous) is due to the Trudeau government's decision to speed up post-pandemic policy.

The government, with the help of the NDP, partially suspended the power of parliament—meaning the ability to scrutinize dodgy legislation was lost.

In June, government officials testified that there was a necessity for Canadian-made medical products and that these products would arrive in the summer.

"We would hope that very soon, I would say in the summer period, it would be up and running and beginning manufacture in Canada," said the Liberal deputy minister for industry.

As of August 10, this medical equipment is yet to arrive.

Medicom closed their last Canadian factory last year. Despite this, the Quebec firm were given $4 million by the Trudeau government to set up a factory in Montreal.

"Today, Canada has no domestic N95 or surgical mask production capacity and is completely reliant on imports," said a Trudeau government official.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a pressing and critical need to build domestic capacity, mitigating the risk of shortages in the near and long term."



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: http://bit.do/fHo7q
Date: August 10, 2020

Canada in the News
 

Trudeau should be shot and pi^^ed on twice. He is a real crook and is bleeding the Canadian people in more ways than one. (No I did not vote for him)

Ontario Is The First Province Where People Can Use COVID Alert to Report a COVID-19 Diagnosis.
 

The new app, called COVID Alert, will warn users if they have been near someone who has tested positive.

Residents of Ontario can now download a new app that can tell them whether they have been near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 over the previous two weeks.

But while government officials say the goal is to make the COVID Alert contact notification app available across the country and are in talks with other provinces, they can't state yet when it will be available outside Ontario. The Android version can be found here.

They also haven't explained why only one province has agreed to adopt what was supposed to be a national app.

COVID Alert is the federal government's latest move in the battle to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as Canada's economy gradually reopens. Here's how it works:

* You start by downloading the app to your smartphone.
* That will allow the phone to use Bluetooth technology to exchange signals with nearby phones.
* If someone tests positive for COVID, their public health authority will give them a one-time key to enter into the app.
* The app will then send out notices to every phone that has been within two metres of the infected person's phone for at least 15 minutes over the previous 14 days — as long as those other phones also carry the app.
* Those who receive a notification will receive instructions on what to do next.

Officials say that the app will become more effective as more people download it — and they stress that it's a notification app, not a contact-tracing app.

App is voluntary.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has downloaded the app.

"I want to be clear — this app isn't mandatory," he told reporters. "It's completely voluntary to download and to use."

Watch: [Video on main page] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explains new COVID Alert app.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa how the new federal COVID app will warn Canadians if they have been near someone who has tested positive for the virus. 2:32

Other provinces, such as New Brunswick, have worked to develop their own apps. Alberta launched a contact tracing app called ABTraceTogether on May 1.

Trudeau said the federal government is close to working out an agreement with the Atlantic provinces to integrate their systems with the app. The federal government says it is also talking with other provinces and territories about integrating their systems but hasn't indicated when other provinces might adopt the app.

While anyone across Canada can download the app, they will receive alerts only if they have been near someone who has tested positive in a province that has integrated the app with its testing system, and who has downloaded the app.

While the Android version requires users to turn on their location settings, officials maintain the app will not know a user's location, name or address. It also won't track exactly when the user was near someone who tested positive, or whether they are currently near someone who has tested positive.

For users of Apple devices, the app works on the iOS 13.5 operating system and newer systems. That means the app might not work on some older smartphones, and some users might have to upgrade their operating systems or purchase new phones. Several readers contacted CBC News Friday to say they were unable to download the app on an iPhone 5 or iPhone 6.

Officials said the government has been working with federal Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien's office to address any privacy concerns.

Therrien endorsed the app on Friday, saying that he plans to download it himself.

"Canadians can opt to use this technology, knowing it includes very significant privacy protections," he wrote in a statement.

Voluntary nationwide contact tracing app coming soon, says Trudeau.

New COVID-19 contact tracing app to be tested in Ontario starting in July.

Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kosseim agreed, saying her office's review found strong measures to protect privacy.

"I support the use of exposure notification technology to help control the spread of COVID-19, provided it is used in the way it's been designed to respect the privacy of Ontarians," said Kosseim. "This app will only work if people trust their personal information will be protected and choose to use the technology."

Therrien and Kosseim said, however, that their endorsements are conditioned on the app's use being voluntary and the government continuing to monitor it.

Cybersecurity expert Steve Waterhouse said Canada joins about 40 countries around the world that have launched apps to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

He said Canada's Bluetooth-based app is less invasive than the GPS-based tracking apps some other countries have adopted.

"It is designed to simply detect how close we are to another device and then report if we have been so much time in close proximity of that device," Waterhouse told Radio Canada.

He said some questions remain unanswered — such as how portable the app will be.

"If one travels across Canada with different provinces, will the application be supported by all of the various jurisdictions across the country?"



Source: cbc.ca
Website: http://bit.do/fHo9T
Date: July 31, 2020

Medical Proof = Medical Certificate
 

Canadians boarding flights without wearing a mask now have to provide medical proof showing that they are unable to wear one, says a federal travel order.

Since April 20, it has been mandatory to wear non-medical masks on flights unless passengers said they had “breathing difficulties unrelated to COVID-19,” according to CTV News.

Passengers are no longer able to simply say they can’t wear a mask under a revised Transport Canada order that was issued on Friday. The order states that travellers have to show a medical certificate proving they cannot wear a mask due to a medical reason.

Wearing a mask is also required while travellers are making their way through airports, other than when going through security.

Some exceptions include infants and people who do not have the ability to remove their mask by themselves.

The order defines a mask as: “Any non-medical mask or face covering that is made of at least two layers of tightly woven material such as cotton or linen, is large enough to completely cover a person’s nose and mouth without gaping and can be secured to a person’s head with ties or ear loops.”

The new update to the federal order is one of many that have been made throughout the pandemic. Mandatory temperature checks were also implemented under the order.



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2PM15Me
Date: August 11, 2020

COVID-19 Test Kits Testing Poorly
 

The Trudeau government dished out nearly $150 million in taxpayer dollars on COVID-19 test kits that did not work, the Department of Health admitted yesterday.

According to Blacklock's Reporter, the Department of Health, the "Spartan Cube," funded by the government and designed by Spartan Bioscience Inc., "successfully detected positive samples only 47 percent of the time using samples tested in three different provinces."

The test kits were given the $149 million green light on March 27. By May 1, the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg reported that the kits were testing poorly.

