Joss Reimer says she wants to tackle misinformation and disinformation, and place more emphasis on the social determinants of health and preventative health. She’s also keeping a close eye on H5N1, also referred to as the bird flu, to ensure that Canada has an influenza pandemic plan in place.
Both the MP, a practising physician, and infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch warn that progress made in reducing the prevalence of various diseases, including HIV, could stall.
The U.S. may begin to apply tariffs or other barriers to enhance its domestic production, and if that happens, Canada will need a plan not just to respond, but also to thrive.
‘Eliminating public health positions while Canada’s health-care system is already stretched to the breaking point leaves Canada dangerously unprepared for the next health crisis and puts lives at risk,’ says PIPSC president Sean O’Reilly.
The type of outrage seen against the actions in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will reappear against any collective public health and safety measure proposed by any level of government until officials ‘reinvest in the public trust,’ says Raywat Deonandan.
Dr. Theresa Tam has left the job of chief public health officer after eight years. Her successor will have to contend with a change in the U.S.’ public health approach, vaccine hesitancy among Canadians and the need to always be ready for the next global outbreak.
As another possible pandemic looms, the discovery research engine that will help protect Canadians’ health sputters, stalls, and may fall off the rails.
Feds looking to find $15.8-billion in savings through ‘Refocus Government Spending’ initiative as pressure mounts for Canada to boost defence spending.
To date, there has been little initiative in Canada to conduct a far-reaching public inquiry that examines pandemic response with a broader lens.
Latest government data shows RCMP, Correctional Services Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as well as Canada Revenue Agency paid the most overtime in 2023.
Public service union walks back calls to boycott downtown Ottawa business.
Millennials’ ‘fingerprints’ are now on the federal public service, says Deloitte’s Stephen Harrington, while a Carleton University professor says the demographic could be better divided into those hired pre- or post-pandemic.
In the final part of The Hill Times‘ series on the fourth anniversary of COVID-19, Minister Anita Anand reflects on her role in the global race for PPE and vaccines, and precinct staff highlight the unequal impact the transition to a virtual Parliament had on essential employees.
In the second instalment of The Hill Times‘ retrospective on the fourth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, staffers recall the behind-the-scenes anxiety, and the ‘golden age of Question Period.’
The report that takes a deep dive into Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic calls for the appointment of an independent expert panel to do a thorough examination of how Canadian institutions performed during the biggest public health emergency of the last century.
With four years in the books since Canada’s Parliament shut down to deal with an emerging public health threat, and more than a year after the World Health Organization announced an official end to the global pandemic, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says no one is ‘over COVID.’
Canadians will lose faith in institutions if there are no consequences, says Aaron Wudrick. But it should be bureaucrats—not ministers—who wear the procurement failings, according to former PSPC ADM Alan Williams.
Perception is important in the business of contracting, says expert Alan Williams, and recent revelations about the $54-million ArriveCan app are ‘muddying the waters.’
Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes told the House Public Accounts Committee that the report on the application will be released on Feb. 12, during a meeting that Liberal and NDP MPs criticized the timing of.
Consultants ‘have never been doing better than they are now,’ says Conservative MP Garnett Genuis.
The Canada Emergency Business Account delivered more than $49-billion to nearly 900,000 small businesses and non-profits, but Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty says ‘it would be tragic to have brought these businesses this far, and then to lose them 200 feet from shore.’
The coronavirus pandemic was the most tectonic event in generations. If that doesn’t prompt a national soul-searching to examine what we have learned and what needs to change, what will?
Our universities build Canada’s capacity and develop the skilled workforce needed for emergency response.
Politicians, as well as many Canadians, want to put the pandemic behind them. But the pandemic is a crisis that affected all aspects of society, and its legacy continues to affect us.
Hindsight is 20/20, but its benefits should not be dismissed out of hand, especially when discussing something with the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic.
