COVID-19 'Pandemic'
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KINSELLA: COVID returns with a vengeance as people ditch masks
Author of the article:Warren Kinsella
Publishing date:Apr 06, 2022 • 23 hours ago • 3 minute read • 267 Comments
This photo depicts a couple obeying masking rules while shopping for groceries
This photo depicts a couple obeying masking rules while shopping for groceries PHOTO BY FILE PHOTO /Getty Images
Article content
We don’t even have to ask.
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
About whether you’ve got friends and family who have gotten COVID, that is. Because we all know the truth: lots and lots of people are getting it. Everyone is talking about it, all over.
Maybe you’ve gotten it, too. Maybe you’ve got it right now.
Sure, lots of people have dodged COVID for two years. No longer: their luck has run out. And, now, it certainly seems like more people are getting sick than ever before.
COVID-19 — which never really left — is back. With a vengeance.
In Ontario, to cite just one example, it’s estimated that 30,000 people are now getting sick every single day. We have to use “estimates,” unfortunately, because Canadian governments have basically abandoned their obligation to carefully track how many of us are getting sick.
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
But some things we do know. Here in Ontario, again, 173 patients were in intensive care units on Tuesday — 96 of those patients required a ventilator to breathe. That number is up from last week. Meanwhile, yet more deaths — a total of 12,479 so far. And, tellingly, hospitalizations on Tuesday climbed past the 1,000 mark, for the first time since February.
We can blame governments — of all stripes and at all levels — for what’s happening. But they’re only partly to blame. We’re to blame, too. Because, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we all know one thing has created the sixth wave more than any other.
Too many people have stopped wearing masks.
That’s a big mistake, and we’re now all paying the price. Here’s five simple reasons why we need to resist the temptation to toss out our masks. Clip and save.
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
They work — to some, even better than vaccines. The director of the Center for Disease Control has testified in Congress that masks have been “the most powerful tool’ in the war against COVID.
“We have clear scientific evidence they work, and they are our best defence,” Dr. Robert Redfield said. “I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine.”
Vaccines work, sure. But their effectiveness fades over time. And they don’t cure, they prevent. That’s not all: many people have bona fide reasons for refusing vaccines. But there exists no medical reason for refusing to wear a mask where the circumstances warrant it. Everyone is fed up with masks, of course. But they work. Still.
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Article content
Masks are logical. COVID, as everyone knows, is spread through respiratory droplets — when a person coughs, sneezes or even talks. Redfield’s CDC says face masks, worn properly, are “particularly important” when you can’t maintain a six-foot distance from someone else. You can still get, and spread, the virus when vaccinated. But if you and everyone around you is wearing the right mask, properly, the risk drops to almost zero.
Variants come and go. And not all vaccines protect against all variants, either, as we are now experiencing, the hard way. But masks work against every variant to date, and every variant that is coming our way. Whatever their genetic mutations, masks protect against any strain of COVID.
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
You know masks work. You know it. The outbreaks we are now seeing, everywhere, aren’t because people stopped getting vaccinated — they’re still getting vaccinated, and in record numbers in places like Ontario. It’s not necessarily because we got rid of vaccine passports, either, although that likely didn’t help.
The big change?
People stopped wearing masks. And COVID infections have gotten worse, and are getting worse every day.
The pandemic isn’t over. COVID-19 isn’t done with us. Get vaccinated, if you can. Socially distance and hand-wash, all that.
But don’t toss out your mask. Too many people did — and now too many people are getting sick.
— Kinsella was chief of staff to a federal Liberal minister of health
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Warren Kinsella
Publishing date:Apr 06, 2022 • 23 hours ago • 3 minute read • 267 Comments
This photo depicts a couple obeying masking rules while shopping for groceries
This photo depicts a couple obeying masking rules while shopping for groceries PHOTO BY FILE PHOTO /Getty Images
Article content
We don’t even have to ask.
Advertisement 2
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
About whether you’ve got friends and family who have gotten COVID, that is. Because we all know the truth: lots and lots of people are getting it. Everyone is talking about it, all over.
Maybe you’ve gotten it, too. Maybe you’ve got it right now.
Sure, lots of people have dodged COVID for two years. No longer: their luck has run out. And, now, it certainly seems like more people are getting sick than ever before.
COVID-19 — which never really left — is back. With a vengeance.
In Ontario, to cite just one example, it’s estimated that 30,000 people are now getting sick every single day. We have to use “estimates,” unfortunately, because Canadian governments have basically abandoned their obligation to carefully track how many of us are getting sick.
Advertisement 3
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
But some things we do know. Here in Ontario, again, 173 patients were in intensive care units on Tuesday — 96 of those patients required a ventilator to breathe. That number is up from last week. Meanwhile, yet more deaths — a total of 12,479 so far. And, tellingly, hospitalizations on Tuesday climbed past the 1,000 mark, for the first time since February.
