As Canadians embark on a new year — the third in a row to be marked by the designation of a global pandemic — many find themselves asking a familiar question: “When will COVID-19 end?”
In December, optimism for a “normal” holiday season was once again overshadowed by a sudden resurgence of cases fuelled by the Omicron variant, forcing several provinces to implement stricter public health restrictions and prompting record case counts not yet seen during the pandemic.
But, despite the looming threat of Omicron, Canada’s top doctor says she remains hopeful going into the new year—one she hopes will allow us to live more comfortably with the virus that has long disrupted life as we know it.
“It’s true that nobody can really have a crystal ball, but I think it’s just a reminder that we’re not in the same place as we were last year,” Dr. Theresa Tam told CTV National News during a year-end interview.
“So much has happened [over the last] 12 months to put us, I think, and I’m still a much better spot than we were a year ago.”
Canada has come a long way in its pandemic response over the last 12 months.
This time last year, we had just started to vaccinate high-risk individuals against COVID-19. Today, Canada boasts one of the highest vaccination rates in the world with more than 82 per cent of the population vaccinated with at least one dose.
With the emergence of new variants like Delta and Omicron, we also learned a lot more about how the virus works, leading to the development of better treatment and diagnostic tools and an evolving understanding of important public health measures such as masking.
And although Tam admits she cannot offer Canadians a clear view of when the pandemic will end, she says these developments will help better manage future waves of the virus without as much disruption.
“Every pandemic comes to an end throughout history. So, at some point, the virus activity will become more predictable,” Tam said.
“I think that in the coming months we might begin to see a little bit more predictability and also be able to protect our high-risk populations so that we can learn to live with this virus more… but I still think that in the next year, we still have to be vigilant and be able to adapt and be flexible as needed.”
THE EVOLVING SCIENCE OF VACCINES: ARE BOOSTERS HERE TO STAY?
Omicron’s spread has also sparked a massive booster shot campaign, with thousands of Canadians lining up to get their third jab, bringing up questions like, “What does it mean to be fully vaccinated?” and, “Will I need multiple booster shots to protect myself?”
In December, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization strongly recommended that booster shots be administered to Canadians aged 50 and older and those in high-risk groups to strengthen the body’s immune response against COVID-19.
But the science surrounding vaccines, Tam says, is evolving as rapidly as the virus itself.
“After one dose, we knew we had to have a second dose, and we had a stretch interval in Canada for that second dose, so we didn’t know the duration of protection of that second dose, as well as what happens when the virus evolves,” she explained.
“Now we’ve learned a little bit more, and that boosters are needed because antibody levels can wane over time. But the good news, I think, in the emerging science is that two doses likely protect you against severe outcomes and that’s almost the most important marker that we should be looking for.”
Tam notes that boosters will also wane over time, but the hope is that it recharges your immune system to further protect against severe outcomes, taking pressure off of the health-care system.
“There’s a possibility that we would need some sort of vaccination on an ongoing basis, but maybe not everyone will need it. Maybe not every year. The timing of those are still unknown,” she added.
When it comes to the availability of booster shots—a factor handled individually by the provinces—Tam urged Canadians to be patient when facing long line-ups or booking delays.
“This is what I would call an ultramarathon—it’s not even a marathon anymore. The whole system is taxed… but people are still trying their hardest to provide vaccines and other supports for the population,” she said.
“Vaccinators are not that easy to come by either. They’re tired. And so, I think if people can line up in an orderly fashion, we’ll get everybody boosted in a relatively short period of time.”
At the same time, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus recently warned that “we will not boost our way out of this pandemic,” saying it is of the utmost importance that we get first and second doses to those who have not yet had them.
Throughout the pandemic, Canada has provided vaccines and financial support to other countries through global efforts like the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative, which pools funds from wealthier countries to buy vaccines for low and middle-income countries.
So far, Canada has donated more than 9.2 million surplus vaccine doses through COVAX and over 762,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean through direct bilateral agreements. Still, there are calls to do more as Canada’s vaccine reserve fills up.
When asked about Canada’s efforts to provide vaccines to other countries, Tam agreed that every developed country should be providing vaccines to low income countries, but maintained that boosters are important for Canadians, especially those in higher risk groups.
“I think it Canada is taking a very reasonable approach. And we’ve we kind of have to do both… even though we’re in a developed country, it’s in a very fragile state and we got to do all that we can to minimize the severe outcomes and protect our tired and stressed healthcare system,” Tam said.
WHAT ABOUT RAPID TESTS?
Also in short supply are rapid antigen tests (RATs), a tool many provinces have pivoted towards amid the Omicron surge as provincial testing centres hit capacity.
The fast-acting tests that provide results in as little as 15 minutes have become highly sought after amid the Omicron surge as Canadians try to navigate the holiday season safely. In provinces like Ontario and Alberta, rapid testing kits were made free to each household, but supplies quickly ran out sparking outrage about supply.
But Tam says while there is a definite use-case for rapid tests, they are not an infinite resource or a fix-all.