"This device will no longer be authorized for sale," said staff in a memo. "No distribution is allowed. The Cube is authorized for research use only."

The company was given high praise by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at his daily press conferences, telling reporters on March 20 that Spartan was among the "many businesses" that stepped up during the pandemic's starting phases.

Industry Minister Navdeep Bains also praised the company's potential, with the government hoping that the biomedical company would be able to design tests that would be used nation wide.

"If successful, its diagnostic platform and COVID-19 test could be used in airports and clinics," said Bains. "The device could read the test results within thirty minutes. We're working with Spartan to ensure Canadian supply of this equipment."



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2Clky3j
Date: August 12, 2020

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is expected to mark a political milestone today: his final time rising in the House of Commons as leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

Today's Commons sitting is one of two scheduled for August, but the second comes after party members will elect Scheer's replacement, bringing an end to the long and sometimes painful process for Scheer that began just after last fall's federal election.

...His failure to defeat the Liberals was linked in part to Scheer's personal inability to clearly articulate his position on social conservative issues. There were also factors that ate away at his credibility -- a claim to being an insurance salesman when he never completed the licensing requirements and not disclosing he was a dual American-Canadian citizen.
It was also discovered that he had billed the Conservative party for his kids’ private Catholic school, private security, an extra housekeeper, his minivan and clothes for his family.

As leader of the Opposition, Scheer made about $264,000 a year. He also receives a $2,000 car allowance. He and his family live rent-free in the official Opposition leader’s residence, Stornoway, although they continue to maintain a home in Regina.

The vote for Sheer's replacement is taking place by mail, and all ballots must be back by Aug. 21. A winner is expected to be announced within days, and very likely before the next sitting of the Commons on Aug. 26.
Candidates Erin O'Toole and Derek Sloan are both MPs, so could easily slide into the Opposition leader's seat -- and the official residence of Stornoway -- if they win.

Neither of the other two candidates, Peter MacKay and Leslyn Lewis, currently holds a seat in the Commons. Should either of them win, they would likely appoint someone to lead the party in the Commons until they could win their own spot.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/andr...ader-1.5060754

Are the Liberals shopping for a new leader?

The Trudeau government's troubles arising out of its close relationship with WE Charity keep growing.

This past spring, the WE organization entered into a sole-sourced agreement with the government to manage nearly a billion dollars of public money. Then, Canadians found out WE had paid the prime minister's mother and brother to make speeches, and that the finance minister's daughter worked for WE.

WE pulled out of the agreement and reimbursed the government for any money it had received, while both PM Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau apologized for failing to recuse themselves when the cabinet made its decision on WE.

But the bad news kept on coming.

First, we learned that the agreement was not with the principal charity, WE, founded by brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger in the 1990s, but with a recently formed spinoff organization, which has a very thin resumé of accomplishments.

Then, on Tuesday, July 22, Morneau revealed that he and his family had received more than $40,000 worth of paid travel from WE, which he only, belatedly, repaid last week.

Add to that the swirling concerns about the way WE manages its affairs -- mixing profit with charity and holding tens of millions of dollars in prime real estate in Toronto -- and you have the recipe for a political disaster for the governing Liberals.

Nobody wants to force an election
For the time being, the government seems to be safe, however, despite the opposition parties' rhetorical outrage. Nobody in Parliament seems to have the slightest interest in bringing down this minority government in a time of pandemic.

In fact, just as the WE scandal was reaching a boiling point, all parties in the House of Commons put partisan interests aside to quickly enact new government COVID-19 spending measures. Those measures include an extension of the wage subsidy, which enables struggling businesses to keep their staff working, and funds to aid Canadians living with disabilities.

While Charlie Angus of the NDP -- to choose one opposition party -- was effectively eviscerating Trudeau and Morneau for their ethical lapses, his leader, Jagmeet Singh, was taking credit for a number of the new spending measures the Liberals adopted.

On the Liberals' agreement to increase support for disabled Canadians, Singh explained his party's role this way:

"The earlier proposal by the government, if you recall, would only help about 40 per cent of Canadians living with disabilities. We were able to push them to include more help to more Canadians living with disabilities, which gets the number of a majority of Canadians that live with disabilities. It's still not enough but we're going to continue fighting."

On the new wage subsidy provisions Singh boasted that "we broadened the scope of the wage subsidy program so that more people would get the help they need to get employed or to stay at their jobs."

The Conservatives said that in exchange for their support for fast passage of the new spending measures they got the government to agree to continued sittings, throughout the summer, for the Commons' Canada-China and public safety committees.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet had been most vociferous in calling for Trudeau to step down because of the WE scandal, and yet the Bloc was the first party out of the gates to offer support for the Liberals' new spending measures, without, apparently, any conditions.

Opposition parties sincerely believe it is their role to hold the government accountable over its management of the WE fiasco -- and, naturally, they also hope to gain political advantage from it. But they're obviously not ready to push the crisis to its limit and vote non-confidence in the government.

Some Liberals are losing confidence in their leader
Indeed, if there is any threat to Trudeau's leadership, it comes from his own party. A good many Liberals are growing weary of the prime minister's questionable judgment, and of the -- at best, inadequate -- advice given by the members of his inner circle.

Disgruntled Liberals could not blame Trudeau's advisers for the vacation he and his family took at the Aga Khan's private Bahamas island, in the winter of 2016-2017, for which the ethics commissioner rebuked him.

But many Liberals were, privately at least, extremely unhappy with the entire management of the SNC-Lavalin affair prior to the last election. There did not seem to be any adults in the room when the prime minister and key cabinet ministers made some fateful choices, they said. They attributed the flaws in that process to Trudeau's shunning of seasoned political counsellors in favour of his youth brigade.

In the end, there was no effort at a coup before the 2019 election. Since then, and especially during most of the pandemic, the consensus is that Trudeau had been doing just about everything right. Opinion polls certainly bore out that view.

The entirely self-inflicted WE affair has severely shaken many Liberals' confidence in Trudeau. Some among them are starting to talk about getting themselves a new leader before the next election.

And who could that be?

Everybody mentions Chrystia Freeland, currently deputy prime minister. She has somehow managed to distance herself from the WE decision, even though she was sitting at the table when cabinet took that decision.

