Politics Insider for November 30, 2021: New Cases in Canada; a military apology; and Steven Guilbeault’s bicycle
More cases in Canada: Two people in Ontario and one in Quebec have been infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, CBC reports, in addition to the two Ottawa cases announced Sunday. Patricia Treble, writing for Maclean’s, has a summary of what we know now. Cases are detected daily around the world, CNN reports.
High risk: The World Health Organization warned Monday that the variant poses a “high risk of infection,” the BBC reports: “Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic,” WHO said.
Alarm bells: At Balloon, André Picard Explain it’s too early to tell if Omicron is more dangerous than previous variants.
Despite its sinister nickname – Omicron, the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, sounds like the name of a bad boy in a superhero movie – it is it is not a fact that the newer variant will be dramatically worse than the previous ones, nor that it will displace Delta, the now dominant variant. The reason Omicron has scientists concerned is its “Frankenstein mix” of mutations. Viruses mutate, but they usually do so fairly slowly. The new variant has sounded the alarms because it has 32 mutations in its peak protein alone. The spike protein is what coronaviruses use to enter human cells, raising fears (in theory at least) that Omicron could more easily spread and bypass immune protections, both those from infection and vaccination. But none of this is clear yet.
Ontario reluctantly: At Star, Bruce Arthur argues that Doug ford The government should ponder the uncertainty and get more serious.
Israel moved strongly on ventilation, contact tracing, boosters, and border restrictions, because Israel recognizes an emergency when it sees it. If Omicron is a real leap, and many virologists say that its 25 to 30 mutations are at least hypothetically adequate for potential immunity evasion, transmission, and virulence, then the rules of the game will change. Some are likely to stay the same as well. This government has established certain limits at this point that will influence the vulnerability to any Omicron or any other variant that may be. It’s a broken record right now, but this government has been really reluctant to promote vaccination from the premiere down. The result is approximately 1.4 million unvaccinated Ontarians over the age of 12, including some 350,000 over the age of 50. Each one is a walking alarm bell.
Why only Africa? the Balloon have an opinion piece of U of T prof Ambarish Chandra, who argues that our travel restrictions are poorly thought out.
The speed with which the latest travel bans have been imposed on southern African countries suggests once again that Canada is rushing to impose tough measures on the developing world but reluctant to do so with rich western countries. Multiple reports suggest that the Omicron variant was already present in Belgium and the Netherlands at the time these bans were imposed, but there is no discussion of the extension of the measures to those countries.
Do not vaccinate against apartheid: At Mail, Rupa Subramanya argues that vaccine vacillation and logistical problems, not access to vaccines, are behind slow uptake in the global south.
There is no doubt that the purchasing power of rich countries makes it easier for them to purchase vaccines, but it is not true that the poorest countries do not have access to vaccinesThey can buy them at favorable prices from pharmaceutical companies or use the COVAX facilities of the World Health Organization. Rather than lack of access, much of the disparity in vaccination rates in the developing world is the result of logistical problems and vaccinated vaccinations, sometimes coupled with outright denial of COVID-19.
Conversion therapy ban: Liberals introduced a bill on Monday to ban conversion therapy, and not just for children, the Star reports.
The bill goes beyond the government’s previous attempt to ban conversion therapy. Bill C-4 would make it a crime to have someone undergo conversion therapy, regardless of whether they consent. That was a key demand from survivors and advocates, who said the government’s previous attempt to ban it, Bill C-6, still allowed conversion therapy to be provided to consenting adults. Advocates have said that a person cannot consent to what amounts to fraud and torture.
Minister, CDS to apologize: Minister of Defense Anita anand, vice Minister Jody thomas, and Chief of the Defense Staff Gen. Wayne eyre will apologize to victims of military sexual misconduct on December 13, CTV reports.
“As part of our efforts to restore relationships with those harmed, we will offer a public apology to all current and former members of the Advocacy Team who have been affected by sexual assault and sexual misconduct, including harassment and discrimination,” it says the notice. .
A prop bike? Conservative MP Ed fast accused Steven Guilbeault of using a bicycle as an accessory during a Hybrid Parliament session on Monday, CTV reports.
Fast raised a point of order after the question period, arguing that Minister Steven Guilbeault hung the bike behind him to “make a statement on his environmental credibility.” “Sir. Speaker, the point is that there is a rule that you cannot do indirectly what you cannot do directly. What the minister has done is shamelessly wearing an accessory because now he’s doing it from the safety of another office, “said Fast.
Guilbeault responded on Twitter: “The bicycle has been there long before we started making a virtual parliament. In fact, he has also been there for months while answering questions as a minister of heritage. It’s strange that after almost a year it has become a problem, ”he said.
In a related story, the vice president warned MPs showing up from home to keep their professional attire, CP reports, but he didn’t say anything about bicycles.
Technological tax: The liberal government intends to continue with plans to implement a tax on digital services targeting tech giants, the Mail reports. Critics in the business community think the government should wait for an international agreement before acting.
Nomination survey: Some conservatives think that a membership poll is laying the groundwork for Erin O’Toole can centralize the nomination process, the Hill times reports.
Face the dissidents! Also in the Hill times, former CPC MP Tom lukiwski argues that O’Toole should call for a leadership review in order to silence internal critics.
Still fighting: Green Party officials are still embroiled in a harmful internal dispute, CBC reports.
Syrup to flow: The people behind Quebec’s strategic maple syrup reserve said Monday that they will release 50 million pounds of maple syrup, worth about $ 150 million, to the market in February, in response to growing international demand, CP reports.
– Stephen Maher
Reference-www.macleans.ca