Editors note: CanSino Biologics provided a response to Global News after this story was published.
As China races to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, a multimillion-dollar collaboration between Canada and China has failed, likely because of Beijing’s geopolitical concerns, say scientists with direct knowledge of the project.
This week Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) announced it has abandoned its partnership with Chinese company CanSino Biologics, because China’s government continues to block shipments of vaccine materials to Canada.
The NRC — which is part of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry — has received about $44-million since late March to upgrade its production capacity in Montreal in preparation for materials expected from CanSino.
Story continues below advertisement
Now the NRC says it is working with two other COVID-19 vaccine collaborators including the United States company VBI Vaccines.
“With the funding received from the Government of Canada on March 23 and April 23, much work is underway at NRC … to certify our facility … and expand production,” NRC stated. “These enhancements to the facility will support a broad range of partners and clients with research, scale-up support, and the manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics.”
In May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau endorsed the deal with CanSino — a company funded by Beijing and producing its vaccine with the People’s Liberation Army.
CanSino’s COVID-19 vaccine is being tested on Chinese soldiers and has been approved for testing at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV) at Dalhousie University in Halifax. CanSino’s vaccine was supposed to arrive at the CCfV in June.
But after Canada signed the CanSino deal “the Government of China changed rules on shipping vaccines,” the NRC said this week in a statement.
2:21 Russia approves first coronavirus vaccine, but scientists are skeptical
Russia approves first coronavirus vaccine, but scientists are skeptical
CanSino was founded in 2009 by Chinese scientist Dr. Xuefeng Yu, who was educated at McGill University in Quebec and worked for Sanofi Pasteur, before returning to China.
Story continues below advertisement
Yu did not respond to interview requests from Global News, but this week reportedly told the Globe and Mail that “bureaucratic indecision” from Chinese officials has delayed shipments of CanSino’s vaccine to Canada.
After this story was published CanSino issued this statement: “Up to the date of this announcement, the collaboration between the National Research Council of Canada and the Company has not been terminated. None of the management of the Company has accepted any interview in relation to the clinical trails (sic) for Ad5-nCoV in Canada in the recent period; and the Company is currently driving the international multi-center phase III clinical trial for Ad5-nCoV with several countries.”
The failed collaboration was based upon the NRC providing CanSino a license to use Canada’s proprietary biological product HEK293, a line of cells that CanSino has previously used with the Chinese military to develop a vaccine for the Ebola virus.
In an interview CCfV director Scott Halperin said “the collaboration between CanSino and (CCfV) and NRC was excellent.”
“The vaccine was caught up in Chinese customs, and CanSino did everything they were asked to, but the approvals never came through.”
Halperin said the key benefit to Canadians — if the CanSino vaccine had passed testing at Dalhousie — was Canadians would have been front of the line with a guaranteed supply of the CanSino vaccine, produced in Canada by the NRC.
Story continues below advertisement
7:09 How close are we to developing a coronavirus vaccine?
How close are we to developing a coronavirus vaccine?
Halperin and another leading Canadian vaccine researcher, Gary Kobinger, said geopolitical competition appears to have destroyed the Canada-China vaccine partnership.
“We can’t think of any other reason the vaccine was not shipped,” Halperin said.
“Getting politics involved into a vaccine is never good,” Kobinger said. “Whether it’s the Chinese government or the Chinese army or the Canadian government (responsible for the CanSino deal failure) I think it’s unfortunate that politicians are building walls.”
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston — a former Canadian assistant-deputy minister responsible for vaccine collaborations with China — said she believes senior Chinese officials have blocked the CanSino shipments in order to retaliate against Canada for the Meng Wanzhou extradition case, or simply to pursue their geopolitical objectives of becoming a world-leading vaccine provider.
Story continues below advertisement
McCuaig-Johnston said in her experience China has previously used customs blockages as a tool in trade disputes, but only top Chinese officials have the authority to take such actions.