Few would doubt Freeland's intelligence and knowledge. She was a rookie in politics when she took over former interim leader Bob Rae's Toronto seat in a byelection before the 2015 vote that swept the Liberals back to power, but has come a long way since then. Her greatest success was in quarterbacking the renegotiation of the NAFTA agreement with the dysfunctional and irrational Trump administration.

Freeland is difficult to categorize, ideologically, and does not seem to belong to either the more progressive or more small-c conservative wing of the party. In her previous roles at trade and global affairs and her current role as, in effect, the government's chief operating officer, she has taken a managerial approach.

She does not give the impression that she has any deeply held ideals or that there is any great goal she wants to accomplish for Canada -- even as the pandemic forces many to reconsider their ideas of economic, environmental and social justice.

As a leader, Freeland would inspire confidence, but would not likely excite.

There are others in the cabinet and the Liberal universe who might be interested in the leadership, should the opportunity present itself.

Among those are Navdeep Bains, minister of industry and science, and Catherine McKenna, who had been environment minister and now heads the big-spending infrastructure ministry.

Current treasury board minister, Jean-Yves Duclos, an economist, might be convinced to run, if for no other reason than to have a Quebec candidate. He would more logically fit in the finance minister job, should the current minister, Bill Morneau, decide to fall on his sword.

A saviour from outside?
There is another name, however, someone outside of politics (for the time being), who does actually excite Liberal insiders: Mark Carney.

The last time the Liberals chose a non-politician they got Michael Ignatieff, and it turned out to be a disaster. But Ignatieff was a lifelong intellectual with zero managerial or leadership experience -- and he had cozied up to the George W. Bush regime in the U.S. He supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq, for instance.

Carney headed both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, which gives him well more than a decade in senior managerial leadership roles.

At the Bank of Canada, he took bold action during the crisis of 2008, when, still new to the job, he slashed the interest rate by half a point to help make credit more available to a floundering economy. He was ahead of the curve then. His European colleagues were still raising rates.

Recently, Carney has moved somewhat to the progressive side of the political field, working on climate change for the United Nations. More important, he has written tantalizingly about how the current pandemic has made it necessary for us to radically rethink our ideas of equality, fairness, opportunity and of the sacrosanct market economy itself.

Carney outlined some of his thoughts in an article for The Economist magazine in April. A good deal of what he had to say is tantamount to heresy in the world of investment bankers, where he cut his teeth.

"We have been moving from a market economy to a market society," Carney wrote. "Increasingly, to be valued, an asset or activity has to be in a market. For example, Amazon is one of the world's most valuable companies, yet the Amazon region appears on no ledger until it is stripped of its foliage, and converted to farmland … In this crisis, we know we need to act as an interdependent community, not independent individuals, so the values of economic dynamism and efficiency have been joined by those of solidarity, fairness, responsibility and compassion."

Carney is a banker and an economist, and so one could not expect him to abandon ideas of "efficiency."

But when he evokes solidarity and compassion, Carney opens the door to a far more interventionist, even socialistic approach to governing than we would expect from a one-time denizen of the Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs.

He just might be a game changing leader for the beleaguered Liberals.

https://rabble.ca/news/2020/07/are-l...ing-new-leader

Passengers with COVID-19 keep arriving in Canada on international flights

TORONTO -- Eighteen flights arriving in Canada from international destinations since the start of August have had people on board with COVID-19.

According to the federal government, the flights landed in Canada between Aug. 1 and Aug. 4. They all had passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Canada.

Eight of the flights arrived in Toronto, while seven landed in Montreal, one in Vancouver and one in Calgary.

The government is still advising Canadians against non-essential international travel but for those who do, it is mandatory to self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of whether or not they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.

Passengers are not notified directly by federal public health authorities to get tested, though the government acknowledges those onboard affected flights "may have been exposed to COVID-19."

Speaking to CTVNews.ca last month, Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick said that anyone concerned they may have been exposed to the disease should contact their doctor.

"However, it is important to understand the incidence of individuals contracting a communicable disease inflight is very low. As evidence, consider what are called 'cluster outbreaks,' where a group of people contract a disease at the same time and location. These are rarely if ever tied to modes of travel, whereas you often see reports of outbreaks arising from funerals, bars or other gatherings," Fitzpatrick said.

An Air Canada fact sheet says, "the reasons for the apparently low rate of in-flight transmission are not fully determined but are thought to include a combination of the lack of face-to-face contact, and the physical barriers provided by seat backs, along with the characteristics of cabin air flow."

Pre-flight screening, temperature monitoring and mandatory face coverings are "also seen to be effective."

Both WestJet and Air Canada, two of the biggest airlines in North America, began selling their middle seats again on July 1 after months where the option was removed to aid in physical distancing.

The international flights since Aug. 1 with COVID-19 cases include:

Air Transat flight TS831 from Punta Cana to Toronto on Aug. 1
United Airlines flight UA375 from San Francisco to Vancouver on Aug. 1
Air Transat flight TS893 from Cancun to Montreal on Aug. 1
Air France flight AF034 from Paris to Montreal on Aug. 1
Air Canada flight AC1297 from Punta Cana to Montreal on Aug. 1
Air Canada flight AC1241 from Cancun to Montreal on Aug. 1
Pakistan International Airlines flight PK797 from Lahore to Toronto on Aug. 2
Etihad Airways flight EY141 from Abu Dhabi to Toronto on Aug. 2
Air Canada flight AC992 from Mexico City to Toronto on Aug. 2
United Airlines flight UA3488 from Newark to Toronto on Aug. 3
Qatar Airlines flight QR763 from Doha to Montreal on Aug. 3
Air Canada flight AC7682 from Chicago to Toronto on Aug. 4
Air Canada flight AC849 from London to Toronto on Aug. 4
Air Canada flight AC879 from Switzerland to Toronto on Aug. 4
Tap Air Portugal flight TP253 from Lisbon to Montreal on Aug 4.
Delta Airlines flight DL7203 from Atlanta to Calgary on Aug 4.
Air Canada flight AC870 from Montreal to Paris on Aug 4.
AeroMexico flight AM680 from Mexico City to Montreal on Aug 4.

The information posted to the government's website is provided by provincial and territorial health authorities, international health authorities and public website.

The data on the government's website is updated once a day.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/passenger...ghts-1.5058347

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Borrows Over $500 Billion in 4 Months
 

The Trudeau government borrowed more than $500 billion dollars in just 120 days, the Department of Finance said on Wednesday.

