Tag Archives: Public Health

QP: Questions from a fantasyland awash in vaccines

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For the first post-budget Porto-PMQs, Justin Trudeau was present and ready to go, with only Mark Gerretsen in the Chamber with him on the Liberal benches – of course. Erin O’Toole led off, script on mini-lectern, and complained that the vaccine rollout was only running at 58 percent capacity due to supply issues, and Trudeau listed the coming millions of doses being delivered by May. O’Toole groused about the “race” against variants, and demanded border closures from hot spot countries, not naming any countries in particular, for which Trudeau stated that we already have some of the strongest border measures in the world, but they would look at other ways to keep Canadian safe based on science and data, but importation was a fraction of cases. O’Toole then accused the government of “stealing vaccines” from the developing world, and Trudeau pointed out that this was disinformation and that O’Toole did not ask about the budget, which must mean he supports it. O’Toole switched to French, and he demanded increased health transfers to the provinces, and Trudeau pointed out that there must be a reason why the Conservative leader only asks about the budget in French, before reciting how much they have sent to provinces. For his final question, O’Toole claimed that the US changed their travel advisory on Canada, and Trudeau pointed out that in all five questions, he peddled falsehoods to score political points.

Yves-François Blanchet was up for the Bloc, and he decried that the were no increased health transfers in the budget, and Trudeau reminded him that they had a meeting with premiers in November that they said that they would increase transfers once they were out of the pandemic, and pointed to the supports they are already delivering. Blanchet stated that they were going against the wishes of the Quebec government and then mentioned their demand for enriched pensions for all seniors, for which Trudeau reminded that they have been delivering for seniors.

Jagmeet Singh led for the NDP, and unusually started off in English to demand the government invoke the Emergencies Act, and Trudeau reminded him that they have been delivering for provinces. Singh read another sob story from someone who lost a family member for COVID, and demanded improved access to paid sick leave — which is provincial jurisdiction in 94 percent of workplaces. Trudeau noted their federal benefit, and said they would continue to have people’s backs.

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Roundup: Flexibility and red lines on child care negotiations

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A day out from the federal budget, we are getting some reaction to the centrepiece proposal of a massive expansion to early learning and child care, particularly from provinces with whom this all needs to be negotiated. It sounds like several of them are welcoming the new funding, and Chrystia Freeland has signalled some willingness for flexibility, but is drawing a red line around keeping fees low, because the whole point of this is to reduce barriers to women getting in the workforce, and high fees are very much a barrier, even when there are available spaces (which is often not the case). And yes, there are already recalcitrant provinces, looking particularly to Alberta and Ontario, and some of their objections are grounded in the fantasyland that there is no such thing as constrained choice. Of course.

For some more context, here is a good interview with Don Giesbrecht, CEO of the Canadian Child Care Federation, which gives a good lay of the land of the current system of bilateral agreements that the federal government has in place with provinces around childcare funding, and yes, there are strings attached to that funding. This new funding will build on those agreements, which is why it’s not entirely out of the blue and building something from the ground-up, but simply taking things up an order of magnitude from where they exist currently.

Meanwhile, my social media has been flooded with salty New Democrats who think that they’ve somehow caught me out in previously pointing out that this is an area of provincial jurisdiction whenever Jagmeet Singh would performatively demand “concrete action” on childcare or the like. For starters, at no time did I declare this Liberal plan a done deal – it has always been presented as being contingent upon negotiation with the provinces, but this time they’ve put money on the table that the provinces will find hard to refuse, especially because we have all seen the effect that this pandemic has had on women in the workforce. That’s a fairly unique set of circumstance that creates a hell of a lot more political pressure than could be applied previously. More to the point, Singh’s rhetoric, and those of his MPs, is largely grounded in Green Lantern Theory, that it’s simply a matter of willpower to overcome jurisdictional interviews, while they will only admit the need for negotiation in written releases or backgrounders and never out loud. This especially goes with making promises that they will “get it done,” as though they can put on their Green Lantern rings and just willpower it to happen, or drafting a federal bill and expecting the provinces to clamour to the sound of free money rather than doing the hard work of negotiation. Real life doesn’t work like that, which is what I have consistently pointed out. If New Democrats can’t understand that criticism, then I can’t help them.