McCuaig-Johnston said she was one of the Canadian officials that signed onto an agreement with China in 2007, to share vaccine and technology research. And the partnership was once promising, she said.
“This was a surprise to see our commitment to China, in sharing very significant proprietary intellectual property, run into this major blockage,” McCuaig-Johnston said. “China’s success in vaccines is standing on the back of Canadian researchers and scientists. Over the years we helped China develop its capacity. But China is no longer a reliable partner.”
McCuaig-Johnston says that Canada should broadly reassess any significant research partnerships with China, as evidence mounts that President Xi Jinping’s regime uses international collaboration in order to modernize the People’s Liberation Army and protect the Chinese Communist Party’s interests. And Canadian researchers need to be educated about Xi’s goals.
McCuaig-Johnston says she briefs Canadian scientists working on artificial intelligence (AI) — a field where Beijing plans to dominate by 2025 — on the risks of collaboration.
“When I talk to Canadian AI scientists, they often say ‘I have partnered with my Chinese friends, they would never steal from us,’” McCuaig-Johnston said. “I say ‘yes they would. Unfortunately, that is how China’s system works.’”
Story continues below advertisement
3:43 CSIS believes Canada to be a ‘permissive target’ for China’s interference
CSIS believes Canada to be a ‘permissive target’ for China’s interference
Public Safety Canada has not answered a question from Global News on whether Canadian intelligence agencies provided any warnings about risks related to the CanSino vaccine partnership.
But even in March — before Canada committed to a vaccine partnership — there was ample public reporting indicating that China was racing for the vaccine finish line, alone.
CanSino’s military partner, Major General Chen Wei, was portrayed in Chinese-state media as a so-called “wolf warrior” that could bring glory to Beijing.
“A vaccine is the most powerful weapon to end the novel coronavirus,” Chen was quoted on Chinese state TV in March, the Los Angeles Times reported. “If China is the first to develop this weapon with its own intellectual property rights, it will demonstrate not only the progress of Chinese science and technology, but also our image as a major power.”
Story continues below advertisement
Chen and CanSino had already leveraged Canadian research to develop an Ebola vaccine based on the HEK293 cell-line first licensed by the NRC to CanSino, in 2014.
Meanwhile, Halperin says he still hopes to work with CanSino on their vaccine test results from a distance, although Canada’s chance to secure CanSino vaccine supply has been lost.
TORONTO – Will Taylor Swift bring chaos or do we all need to calm down?
It’s a question many Torontonians are asking this week as the city braces for the massive fan base of one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Hundreds of thousands of Swifties are expected to descend on downtown core for the singer’s six concerts which kick off Thursday at the Rogers Centre and run until Nov. 23.
And while their arrival will be a boon to tourism dollars, it could further clog the city’s already gridlocked streets.
Swift’s shows collide with other scheduled events at the nearby Scotiabank Arena, including a Toronto Raptors game on Friday and a Toronto Maple Leafs game on Saturday.
Some locals have already adjusted their plans to avoid the area.
Aahil Dayani says he and some friends intended to throw a birthday bash for one of their pals, until they realized it would overlap with the concerts.
“Ultimately, everybody agreed they just didn’t want to deal with that,” he said.
“Something as simple as getting together and having dinner is now thrown out the window.”
Dayani says the group rescheduled the birthday party for after Swift leaves town. In the meantime, he plans to hunker down at his Toronto residence.
“Her coming into town has kind of changed up my social life,” he added.
“We’re pretty much just not doing anything.”
Max Sinclair, chief executive and founder of A.I. technology firm Ecomtent, has suggested his employees stay away from the company’s downtown offices on concert days, since he doesn’t see the point in forcing people to endure potential traffic jams.
“It’s going to be less productive for us, and it’s going to be just a pain for everyone, so it’s easier to avoid it,” he said.
“We’re a hybrid company, so we can be flexible. It just makes sense.”
Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green says the public agency has been preparing for over a year to ease the pressure of so many Swifties in one confined area.