The report shows that between April 1 to July 31, the Trudeau government borrowed $511,400,000,000—more than the total GDP of the small African nation of Sao Tome and Principe.

Despite the federal debt surpassing $1.3 trillion dollars, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said that the federal government would not raise taxes.

“We think that raising taxes would be exactly the wrong response to dealing with this sort of challenge,” said Morneau on July 8. “We want to actually increase demand, demand from people. We want to ensure we put money into the economy.”

When asked about a potential outline for when the government would balance the budget, Morneau said: “When do you think your government will finally balance the books? What year will that be? I’m not programmed in that way,” said Morneau.

The balance has not been balanced since the Harper-era, in 2007.

“Canadians know that we are in a situation where the ability to forecast is extremely difficult,” Morneau continued. “We will of course be intending to talk more about what the path forward is in the fall when we have more information.”



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/3anG43N
Date: August 13, 2020

Former Liberal MP given $700,000 in federal cash for unapproved ventilators
 

The Montreal-based Baylis Medical Company Inc., owned by former Quebec Liberal MP Frank Baylis, received nearly $700,000 in taxpayer dollars to make 10,000 pandemic ventilators. The machines, however, were never "approved in any jurisdiction to date," a memo from the Department of Health revealed.

"We now find out Frank Baylis, a former Liberal MP, has received an undisclosed value contract," Conservative MP John Brassard said in Commons. "While those governed are losing their homes, businesses, jobs and futures, the Prime Minister’s family and friends are doing just fine."

The biotech company was given a the go-ahead to make 10,000 ventilators by October 21. Baylis, who serves as chairman for the medical company, served one term as a Liberal MP from 2015 to 2019 and did not seek reelection.

"Will the Liberals tell us what the exact dollar figure was for the contract they gave to their friend?" Conservative MP Michael Barrett asked. “What was the amount?”

Contracts given to Baylis include $273,237 for the medical contract, and an additional $422,946 "research contract" with the Department of Industry, totaling $696,183 in taxpayer dollars.

According to Blacklock's Reporter, Baylis was a "generous donor" to the Liberal Party, having donated over $66,000 from 2005 onward.

Twitter Post
John Brassard @JohnBrassardCPC
This was the exchange in the the house yesterday with @MikeBarrettON
when the Minister said the contract was actually worth $237 Million. The
question was clear and it was specifically about the Baylis contract. The
answer comes at the end of the video. @mindingottawa #cdnpoli

The contract raises immediate eyebrows, as the Conflict of Interests Act clearly states that former MPs should not "act in such a manner as to take improper advantage of his or her previous public office."

A memo from the department of health states that the ventilators, the VFC-560, are a "new" type of ventilator that "has not been approved in any jurisdiction to date."

The Baylis Medical Company website describes themselves as "a world leader in the conception, development, production and distribution of state-of-the-art medical products that improve the lives of people around the world."

A memo posted on the site published on July 17 states that "with the Health Canada approval, manufacturing of the 10,000 ventilators can begin, with the first shipment distributed shortly after that."



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2Y2mc1s
Date: August 13, 2020

Poilievre Introduces Motion to Suspend Trudeau's Pay Until he Returns to Work
 

The Conservative Shadow Finance Minister Pierre Poilievre has submitted a motion to the Finance Committee that would suspend Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's pay until he returns to work.

As first reported by Brian Lilley in the Toronto Sun, the prime minister has been lapping up the summer sun in Ontario. As of Thursday, Trudeau has taken five personal days in a row.

What may make this particularly irritating for Canadians is that Trudeau is choosing to take this holiday in the middle of a pandemic, economic collapse and an existential scandal.

On top of this, Trudeau decided to skip Andrew Scheer's last day in the House of Commons as leader of the Conservative Party—a move that has been criticized as disrespectful.

As a result of all this, Pierre Poilievre is adamant on pushing this motion through, saying "the chair [of the Finance Committee] tried to shut it down. I will bring it back."

In his motion, Poilievre wrote that "the prime minister has taken off 20 days in six weeks—meaning nearly half the calendar days have been days off."

No other leader has chosen to follow in Justin Trudeau's footsteps: NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, Andrew Scheer and Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet are all worked yesterday, regardless of the prime minister's attendance.

Journalist Alex Pierson tweeted at the prime minister, saying "today you should show up for work and do your damned job. No other elected official in this county is vacationing."

Last month, Trudeau was criticized for taking a personal day during the height of the WE scandal. Scheer said that Trudeau was taking this vacation to avoid parliamentary scrutiny, saying "instead of showing up to answer questions, as he said he would last week, he's taking a personal day today."

Justin Trudeau has been criticized before for his Liberal use of personal days. In 2018, the Conservative Party created a website that highlighted whether the prime minister was on a vacation or not.

Similarly, in June of last year, the prime minister was lampooned for taking a personal day when he should've been attending the repatriation of a fallen Canadian soldier.



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/31Os7bw
Date: August 13, 2020

Trudeau Has Destroyed Public Trust In Government
 

In OZ our parliament has been shutdown and an unelected cabinet has been set up by the PM and is unacountable to the people,claiming priminsterial privaledge.
Our PM works 9-5 not on weekends,and goes on holidays over seas,while our country burns and our cities are uninhabitable by smoke,and then again while Victoria becomes the epicentre in Aust of covid 19.
the worlds gone mad
except NZ

New Outbreak
 

NEW OUTBREAK: There are 33 recent Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses reported in two provinces: ON and QC. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a consumer advisory for peaches recalled by Prima Wawona from the United States, sold from June 1, 2020 to August 22, 2020 in Canada.

Peaches grown in Canada are not affected by this advice. If you are not sure if the peaches in your home are the recalled peaches from Prima Wawona from the United States, do not eat them.

Do not eat, use, sell or serve any recalled peaches from Prima Wawona from the United States. This advice applies to all individuals across Canada, as well as retailers, distributors, manufacturers and food service establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes.



Source: Posted on Facebook
Website: https://bit.ly/2Etfpqu
Date: August 23, 2020

Outbreak Update
 

UPDATE: Since August 14, there have been 40 additional illnesses reported in the ongoing Canadian investigation. There are now 379 confirmed cases in Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued food recall warnings related to this outbreak. Additional food recall warnings are possible.

There is no evidence to suggest that onions grown in Canada are associated with this outbreak. Onions imported from the United States are under investigation. If you are not sure where a red, yellow, white, or sweet yellow onion was grown, do not eat it.