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QP: Gathering clips of vaccine drama

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In the day following the budget, both Justin Trudeau and his deputy, Chrystia Freeland were both present for a rare change of pace in these pandemic times, and it was nice to see both. Erin O’Toole led off, script on mini-lectern, and he immediately blamed the government for the third wave by not having enough vaccines — because they can be procured from thin air. Trudeau reminded him that they have been securing vaccines for Canadians. O’Toole complained about delays for AstraZeneca doses and about the Johnson & Johnson plant being shut down, and demanded the government to go back in time to do something about it, and Trudeau calmly reminded him that they have exceeded their vaccine targets. O’Toole got anger in the demand for more vaccines, and Trudeau reminded him that vaccinations need to be accompanied by strong public health measures, and then noted that the budget must have been so good because O’Toole had no questions on it. O’Toole switched to French to lament that higher, unconditional transfers to provinces aren’t in the budget, for which Trudeau chided him that in English, O’Toole says that the government is spending too much, and in French, says they’re not spending enough. O’Toole accused the government of not helping Canadians with the budget, and Trudeau hit back, citing the programmes that are helping Canadians instead of just choosing to reduce the deficit.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he denounced the “age-based discrimination” in the budget because the additional assistance to seniors over the age of 75 was not extended to all seniors. Trudeau reminded him that older seniors have higher costs and many worry about exhausting their savings, so older seniors were getting additional help. Blanchet claimed that explanation didn’t make sense, and Trudeau listed the assistance they have given to all seniors.

Jagmeet Singh was up for the NDP, and in French, he groused that the budget didn’t choose to tax the ultra-rich and cut assistance to people, and Trudeau stated that was false, and that their first act as a government was to raise taxes on the one percent, which the NDP opposed, and listed tax measures in the budget. Singh switched to English to decry the situation in Ontario, and demanded the government use the Emergencies Act to implement paid sick leave in the provinces. Trudeau reminded him that they have been working with provinces throughout the pandemic.

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Roundup: Freeland’s first big budget

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The budget was released yesterday, and lo, the commitment to child care was huge – $30 billion over five years in order to build a national system of $10/day early learning and child care, which is huge money – money that will make it very, very hard for provinces to refuse. It’s not going to be immediate, but a process to build to that system, which they have already put work into over the past five years, but it’s a much more robust commitment than we have seen in the past. It means more negotiations with provinces, however, as well as an asymmetrical agreement with Quebec so that they can still get funding to augment their existing subsidised child care system.

While there is a good overview here, other items in the budget include:

  • Some $17.6 billion in new spending for GHG reductions.
  • New taxes on foreign investors in housing, with more commitments to the national housing strategy.
  • $18 billion over five years has been earmarked for Indigenous communities to close the socio-economic gaps.
  • There is a commitment for $400 million to combat sexual misconduct in the military, plus funds to revitalise NORAD and to cover our NATO operations
  • They plan to make it easier and cheaper to obtain a criminal pardon.
  • There will be new taxes on big global tech companies.
  • Here are twenty new or expanded benefits and taxes.
  • There is the usual pearl-clutching that the budget predicts some $686 billion in accumulated deficits over the next five years.
  • Here are ten smaller items in the budget that are of interest.

Something that did come up over the talking heads discussing the budget was pharmacare, and how there wasn’t a big song and dance about it, as that was largely reserved for childcare. I did read the section on pharacare in the document, and it notes continued investment in things like the catastrophic drug plan to help those who need it most, but we have to remember that they have been trying to negotiate this with the provinces, and the provinces have said no. There’s only so much the federal government can push them on this, so it may require waiting until a few provincial governments change hands before more progress can be made. That’s the thing about these kinds of programmes in provincial jurisdiction – you need to have willing partners at the table, or it can’t go anywhere.

Meanwhile, Heather Scoffield grouses that there is too much conventional thinking in the budget to deal with the problems exacerbated by the pandemic. Susan Delacourt looks to all of the promises that rely on federal-provincial negotiations to make them happen. Paul Wells offers a fairly sober assessment of what’s in the budget, and whether the enthusiasm for this child care spending will last the next couple of years.

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QP: Pushing hard to give Doug Ford some political cover

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In the shadow of the looming budget, I fully expected a day full of questions related to attempts to get the government to admit what was coming in a couple of hours’ time. Candice Bergen led off by video, accusing the federal government of prolonging the third wave by not having enough vaccines — as though premiers delaying proper public health measures were blameless. Anita Anand calmly gave a recounting of increasing vaccine shipments, which are more than originally planned. Bergen then lied and claimed the third wave was a result of the prime minister’s inaction, and Patty Hajdu reminded her that eight out of every ten dollars spent on fighting the pandemic came from the federal government, and listed the measures taken. Michael Chong took over and railed about Ontario’s situation and blamed vaccine shortages, and Patty Hajdu repeated her assurances, but on two hyperbolic follow-ups, Hajdu reminded him that vaccines alone were never enough to stop the third wave without strong public health measures.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc and and railed that federal parties used the wage subsidy, for which Sean Fraser reminded him that they took decisive action to help Canadians. Therrien stated that CRA is reporting fraudulent take-up of the wage subsidy, and Diane Lebouthillier reminded him that he voted against compliance audits, and that he should pick a lane.

