The recommendations come after the WHO made a plea for countries to halt progress on boosters as the Delta variant continues its dominance worldwide; many countries are still trying to ramp up their own vaccination campaigns.
“Since this pandemic has begun, the lack of global coordination, leadership and direction has been appalling,” said Kerry Bowman, a bioethicist at the University of Toronto.
“No one has their eye on the big picture. We’re increasingly tucked away, trying to figure out what’s best for us and losing the plot,” he said, adding, “the plot being the way to deal with this incredible pandemic is to deal with it globally. And again, focusing on boosters is moving us away from that goal.”
1:53 Canada’s top doctor says discussion on COVID-19 booster shots still ‘evolving’
Canada’s top doctor says discussion on COVID-19 booster shots still ‘evolving’
On Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he wants a moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September so that every country can vaccinate at least 10 per cent of their population.
“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant. But we cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it,” he said.
1:38 WHO calls for global pause on COVID-19 vaccine boosters
WHO calls for global pause on COVID-19 vaccine boosters
Canada, facing the start of a fourth wave driven by the Delta variant, has procured enough vaccines to inoculate every eligible Canadian. The country has one of the world’s best vaccination rates, which currently sits at 68 per cent fully vaccinated and 81 per cent partially vaccinated.
Yet the world’s rate for fully vaccinated people is 15.08 per cent, Johns Hopkins University reports.
“Canada has so many more vaccines at this point than we need, and the global situation ethically and epidemiologically needs immediate attention,” Bowman said.
Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer of Canada, told reporters on Thursday that Canada still needs more data on boosters before making a decision. She said experts are monitoring high-risk populations, like the immunocompromised and elderly, for a potential boost.
Tam believes though that if, or when, the time does come for Canada to offer a third shot, the country could still continue to share doses with the world.
The government announced Wednesday that it will send 82,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to Trinidad and Tobago. It also announced last month that it’s donating 17.7 million AstraZeneca shots to the global COVAX vaccine sharing program.
“Without the rest of the world being vaccinated, it’s very difficult for us to get out of the pandemic. Also, it would have impacts, potentially, on our precautionary but phased border reopening,” she said.
“Canada’s has, in its range of acting options, a lot of capacity. So I think we can definitely do both.”
Dr. Barry Pakes, a professor with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, believes Canada should have conversations around boosters — but not implement a program right away.
“From an ethical perspective, we shouldn’t be doing that, (and) we should be sharing vaccine with the rest of the world right now if possible. … But we should be thinking about it,” he said.
“I think it’s reasonable to think about it in the future, meaning we should be giving vaccines to countries that need it now with some kind of reciprocal agreement to potentially get those back if we in fact need them.”
In light of the WHO’s request, Germany and France said they will go ahead with boosters for vulnerable populations in September. The United States indicated on Wednesday that it would offer booster shots if needed, but provided no firm plan or timeline.
The first country to administer vaccine top-ups is Israel, which is boosting fully vaccinated people over the age of 60 with Pfizer-BioNTech. Israel decided to offer the booster due to Delta’s spread in the country.
Pakes feels that Israel, because it’s a smaller country, has an ethical obligation to boost its over-60 population and share the data with the world to “better inform, not only the decision-making of other countries, but the ethical framing altogether of the global pandemic response in respect to vaccines.”
Israel has “a much better health system and data system than we do, so the things learned there are just critically important for global health decision making around the pandemic,” he said.
1:09 Israeli health official says COVID-19 booster shot helps with waning immunity
Israeli health official says COVID-19 booster shot helps with waning immunity
Neither the European Union nor the United States has approved boosters, but pharmaceutical companies are studying them.
Moderna said on Thursday it believes booster shots will be needed by the winter and claims its three vaccine candidates “induced robust antibody responses” against variants like Gamma, Beta and Delta.
Last week, Pfizer released a trial update that claimed its third dose generated virus-neutralizing antibodies against the Delta variant more than five times higher in younger people and more than 11 times higher in older people than from two doses.
COVID-19 vaccines still provide strong protection against the variant, but countries like the United States have had to reintroduce policies for further protection against Delta. The CDC recently cited Delta’s surge for its updated advice that fully vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in areas with high transmission.
While U.S. officials say most of the cases are among the unvaccinated, recent studies show the virus has infected those who are fully vaccinated — described as breakthrough cases. A recent CDC report suggested Delta could be as contagious as chickenpox.
4:08 Impact of the Delta variant
Impact of the Delta variant
For Bowman, Canada needs to think about the decisions it makes.
“Look, this story is not over yet and we need to live with this moral legacy as well of the decisions we make and the decisions we make as a nation will define who we are,” he said.
“This is a very critical point we’re at — I think it’s important we get this right ethically as well as scientifically.”
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