Do not eat, use, sell or serve any red, white, yellow, and sweet yellow onions from Thomson International Inc. of Bakersfield, California, USA, or any products made with these onions. This advice applies to all individuals across Canada, as well as retailers, distributors, manufacturers and food service establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes.



Source: Posted on Facebook
Website: https://bit.ly/2Yu4mED
Date: August 21, 2020

Ragu
 

TORONTO -- Popular pasta sauce brand Ragu has stopped selling their products in Canada, according to the company’s social media.

Ragu brand pasta sauces, owned by parent food company Mizkan America, Inc., appears to have quietly pulled out of the Canadian market sometime this summer.

After Canadians began to notice a lack of Ragu on the shelves, several took to Twitter to ask the company where the sauces were.

The company replied to users with a statement revealing that the sauces would not be coming back.

“We regret to inform you that RAGÚ has made the hard decision to exit the Canadian pasta-sauce market,” one statement from June 15 reads. “We hope that you have enjoyed the delicious taste of RAGÚ and are very sorry for any inconvenience.”

While Ragu is a specific type of meat-based pasta sauce, the company bearing the Ragu name sells numerous styles of pasta sauce, as well as pizza sauces. The brand was formed in 1937 in Rochester, N.Y.

As of Wednesday, the Canadian version of the brand's website was still up, but unlike the American version of the website, it is impossible to click on the pasta sauces to learn more.

It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic had any impact on the company’s decision to pull out of the Canadian market. A banner on the company’s American website states: “We recognize that finding our product may be a challenge right now and are working hard to keep up with demand to restock your favorite products.”



Source: ctvnews.ca
Website: https://bit.ly/3gpgs8j
Date: August 19, 2020

Prime Minister Trudeau
 

A $37-billion plan was unveiled by the Trudeau government for workers that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, reports Global News. The plan was released just weeks before the Canada Emergency Response Benefit is set to come to an end.

Included in the new measures are changes to the current Employment Insurance program as well as three additional benefit programs.

Those eligible for EI benefits will be able to receive the same minimum for no less than 26 weeks and are required to have accumulated 120 working hours to qualify—far below the current EI requirements.

Ottawa also plans on stretching the CERB program for an additional four weeks. It will be replaced by a new benefit that provides $400 per week for a maximum of 26 weeks for people who are not eligible for EI.

One of the new benefits is a caregiving benefit that provides $550 per week. According to Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, the benefit helps people who are forced to stay home because of an illness or because daycare or school is closed.

During a press conference on Thursday, Qualtrough added that she believes the benefit will be a large help to women as they are often caretakers.

A third benefit will give $500 per week for a maximum of two weeks to workers without access to other sick leave benefits.

There are also changes coming that will enable workers to retain more of their benefits while working.

Senior officials say that most of the changes will take place on Sept. 27 and stay in place for one year. The one-month CERB extension is expected to cost taxpayers $8 billion and the planned EI modifications are expected to cost $7 billion. Officials say the new benefit programs will cost $22 billion.

About four million Canadians are still currently receiving CERB and three million of those Canadians are expected to make the transition to EI. One million people are expected to move on to other benefits.



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/3aOvaEF
Date: August 20, 2020

Trudeau
 

In another example of Trudeau government cronyism, Trudeau's chief of staff Katie Telford's husband lobbied for changes to government policy so to help his company.

In a bombshell Vice article, journalist Justin Ling detailed how Katie Telford’s husband, Rob Silver, attempted to persuade the former Finance Minister Bill Morneau into changing government policy. Silver has not registered as a lobbyist.

Although his lobbying attempts were unsuccessful, Silver still repeatedly asked officials within the Department of Finance and the PMO to reform emergency assistance program for businesses so that it would include his business.

If the government proceeded with Silver's suggestions, Silver's company would have been able to have the government pay up to 75 percent of their employees' salaries.

In order to get his company qualified for this program, Silver made numerous attempts to get specific reforms to this legislation that would have benefited his business.

Due to the fact that Silver was not a registered lobbyist, he may have broken The Lobbying Act as he did not register with the lobbying commissioner.



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2YrTnLY
Date: August 21, 2020

3M Masks
 

Ontario and federal government will split $70M cost to boost production capacity, sources tell CBC News

The federal and Ontario governments have convinced manufacturing giant 3M to start making N95 respirator masks at its plant in Brockville, Ont., a move that will give Canada a domestic supply of critical personal protective equipment, CBC News has learned.

The two levels of government and the company will evenly split a financial investment of at least $70-million to boost production capacity at the existing 3M facility in Brockville, with a goal of producing masks by 2021. Both levels of government have also agreed to long-term agreements to buy masks from the company.

Federal and provincial sources tell CBC News the official announcement will be made Friday afternoon by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Brockville.

Since the early days of the pandemic, Ottawa has made it a priority to boost the domestic PPE supply chain. It's had success on products such as surgical masks, medical gowns and gloves.

But Canada has been forced to rely heavily on factories in China and the U.S. for the more specialized N95 respirators — and there have been problems with both.

Millions of Chinese-made masks failed to meet Canadian quality standards and couldn't be used by front-line health-care workers.

Boosting domestic production

Earlier this year, U.S. border officials stopped a shipment of masks headed to Ontario after President Donald Trump ordered 3M to stop exporting critical medical supplies abroad. That touched off a frenzy of high-level diplomacy so that Canada could secure an export ban exemption to keep the critical supplies coming.

Those episodes underscored Canada's reliance on foreign countries for essential medical supplies during a crisis like COVID-19, a vulnerability that had Ford pushing to make Canada completely self-sufficient.





"We can never, ever be put in the position again that we are relying on countries around the world to support us with PPEs," Ford said in April.

Because they run the health-care systems, the provinces buy most PPE supplies. The federal government has been backstopping those supplies by using its purchasing power to buy supplies on what has become a cut-throat international market.

* Ottawa unveils plan to harness industry to ramp up production of COVID-19 medical gear.

* Canada building its own PPE network in China.

In March, Ottawa also outlined its plan to kickstart domestic production of PPE to create a longer-term supply. That included working with another company, Medicom, to establish an N95 production line in Montreal. The company said Thursday production of N95-type masks is underway at that facility and it is working through regulatory requirements in order to be able to deliver the product.

Since January, 3M has boosted its global production of N95 and hopes to ramp up to 2-billion N95 masks a year by the end of 2020.