Don Davies led for the NDP, and demanded that the federal government use the Emergencies Act to increase hospital capacity and implement paid sick leave in Ontario — which is both novel and would poison federalism. Patty Hajdu calmly responded that they have been working with the government of Ontario to provide whatever help they can. Lindsay Mathyssen repeated the demand, and got much the same response.

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Roundup: Federal damage control while Ford playacts

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While Ontario continues to be on fire, Doug Ford spent much of the weekend walking back his ridiculous pronouncements on Friday, re-opening parks and playgrounds, followed by walking back the increased police powers (which was not helped by the fact that most police forces declared publicly that they would not use them – though stories of arbitrary accosting of people of colour did resonate over social media. This was then followed by news that Ford plans to shutter the legislature this week – apparently it’s the one workplace he doesn’t consider “essential” – while there is also talk about a Cabinet shuffle, because gods know this band of murderclowns needs to rearrange the deckchairs on their own personal Titanic one more time. (Speculation here is also that he is facing a very restive caucus, and closing Queen’s Park would make it easier to avoid them). And then, to make it look like he was doing something, Ford engaged in some performance art to phone up consulates and try to secure vaccines from international allies, as though they wouldn’t all laugh in his face. But he’s committed to the narrative that all he needs is more doses to vaccinate his way out of the burning building rather than doing the public health measures he needs to in order to stop the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, prime minister Justin Trudeau announced some additional help for Ontario, some of which will wind up bypassing the provincial government and go directly to municipalities and businesses with things like additional testing and tracing capacity. Even these measures, however, are little more than damage control because they can’t do the things that need to happen, like stopping the spread in industrial workplaces, because they don’t have the requisite jurisdictional authority.

As for the doctors in this province, they’re at a breaking point. Thank the murderclowns for that.

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Roundup: Ontario is on fire, and Ford offers performance art

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I will admit that I am currently vacillating between rage and despair right now, as Doug Ford and his band of murderclowns looked at the new modelling data that shows us still on a course for disaster, and decide to do the barest minimum effort to merely prolong the state of affairs, rather than to take meaningful action.

It’s not just half-measures – it’s theatre. Closing parks and playgrounds will do nothing to halt the spread of the virus, but workplaces deemed “essential” continue to operate with few protections for workers – which is where much of the new infections are happening, and then spreading when those “essential” workers return home, often to crowded, inter-generational households – and most of all, Ford is still not budging on paid sick leave. On top of that, he’s giving police the power to randomly stop people to ask why they’re not at home, and essentially reintroduced carding (which is unconstitutional), and will inevitably target Black, Indigenous and other minorities because that’s what police do. (Several police forces have pledged not to use these powers, but we’ll see if that holds). And then Ford lies and says that Ontario has had the toughest measures anywhere, and pats himself on the back while he blames ordinary people for not following rules – rules which change on a daily basis and are never clear to begin with – and blames the federal government for not magically providing vaccines fast enough when it is mathematically impossible to vaccinate our way out of this.

None of this needed to happen. That’s what is just so gods damned enraging about this whole thing. They were warned repeatedly back in February not to re-open until the reproduction rate of the virus was lower, and they didn’t listen. They rushed to re-open just as variants were starting to spread in the community, confident that they could let a little bit of COVID circulate and everything would be find (when it grows exponentially), because they needed to “protect the economy,” and lo, things got worse like everyone knew that they would, and we had to restrict again, and it will keep happening like this until they can finally squash the curve of transmission.

If there is one silver lining, it’s that we know that Doug Ford can be swayed, because Uncle Doug doesn’t like being the bad guy. He wants to be the fun uncle. And maybe now, people in Ontario will finally be outraged enough to stop being guiled by his folksy bullshit, and finally start demanding action in a consistent and coherent manner. That may be what finally spurs action, months and thousands of unnecessary later, assuming the anger is directed in the right way. That may, however, be easier said than done, but the possibility exists, and perhaps we as a province should seize it.

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QP: Putting words in Boris Johnson’s mouth

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In the wake of yesterday’s nudity brouhaha and the subsequent calls for an investigation, the prime minister was away and there were but two Liberals in the Chamber — Mark Gerretsen and Marc Serré. Candice Bergen led off by video, and she recited a hyperbolic litany of ills that lockdowns have imposed upon the population and lamented the government’s failures, before demanding to know why the finance minister was treating the situation as a political opportunity. Sean Fraser noted that they were looking to reform the system for those who were disadvantaged by the status quo. Bergen then switched to delays in Moderna shipments, and using it to blame the government for the third wave of the pandemic. Patty Hajdu reminded her that the government has been there for the provinces all through the pandemic. Bergen then raised the Daily Mail’s coverage of vaccines in Canada, falsely attributing comments to Boris Johnson around vaccinations when Johnson has in fact credited the lockdowns in Britain for halting the spread of the virus and not vaccinations, which is a pretty important thing to realize. In response, Hajdu again repeated that they were supporting provinces and encouraged people to get vaccinated when it’s their turn. Gérard Deltell got up next and in French, slammed the Bloc for joining the Liberals in ending the defence committee study on the General Vance allegations, to which Harjit Sajjan dismissed the attacks and patted himself on the back for his six hours at committee. Deltell then tried to police the government’s feminism, and Sajjan said that they were waiting for the committee’s report.