“I think we’re all learning how to use these tests wisely. Some of the most important [reasons] to do a rapid test is to keep schools and essential workplaces functioning and targeting them to protect the high-risk health-care workers, the long-term care [workers] and the visitors to those places are really vital,” she said.
“I think it is difficult when people can’t find a test before they socialize. But we do have to really retain those rapid tests for those who need them the most.”
Tam also notes that rapid tests are only considered an added layer of protection against infection, not a guarantee.
“If you get a negative rapid test just remember this is more like a yellow light, it doesn’t mean that you’re free of the virus, particularly something that spreads as quickly as the Omicron virus. You have to test very frequently in order to be able to detect if you have been infected in between the tests,” she explained.
Despite some provinces doling out free rapid test kits to families over the holidays, Tam says she isn’t sure that providing rapid tests to every Canadian household, like they do in the U.K., would be the best use of supplies.
“If you look at the United Kingdom, they use more rapid tests, but that hasn’t necessarily reduced the health impacts. In Canada, we’ve actually done better overall in terms of our severe outcomes and number of deaths,” she said.
“So even though the U.K. deployed a lot of rapid tests, it has not meant that the impact of COVID is any less on them. So again, we have to use these tests as an additional layer but as a means to just cast off the other layers of protection.”
Despite the sharp rise in cases, Tam says the Omicron variant is teaching us yet another important lesson about how COVID-19 may evolve, noting “there are definitely more positive things awaiting us ahead.”
“We have to remain optimistic. Nobody wants this pandemic that keeps carrying on, everyone is tired, but you know, we can’t do anything except for maintain that hope.”
NEMASKA – For the first time in their history, members of the Cree community of Nemaska received a visit from a sitting Quebec premier on Sunday and were able to share first-hand the story of how they were displaced by a hydroelectric project in the 1970s.
François Legault was greeted in Nemaska by men and women who arrived by canoe to re-enact the founding of their new village in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, in northern Quebec, 47 years ago. The community was forced in the early 1970s to move from their original location because they were told it would be flooded as part of the Nottaway-Broadback-Rupert hydro project.
The reservoir was ultimately constructed elsewhere, but by then the members of the village had already left for other places, abandoning their homes and many of their belongings in the process.
George Wapachee, co-author of the book “Going Home,” said community members were “relocated for nothing.”
“We didn’t know what the rights were, or who to turn to,” he said in an interview. “That turned us into refugees and we were forced to abandon the life we knew.”
The book, published in 2022 by Wapachee and Susan Marshall, is filled with stories of Cree community members. Leaving behind sewing machines and hunting dogs, they were initially sent to two different villages, 100 and 300 kilometres away, Wapachee said.
In their new homes, several of them were forced to live in “deplorable conditions,” and some were physically and verbally abused, he said. The new village of Nemaska was only built a few years later, in 1977.
“At this time, families were losing their children to prison-schools,” he said, in reference to the residential school system. “Imagine the burden of losing your community as well.”
Legault’s visit came on Sept. 15, when the community gathers every year to remember the founding of the “New Nemaska,” on the shores of Lake Champion in the heart of the boreal forest, some 1,500 kilometres from Montreal. Nemaska Chief Clarence Jolly said the community invited Legault to a traditional feast on Sunday, and planned to present him with Wapachee’s book and tell him their stories.
Thomas Jolly, a former chief, said he was 15 years old when he was forced to leave his village with all his belongings in a single bag.
Meeting Legault was important “because have to recognize what happened and we have to talk about the repercussions that the relocation had on people,” he said, adding that those effects are still felt today.
Earlier Sunday, Legault had been in the Cree community of Eastmain, where he participated in the official renaming of a hydro dam in honour of former premier Bernard Landry.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
WINNIPEG – A backbencher with Manitoba’s NDP government has been removed from caucus over his link to convicted sex offender Peter Nygard.
Caucus chair Mike Moyes says it learned early Monday that a business partner of Mark Wasyliw is acting as Nygard’s criminal defence lawyer.
Moyes says Wasyliw was notified of the decision.
“Wasyliw’s failure to demonstrate good judgment does not align with our caucus principles of mutual respect and trust,” Moyes said in a statement.
“As such MLA Wasyliw can no longer continue his role in our caucus.”
Nygard, who founded a fashion empire in Winnipeg, was sentenced earlier this month to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting four women at his company’s headquarters in Toronto.
The 83-year-old continues to face charges in Manitoba, Quebec and the United States.
Moyes declined to say whether Wasyliw would be sitting as an Independent.
The legislature member for Fort Garry was first elected in 2019. Before the NDP formed government in 2023, Wasyliw served as the party’s finance critic.
He previously came under fire from the Opposition Progressive Conservatives for continuing to work as a lawyer while serving in the legislature.
At the time, Wasyliw told the Winnipeg Free Press that he was disappointed he wasn’t named to cabinet and planned to continue working as a defence lawyer.
Premier Wab Kinew objected to Wasyliw’s decision, saying elected officials should focus on serving the public.
There were possible signs of tension between Wasyliw and Kinew last fall. Wasyliw didn’t shake hands with the new premier after being sworn into office. Other caucus members shook Kinew’s hand, hugged or offered a fist bump.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