Source: cbc.ca
Website: https://bit.ly/2EvWMSZ
Date: August 21, 2020

Trump’s tariffs on Canadian softwood breached global trading rules, says WTO


A World Trade Organization panel has found the United States broke international trade rules with some of its 2017 tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber, which the U.S. set at 20.23 per cent after accusing Canadian federal and provincial governments of subsidizing softwood.

However, it is unlikely that the ruling will take affect since the U.S. is blocking the WTO’s dispute-resolution system.

The U.S. had claimed that the Canadian governments charged lower-than-market rates for companies to cut down trees on Crown land. South of the border, most lumber is on private lands. However, the WTO has found that the U.S. was wrong, and that the Canadian governments had taken measures to ensure prices were comparable to market rates. The panel wrote that the U.S. had improperly rejected those measures.

The ruling still needs to be upheld by the WTO’s appellate body before taking effect; however, the body currently cannot decide any cases at it is down to only one member since the Trump administration has blocked attempts to appoint new ones. Until the case can reach a conclusion, the tariffs will remain.


BULLY TACTICS AGAINST A MUCH SMALLER ALLY. THIS IS WHAT FEEDS RESENTMENT.

.

~
 

maybe you should express your anger << rightfully so to the TRUMP admin. ~ they don't need to treat an ally like Canada this way.

Unfortunately, the Trump admin. treats just about every ally this way.

BTW. Thanks for the support, Ocean. I'm going to send you a free truckload of softwood lumber. lol

Justin Beach sums it up best:
The CPC has decided to replace Andrew Sheer with a slightly angrier version of Andrew Scheer, from Ontario. Congratulations Erin O'Toole.

Huawei
 

Canada has effectively moved to block China's Huawei from 5G, but can't say so.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network that has not formally blocked Huawei from 5G networks, but it has effectively done just that, delaying a decision long enough to force telecom companies to exclude the Chinese gear maker.

The strategy allows Canada to keep on the right side of both China and the United States as they tussle over Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, say six well-placed sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Canada and its Five Eyes allies — the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia — are under pressure from fellow member the United States to squeeze out Huawei on security grounds.

5G networks offer data speeds up to 50 or 100 times faster than 4G networks and are expected to power everything from telemedicine and remote surgery to self-driving cars.

Canada has been mulling whether to disbar the firm’s next-generation equipment for the better part of two years, brushing off increasing signs of industry impatience.

In June, Bell Canada (BCE.TO) and rival Telus Corp (T.TO) - two of the biggest wireless providers - teamed with Sweden’s Ericsson (ERICb.ST) and Finland’s Nokia Oyj (NOKIA.HE) to build fifth-generation (5G) telecoms networks, ditching Huawei for the project despite using Huawei 4G gear.

“The absence of a solution will eventually settle all problems,” said a source directly familiar with the approach taken by the Liberal government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Rogers Communications Inc (RCIb.TO), Canada’s other large wireless operator, announced in 2018 it was using Ericsson 5G equipment.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it would further tighten U.S. restrictions on Huawei, aimed at cracking down on its access to commercially available chips.

Operators in Canada feel the U.S. curbs mean they have no choice but to sideline Huawei in 5G networks, at least for now, say the sources, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.

“They’ve done the political calculus and said ‘The best thing for us is to do nothing and if we do nothing we don’t upset the Chinese, we don’t upset the Americans’,” said a source familiar with what government officials are saying.

Staying on the right side of China has become an important consideration. Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou is fighting extradition to the United States since Canadian police detained her in December 2018.

In response, Beijing arrested Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, charging them with espionage. Canada says gaining their freedom is a top priority.

“If it weren’t for the two Michaels, Canada would have already said it would not be using Huawei 5G technology,” a diplomatic source said. Government officials deny the fate of the two men is linked to 5G.

In 2018, both Australia and New Zealand blocked service providers from using Huawei 5G equipment.

To be sure, Canada will one day make a decision. Two other people who have consulted with Canadian officials say they think it is only a matter of time before Ottawa unveils a ban.

But a source directly familiar with government thinking stressed that Ottawa had not yet come to a firm conclusion and would not be rushed, adding that officials were taking their time to avoid Britain’s predicament.

The British government said last month it would ban Huawei from 5G networks by ordering companies to remove the equipment by 2027. In January, it had initially said Huawei could have a limited 5G role.

“That underscores why you need to get this right and why you only get one chance ... we don’t want to find ourselves in a situation like the Brits where we’re having to go back and put the toothpaste back in the tube,” said the source.

The office of Canada Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains - who is formally charged with making a decision on Huawei and 5G - said in a statement that it could not comment on a particular company. It did not say when an announcement would be made.

A Bell spokesman noted that in May, Chief Executive Officer Mirko Bibic said he had no insights into government thinking on Huawei and 5G. Telus did not respond to a request for comment.

Huawei said in a statement that it believed Ottawa “when it says it is taking the time to make a considered decision”.



Source: reuters.com
Website: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-c...0xGnYvZkSUKhxE
Date: August 25, 2020

Novavax Signs Deal With Canada
 

Canada's federal government has signed agreements with two U.S. drug companies to secure up to 114 million doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines under development.

Maryland-based biotechnology company Novavax announced in a press release Monday that it has struck a deal to produce 76 million doses of a vaccine it is working on for the Canadian government, should the vaccine ever get Health Canada approval.

Later in the day, Ottawa announced it has signed a separate deal with a subsidiary of New Jersey-based drug conglomerate Johnson & Johnson to secure up to 38 million doses of the company's potential vaccine, which is completely different from Novavax's.

The vaccines are two of dozens in development around the world, each of which targets the virus that causes COVID-19 in a different way.

At last count, the virus has killed more than 846,000 people around the world since the start of this year.

Novavax's vaccine is known as a "protein subunit" vaccine, which has the advantage of being manufactured faster than some other types of vaccine but generally doesn't produce as strong an immune response as some other potential options.

The company released promising results of a very small clinical trial earlier this month, which showed it produced higher levels of the antibodies in healthy volunteers after two doses than those found in recovered COVID-19 patients.

The initial trial tested 106 subjects aged 18 to 59 with the vaccine, along with 25 people who received a placebo.

The next phase of testing currently underway in the U.S. and Australia will include many more people, and at least half of them will be between the ages of 60 and 84, an age bracket that faces the highest risk of having the worst outcomes from being infected, based on what is known about the virus.

