Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada doesn’t need to approve additional vaccine candidates to meet its goal of inoculating everyone who wants a COVID-19 shot by September and that its target could be reached ahead of schedule.
Canada gave the green light to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s messenger RNA vaccines last month, but independent regulators are still reviewing other candidates, such as the AstraZeneca-Oxford product.
“Prior to Christmas … we exercised 20 million options of Moderna. So that allows us to have 40 million doses of Moderna now in addition to our 20 million Pfizer doses,” Anand said on Sunday in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live. “That allows us to hit about 30 million Canadians.”
Under the contracts it has signed, Ottawa can still buy 16 million more doses of the Moderna vaccine and 56 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech product. Both vaccines must be administered twice.
Anand told CBC Chief Political Correspondent Rosemary Barton that discussions are ongoing to exercise those options.
“We will be on track, without doubt, to ensure inoculations for all Canadians who want it by the end of September, if not sooner,” she said. “That is the goal that I am pursuing every single day, moving up that end of September timeline so that we can see ourselves through to the other side of this pandemic as quickly as possible.”
The minister’s comments come as Ottawa and the provinces butt heads over the pace of Canada’s vaccine rollout.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was frustrated to hear that vaccines were piling up in freezers instead of being given to Canadians, while a growing number of provinces maintain they have the ability to administer many more doses than their supplies allow.
The prime minister convened a virtual meeting with Canada’s premiers Thursday night, where participants agreed to “work together as team Canada to get vaccines distributed and administered as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Trudeau said.
But the news that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna products will be enough to hit the federal government’s September target goes against calls to approve more candidates.
“I’m going to ask Health Canada again, ‘Please approve AstraZeneca. We’re in desperate need of it,'” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday, acknowledging that Trudeau has been “working his back off” to distribute vaccines.
Rick Hillier, the retired general leading Ontario’s vaccine rollout, also told CBC Radio’s The House that he was urging the federal government to approve the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine and other candidates.
CBC News: The House14:58A jurisdictional disconnect over Canada’s vaccine rollout
Retired general Rick Hillier, chair of Ontario’s vaccination distribution task force, and New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard, discuss the progress and obstacles involved in Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout. 14:58
Anand acknowledged that Canada needs to “accelerate” vaccine deliveries given that other countries have inoculated more of their populations.
“But by the same token, there are peer countries that haven’t begun vaccinating at all — Australia for example,” she said.
The minister also revealed that the federal government will announce this week its efforts to establish a new technology system to track and manage the distribution of vaccines across the country.
According to documents obtained by the Globe and Mail, the platform is intended to assist provinces in placing orders and tracking adverse effects. The government issued a request for proposals to seven suppliers in December seeking to build such a system.
CBC News has learned from industry sources briefed on the decision that accounting firm Deloitte is the winning company behind the request.
Anand’s department confirmed to CBC that Deloitte was awarded the contract, which is valued at more than $16 million, on Jan. 7.
“The goal of this additional procurement was to enhance the capabilities across the country to ensure that we have the most seamless IT system possible as we go through this complex period in our country’s history,” Anand said.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
—
Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
Sentencing hearing continues for University of Waterloo gender studies class stabber
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio making a difference off the pitch as well as on it
Inequality has broad impacts on the health of Montreal children, report finds
Liberal majority victory shifts political landscape in New Brunswick
Thomson Reuters acquires AI accounting assistant developer Materia
Ontario aiming to become energy superpower, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce says
Sonia Furstenau staying on as B.C. Greens leader in wake of indecisive election
Thousands of international students miss fall semester amid uncertainty, visa delays