Dozens of buses and streetcars have been added to the transit routes around the stadium, while the TTC has consulted with the city on how to handle potential emergency scenarios.
“There may be some who will say we’re over-preparing, and that’s fair,” Green said.
“But we know based on what’s happened in other places, better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Electronic Arts has incorporated the Professional Women’s Hockey League into its NHL 25 video game.
The six teams starting their second seasons Nov. 30 will be represented in “play now,” “online versus,” “shootout” and “season” modes, plus a championship Walter Cup, in the updated game scheduled for release Dec. 5, the PWHL and EA Sports announced Wednesday.
Gamers can create a virtual PWHL player.
The league and video game company have agreed to a multi-year partnership, the PWHL stated.
“Our partnership with EA SPORTS opens new doors to elevate women’s hockey across all levels,” said PWHL operations senior vice-president Amy Scheer in a statement.
“Through this alliance, we’ll develop in-game and out-of-game experiences that strengthen the bond between our teams, players, and fans, bringing the PWHL closer to the global hockey community.”
NHL 22 featured playable women’s teams for the first time through an agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Toronto Sceptres forward Sarah Nurse became the first woman to appear on the video game’s cover in 2023 alongside Anaheim Ducks centre Trevor Zegras.
The Ottawa Charge, Montreal Victoire, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens round out the PWHL. The league announced team names and logos in September, and unveiled jerseys earlier this month.
“It is so meaningful that young girls will be able to see themselves in the game,” said Frost forward Taylor Heise, who grew up playing EA’s NHL games.
“It is a big milestone for inclusivity within the hockey community and shows that women’s prominence in hockey only continues to grow.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. continued to navigate weaker consumer demand in the third quarter as it looked ahead to the spinoff of its pork business in 2025.
“This environment has a particularly significant impact on a premium portfolio like ours and I want you to know that we are not sitting still waiting for the macro environment to recover on its own,” said CEO Curtis Frank on a call with analysts.
Frank said the company is working to adapt its strategies to consumer demand. As inflation has stabilized and interest rates decline, he said pressure on consumers is expected to ease.
Maple Leaf reported a third-quarter profit of $17.7 million compared with a loss of $4.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company says the profit amounted to 14 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a loss of four cents per share a year earlier. Sales for the quarter totalled $1.26 billion, up from $1.24 billion a year ago.
“At a strategic level … we’re certainly seeing the transitory impacts of an inflation-stressed consumer environment play through our business,” Frank said.
“We are seeing more trade-down than we would like. And we are making more investments to grow our volume and protect our market share than we would like in the moment. But again, we believe that those impacts will prove to be transitory as they have been over the course of history.”
Financial results are improving in the segment as feed costs have stabilized, said Dennis Organ, president, pork complex.
Maple Leaf, which is working to spin off its pork business into a new, publicly traded company to be called Canada Packers Inc. and led by Organ, also said it has identified a way to implement the plan through a tax-free “butterfly reorganization.”
Frank said Wednesday that the new structure will see Maple Leaf retain slightly lower ownership than previously intended.
The company said it continues to expect to complete the transaction next year. However, the spinoff under the new structure is subject to an advance tax ruling from the Canada Revenue Agency and will take longer than first anticipated.
Maple Leaf announced the spinoff in July with a plan to become a more focused consumer packaged goods company, including its Maple Leaf and Schneiders brands.
“The prospect of executing the transaction as a tax-free spin-off is a positive development as we continue to advance our strategy to unlock value and unleash the potential of these two unique and distinct businesses,” Frank said in the news release.
He also said that Maple Leaf is set on delivering profitability for its plant protein business in mid-2025.
“This includes the recent completion of a procurement project aimed at leveraging our purchasing scale,” he said.
On an adjusted basis, Maple Leaf says it earned 18 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 13 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
The results were largely in line with expectations, said RBC analyst Irene Nattel in a note.
Maple Leaf shares were down 4.5 per cent in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange at $21.49.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