The company plans to start much larger late-stage clinical trials soon, and told Reuters last month that if all goes well, they expect they could obtain regulatory approvals as early as December.

The company said Monday the vaccine, should it work and be safe, would be available to Canadians as early as the second quarter of 2021.

"We are pleased to work with the Canadian government on supply of our COVID-19 vaccine, an essential step to ensure broad access of our vaccine candidate," said CEO Stanley C. Erck in a release.

The agreement with Novovax "will give Canadians access to a promising COVID-19 vaccine candidate," said Anita Anand, Canada's minister of public services and procurement, in a news release.

"This is an important step in our government's efforts to secure a vaccine to keep Canadians safe and healthy, as the global pandemic evolves."

Novavax has signed similar deals with the United Kingdom, India, the Czech Republic, South Africa and Japan to supply doses of the potential vaccine.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine candidate, whose full name is Ad26.COV2.S, targets the virus in a completely different way than the Novavax candidate.

It is what's known as non-replicating viral vector vaccine, which are viruses that have been genetically engineered so they can't replicate and cause disease then injected into the body to provoke an immune response.

A phase 1 and 2 trial of that vaccine is underway in the U.S. and Belgium.

The deals with Novavax and Johnson & Johnson come on the heels of similar ones that the federal government has signed with other drug companies, including one for at least 20 million doses of a potential vaccine from Pfizer and up to 56 million from Moderna.

While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are both RNA vaccines and thus functionally similar, they are completely different from the Novavax and Johnson & Johnson candidates, which means that Canada has potentially secured access to millions of vaccine doses that work in three completely distinct ways.

At a press conference on Monday, Anand said the government is also in the final stages of negotiations with drug firm AstraZeneca, which is working with Oxford University on a promising non-replicating viral vector vaccine.

"Taken together, our vaccine agreements will give Canada at least 88 million doses, with options to obtain tens of millions more," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference on Monday morning, during which he also announced $126 million to expand a bio-manufacturing facility in Montreal, to produce drugs and vaccines to combat COVID-19 and other things.

"In the weeks and months ahead, our government will continue to take the steps needed to make sure Canada gets a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible," Trudeau said.

"Once a vaccine is proven to work, we'll also need to be able to produce and distribute it here at home."

Novavax's vaccine is one of roughly a dozen that has been singled out by the U.S. government for funding under the so-called Operation Warp Speed plan to speed up treatments for the coronavirus that has swept the world into economic chaos this year.





Source: msn.com
Website: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canad...ignout#image=2
Date: August 31, 2020

Montreal Company Gets Banned From Bidding on Federal Contracts
 

OTTAWA – For the first time in four years, the federal government has added a new company to its black list of suppliers. Montreal-based Les Industries Garanties Limitée is banned from bidding on federal contracts for a decade after an employee admitting bid-rigging in 2017.

The 63-year-old company, which bills itself as “Montreal’s largest and most innovative leader in air conditioning services for commercial, industrial, residential and institutional sectors”, is only the fourth company to be deemed ineligible for federal contracts or real property agreements under the Integrity Regime.

The regime, which came into effect in 2015, aims to weed out and sanction any potential federal supplier who has been convicted of certain crimes, such as bribery, bid-rigging or illegal lobbying.

According to the federal department responsible for the Integrity Regime, Public Service and Procurement Canada, Les Industries Garanties Limitée was first flagged for ineligibility after it submitted a bid in response to an unspecified public tender.

At issue: the company’s involvement in a bid-rigging scheme for the installation of ventilation systems on Montreal high rises that led to charges in 2010 against itself, one of its evaluators Houmam Al Nashar, as well as seven other companies and four other individuals.

“Homeowners in the Montreal region were defrauded by this illegal scheme,” said Melanie Aitken, Commissioner of Competition in a 2010 release. At the time, the companies were accused of “inflating the cost of their goods and services, depriving consumers of the benefits of honest competition, including competitive prices.”

In 2017, Al Nashar pled guilty to one count of bid-rigging in exchange for 50 hours of community service and a promise to collaborate with the Competition Bureau as the investigation into the bid-rigging scheme continued.

“Mr. Al Nashar admitted that he took part in an agreement with representatives of three competing firms to obtain a ventilation contract in the Faubourg St-Laurent Phase II project” in Montreal, the Bureau said in an October 2017 press release.

“He also admitted that he participated in two other agreements that sought to ensure competing firms would get contracts for two other projects: Le Roc Fleuri and Tour St-Antoine,” the statement continues.

A few weeks later, Cardinal Ventilation, a company the Bureau says is linked to Les Industries Garanties Limitée, also pled guilty to one count of bid-rigging involving the same three projects. It was ordered to pay a $375,000 fine.

But why was Les Industries Garanties Limitée only barred from federal contracts nearly three years after the bid-rigging guilty pleas?

That’s because companies are not automatically added to the Integrity Regime’s ineligible suppliers list after a conviction. Rather, in many cases, a potential vendor will be barred following a regular review conducted after it submits a formal bid for a government contracts, the government says.

The company is then informed that it risks being barred from contracts for a decade, and is afforded a chance to respond with reasons as to why it should stay off the ineligibility list.

“As part of the verification, Public Services and Procurement Canada became aware that the company might be ineligible,” PSPC spokesperson Charles Drouin wrote in an email about Les Industries Garanties Limitée.

“Following a review of all information, the Registrar declared the supplier to be ineligible. A Notice of Ineligibility was sent to Les Industries Garanties Limitée on June 17, 2020, to inform the supplier that it would be ineligible to enter into contracts or real property agreements with the Government of Canada for a period of 10 years.”

When National Post contacted Les Industries Garanties Limitée on Monday, an unnamed representative said to call back in October. No one responded to questions left on a spokesperson’s voicemail.



Source: msn.com
Website: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canad...id=mailsignout
Date: August 31, 2020

Quebec May Detain Citizens at COVID-19 Isolation Facility
 

It has been reported that authorities in Quebec City, Canada, intend to isolate unruly citizens in a COVID-19 facility, though the precise location is not known.

Dr. Jacques Girard, leader of the Quebec City public health authority, stated during a press conference that a number of customers at a bar were ordered to wait for the results from their COVID-19 test, but decided to leave the premises before the results came back.

This is what Girard claims to have "led to them being taken and forcibly placed into isolation by the state."




