Opposition critics say they have been left in the dark about the federal government’s preparations for a potential outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Canada.
On Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he has struck a special cabinet committee to co-ordinate response to the virus. The committee is to operate parallel to the cabinet’s incident response group, but so far has no plans to brief opposition critics.
“This isn’t a partisan issue, we aren’t looking to light partisan fires on this,” said Conservative health critic Matt Jeneroux. “We’re essentially just looking for answers that Canadians are asking for.”
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam and Health Minister Patty Hajdu have provided public briefings almost daily related to the coronavirus and the respiratory disease it inflicts: COVID-19.
But opposition MPs say specific questions about bed capacity at hospitals, supply and equipment stocks and what plans the government has to support businesses have been left unanswered.
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“I’ve heard no details whatsoever from the federal government on any of those,” said NDP health critic Don Davies.
3:44 Coronavirus outbreak: Is Canada prepared to handle a much larger outbreak of the virus?
Coronavirus outbreak: Is Canada prepared to handle a much larger outbreak of the virus?
Davies said in the early days of the outbreak he was briefed by the health minister and received regular updates from her office. But in the last few weeks those updates have dried up, even as the global spread of the virus puts Canada at greater risk.
“There seems to be almost a retraction in their willingness to involve other parties,” Davies said, questioning the approach particularly because of the government’s minority status.
The Trudeau government’s approach to political opponents stands in contrast to the Harper government’s handling of the H1N1 outbreak in 2009.
Regan Watts, the director of parliamentary affairs for Conservative health minister Leona Aglukkaq at the time, says the government held daily briefings for the opposition parties’ health critics – and the benefits of that went beyond keeping the opposition informed.
“Our success was their success, they were part of the team,” Watts said.
He said the collaborative relationship also had the side-benefit of building trust when it came to passing other legislation in the house.
3:40 Coronavirus outbreak: Is Canada considering virus screening for all incoming travellers?
Coronavirus outbreak: Is Canada considering virus screening for all incoming travellers?
He said he has little knowledge of how the government is handling the current outbreak politically, but from what he’s seen as a private citizen, Hajdu has been doing a good job.
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Watts did have some advice for all parliamentarians handling the potential COVID-19 outbreak in Canada.
“To paraphrase Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, public health is not a Liberal issue or a Conservative issue. It’s a Canadian issue,” he said.
“With all the heat turned up on other critical issues facing Canada, COVID-19 is one that should allow all parties to put partisanship aside and work together for the best interest of Canadians.”
Opposition members passed a motion at the House of Commons health committee last week, calling for disclosure of all internal communications to senior ministers related to the coronavirus in order to learn more about the government’s plans.
1:26 Coronavirus outbreak: Government provides latest numbers on Canadians infected
Coronavirus outbreak: Government provides latest numbers on Canadians infected
Liberal members of the committee criticized the Conservative and NDP members for making work for the people who are busy preparing for a potential pandemic.
Jeneroux, who put the motion forward, said they wouldn’t have had to do that if the opposition was kept in the know.
“I feel we’d have accurate information that we could then share with Canadians,” he said.
At the government’s latest briefing Wednesday, Hajdu said she and the Public Health Agency of Canada have been working with their provincial counterparts to make sure the whole country is ready for the potential community spread of the virus in Canadian communities.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