For the Bloc, Yves Perron led off to decry delays in getting temporary foreign workers out of quarantine and into fields, for which Carla Qualtrough assured him they were working as fast as they can to resolve the situation. Perron blasted that the contractor doing the testing didn’t have capacity in French, and Qualtrough assured him they were working to ensure people in Quebec could get their services in French.

Jagmeet Singh led off for the NDP, and in French, asked to extend the tax filing deadline, and Diane Lebouthillier listed tax relief measures they have offered. Singh switched to English to blame slow vaccine rollout on the federal government, apparently believing that vaccines can be produced form thin air, and wanted an admission of failure on domestic production. Anita Anand recited vaccine arrivals and that Canada is third in the G20 for vaccinations.

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Roundup: The curious case of Will Amos

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It was the end of Question Period when Bloc MP Claude DeBellefeuille raised a point of order, asking the Speaker to remind MPs that there is a dress code, citing that she had seen a male MP in a state of undress – which came across through the interpretation as “shirtless,” but as it turns out was much more – and she managed to do this without naming who it was, or offering too much description other than he apparently has a very good physique, and all with a straight face. The Speaker thanked her for the intervention and gave his usual gentle chiding. Because said MP’s mic was not activated, no one public-facing saw who it was, especially not in the Chamber. MPs who are on Zoom, however, have a different view than the rest of us get, and they could see it.

Not long after, someone leaked a minimally censored screenshot to Brian Lilley, who put it out over Twitter, and in short order it was determined that this was Liberal MP Will Amos, and he was more than shirtless. Amos made an apology, citing that he had just come from “jogging,” and didn’t realize his camera was on – but I know this has raised more questions because MPs need special log-ins and passwords in order to even log into their special Zoom, so why he would have done so before he had changed is…dubious. (It has also been questioned why he would have gone jogging mid-day when there are no showers in his Precinct office building). In any case, Amos has learned a very valuable lesson.

A bigger issue here, however, is the screenshot itself. MPs aren’t allowed to take photos in the Chamber, and it has been determined that screenshots of their Zoom screens follow under the same rules. It would have almost certainly been an MP who took the screenshot in order to leak to Lilley, which is a violation of House rules, and arguably, Amos’ privileges. It’s also likely that it was a Conservative MP who leaked said photo, given that they leaked it to Lilley. (There are additional issues around the non-consensual sharing of such images, and whether they would have been so quick to do so if it was a woman). I suspect that if Amos were to pursue the matter as a breach of his privileges, this could turn into a Thing that the Procedure and House Affairs Committee will likely have to deal with. It should also be yet another wake-up call for MPs about their collective behaviour over the course of this whole Hybrid Parliament, and why they are letting their standards slide. It probably wouldn’t hurt for the Speaker to actually lay down the law for a change rather than the constant gentle chidings that do absolutely nothing to change behaviour, but here we are.

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QP: Demanding an admission of failure

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As rain threaten outside, Justin Trudeau was back in the House of Commons for another day of Question Period, with one other Liberal behind him, and you would be right if you guessed that it was once again Mark Gerretsen. Erin O’Toole led off by pointing to other American outlets which are concern trolling about the situation in Canada, and blamed the rollout of vaccines for the third wave — which is a huge falsehood — and demanded and admission of failure. Trudeau called this out as disinformation, citing our place in the rankings and that delivery schedules were rolling along even if Moderna is occasionally a day or two behind. O’Toole quoted the head of Toronto’s university health network saying this is the worst place in the pandemic and he blamed the slow rollout of vaccines instead of murderclown premiers, to which Trudeau stated that they were doing what they could to support provinces. O’Toole switched to French to repeated his first question, got the same answer, and then repeated the question on doctors in French, and again got the same answer.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and raised the bailout of Air Canada, accusing the government of trying to break regional airlines, for which Trudeau insisted there will be further assistance for the aerospace industry. Blanchet was not mollified, but Trudeau replied with further assurances that they are supporting the sector. 

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and in French, he decried the current state of the pandemic, and demanded a new plan to fight it, for which Trudeau stated that in some areas of the country it is bad and that they are doing what they can to help affected provinces. Singh switched to English to decry the cancellation of vaccinations appointments in Scarborough, which is a question of provincial jurisdiction, not federal. Trudeau stated that things were bad in Ontario and that they were trying to offer what assistance they can to the Ford government. 

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