“[W]e may isolate someone for 14 days,” Girard noted during the press conference. “And it is what we did this morning… forced a person to cooperate with the investigation… and police cooperation was exceptional.”

Girard went on to say that if a person is told to stay in isolation, public health officials have the duty to go to their home and force the person to comply. And if they do not comply, the state is permitted to pick them up and force them to adhere to the protocols.

Girard then continued by going into detail that prompted the action, saying: "The order targeted two people who were not cooperating. And it is great that we can finally work with that provision. You know, before, if we were not in a health crisis, the Public Heath Director could use this provision for 72 hours while waiting for the judge’s confirmation of such a provision."

"In the COVID-19 case, we may isolate someone for 14 days. And it is what we did this morning, and we have done in the past, and, such as this morning, forced a person to cooperate with the investigation, and we’ve done it in the past with success, and police cooperation was exceptional. Thank you all, have a great day. When you order someone to not leave home for 14 days, does it happen in their home…"

Someone replied with "it is not at home... 14 days at home ..."

Girard said that "it is in a prison ... Do you feel like you are in a prison? Because that’s it. Often, it is what we do. It is a location; we at the CIUSS [Government agency] have the power to provide for preventative isolations. It’s happening. Finally, it is a much easier provision when someone is not cooperating, and it becomes more difficult."

Girard asked if these people were under watch—to which he answered in the affirmative. When pressed on where these people were being held, Girard stated: "It is not at home. It depends on the person. Because we have had people isolated at home. And then, we saw the person was not at home. So, we went to their home, and then told them, we are isolating you where we want you to be."



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://thepostmillennial.com/watch-...Y2JKoSJ3S9NFQw
Date: September 9, 2020

Halton Drug Bust
 

Halton Police seized the $4 million worth of drugs, which include cocaine and a record amount of fentanyl.

This comes after investigators of the Halton Regional Police Service dedicated themselves to pursuing two people who were suspected of trafficking drugs in Oakville.

The investigation was dubbed “Project Mover” and ended up finding evidence in many jurisdictions across the GTA. Since June, Police have arrested nine people in connection to this.

Halton Police say they seized 10 kilograms of fentanyl, one kilogram of cocaine, MDMA, and six kilograms of an unknown drug they have yet to identify.

Two firearms and two vehicles were also seized by police. The weapons were a semi-automatic shotgun and 40 calibre handgun with an extended magazine. The vehicles were a 2019 Dodge Durango and a 2016 Acura RDX.

Deputy HRPS Chief Jeff Hill said that the 10 kilograms of fentanyl seized was enough to kill five million people. Adding "As little as 2mg of fentanyl can kill a person,"

Charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime, and firearms offences have been laid against the individuals.

All the individuals except one were released with the promise to appear in court.



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://thepostmillennial.com/fentan...e1S0Nfd7VvaXQY
Date: September 28, 2020

The Prime Minister is Looking for an Excuse to go to an Election
 

OTTAWA — The Liberals face a high-stakes game of chicken Wednesday, as they stare down the opposition parties over a confidence motion that could force the country into an election as the second wave of a pandemic rages.

The Conservatives fired the first shot Tuesday, moving ahead with their proposal to create a new committee designed to look into the WE Charity scandal, and other allegations of inappropriate lobbying and spending.



It is set to come to a vote Wednesday afternoon after Question Period. The Liberals took the rare move of making that motion a confidence issue, making clear if the Conservatives pass the motion through Parliament, the country will be headed to the polls.

Liberal House Leader Pablo Rodriguez said the motion is partisan and will hinder the government’s ability to respond to the pandemic.

“Erin O’Toole and the Conservative Party don’t care,” he charged. “They’ve turned their backs on Canadians. They don’t care about working together to find solutions to the many challenges in this crisis.”

But Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole claimed the Liberals were trying to avoid scrutiny of controversial deals.

“In many parts of Canada kids can’t go trick-or-treating but the Liberals think Canadians should go to the polls rather than their answering several simple questions,” he said.

“They don’t want the truth to come out.”

The proposed committee would have the ability to call ministers, including the prime minister as they see fit and summon documents. It would be structured differently than other committees with a clear majority of opposition party members and it would be chaired by an opposition MP, rather than someone from the government.

Such opposition day motions are not typically confidence matters, but Rodriguez said the very nature of the committee suggests that if it was passed then the House of Commons would have lost confidence in the government.

“They’re saying that the government is corrupt. That means they don’t have confidence in the government.”

O’Toole rejected the suggestion that creating a new committee could possibly be a confidence vote.

He offered amendments to his own motion to change the name of the committee, which was initially called the “anti-corruption committee” and he offered a specific amendment that made clear there was no need if the motion passed to call an election.

“I think Canadians see what’s going on here,” he said. “The Liberal Party would rather send people to the polls during the second wave of a pandemic, then answer a few reasonable questions and Canadians should be concerned by that.”

Rodriguez said the Conservatives can’t have it both ways. He said they also can’t simply change the name of the committee and pretend this isn’t an issue of confidence.

“If you write a book about Frankenstein and you call it Cinderella, it’s still a book about Frankenstein.”

COVID-19 case numbers are continuing to rise and the country reached over 200,000 cases Tuesday and was nearing 10,000 deaths.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said no one wants the election, but said the Conservatives are clearly expressing they have lost confidence in the government.

“We hope that opposition parties will decide that they want to make Parliament continue to work for Canadians and not side with the Conservatives, who’ve decided that they no longer have confidence in this government.”

O’Toole was joined by Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet who loudly proclaimed in the House of Commons that he had lost confidence in the government.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is the Liberals only potential partner and he was evasive Tuesday on how his party will vote.

While he declined to be specific on how his party will vote, he said if an election comes of this motion it will be the prime minister’s fault.

“The only way there is an election right now is because the prime minister chooses to have one. If he wants to then he should just come out and say, ‘I want an election’.”

Singh said the Liberals seem to want an election, but he is focused on the issues in front of him.

“The prime minister is looking for an excuse to go to an election, and I will not give the prime minister an excuse to go to an election,” he said. “I will not be any part of this farce. As this prime minister is suggesting that this is what’s important.”

If the NDP joins the Liberals in voting against the Conservative motion, it will fail. But the NDP could also abstain and give the Liberals a majority against the Conservatives and the Bloc.



Source: nationalpost.com
Website: https://nationalpost.com/news/politi...igger-election
Date: October 20, 2020