We can blame governments — of all stripes and at all levels — for what’s happening. But they’re only partly to blame. We’re to blame, too. Because, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we all know one thing has created the sixth wave more than any other.
Too many people have stopped wearing masks.
That’s a big mistake, and we’re now all paying the price. Here’s five simple reasons why we need to resist the temptation to toss out our masks. Clip and save.
Advertisement 4
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
They work — to some, even better than vaccines. The director of the Center for Disease Control has testified in Congress that masks have been “the most powerful tool’ in the war against COVID.
“We have clear scientific evidence they work, and they are our best defence,” Dr. Robert Redfield said. “I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine.”
Vaccines work, sure. But their effectiveness fades over time. And they don’t cure, they prevent. That’s not all: many people have bona fide reasons for refusing vaccines. But there exists no medical reason for refusing to wear a mask where the circumstances warrant it. Everyone is fed up with masks, of course. But they work. Still.
Advertisement 5
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
Masks are logical. COVID, as everyone knows, is spread through respiratory droplets — when a person coughs, sneezes or even talks. Redfield’s CDC says face masks, worn properly, are “particularly important” when you can’t maintain a six-foot distance from someone else. You can still get, and spread, the virus when vaccinated. But if you and everyone around you is wearing the right mask, properly, the risk drops to almost zero.
Variants come and go. And not all vaccines protect against all variants, either, as we are now experiencing, the hard way. But masks work against every variant to date, and every variant that is coming our way. Whatever their genetic mutations, masks protect against any strain of COVID.
Advertisement 6
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
You know masks work. You know it. The outbreaks we are now seeing, everywhere, aren’t because people stopped getting vaccinated — they’re still getting vaccinated, and in record numbers in places like Ontario. It’s not necessarily because we got rid of vaccine passports, either, although that likely didn’t help.
The big change?
People stopped wearing masks. And COVID infections have gotten worse, and are getting worse every day.
The pandemic isn’t over. COVID-19 isn’t done with us. Get vaccinated, if you can. Socially distance and hand-wash, all that.
But don’t toss out your mask. Too many people did — and now too many people are getting sick.
— Kinsella was chief of staff to a federal Liberal minister of health
KINSELLA: COVID returns with a vengeance as people ditch masks
We don't even have to ask. About whether you've got friends and family who have gotten COVID, that is.
were totally fucked.KINSELLA: COVID returns with a vengeance as people ditch masks
Author of the article:Warren Kinsella
Publishing date:Apr 06, 2022 • 23 hours ago • 3 minute read • 267 Comments
This photo depicts a couple obeying masking rules while shopping for groceries
This photo depicts a couple obeying masking rules while shopping for groceries PHOTO BY FILE PHOTO /Getty Images
Article content
We don’t even have to ask.
Advertisement 2
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
About whether you’ve got friends and family who have gotten COVID, that is. Because we all know the truth: lots and lots of people are getting it. Everyone is talking about it, all over.
Maybe you’ve gotten it, too. Maybe you’ve got it right now.
Sure, lots of people have dodged COVID for two years. No longer: their luck has run out. And, now, it certainly seems like more people are getting sick than ever before.
COVID-19 — which never really left — is back. With a vengeance.
In Ontario, to cite just one example, it’s estimated that 30,000 people are now getting sick every single day. We have to use “estimates,” unfortunately, because Canadian governments have basically abandoned their obligation to carefully track how many of us are getting sick.
Advertisement 3
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
But some things we do know. Here in Ontario, again, 173 patients were in intensive care units on Tuesday — 96 of those patients required a ventilator to breathe. That number is up from last week. Meanwhile, yet more deaths — a total of 12,479 so far. And, tellingly, hospitalizations on Tuesday climbed past the 1,000 mark, for the first time since February.
We can blame governments — of all stripes and at all levels — for what’s happening. But they’re only partly to blame. We’re to blame, too. Because, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we all know one thing has created the sixth wave more than any other.
Too many people have stopped wearing masks.
That’s a big mistake, and we’re now all paying the price. Here’s five simple reasons why we need to resist the temptation to toss out our masks. Clip and save.
Advertisement 4
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
They work — to some, even better than vaccines. The director of the Center for Disease Control has testified in Congress that masks have been “the most powerful tool’ in the war against COVID.
“We have clear scientific evidence they work, and they are our best defence,” Dr. Robert Redfield said. “I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine.”
Vaccines work, sure. But their effectiveness fades over time. And they don’t cure, they prevent. That’s not all: many people have bona fide reasons for refusing vaccines. But there exists no medical reason for refusing to wear a mask where the circumstances warrant it. Everyone is fed up with masks, of course. But they work. Still.
Advertisement 5
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
Masks are logical. COVID, as everyone knows, is spread through respiratory droplets — when a person coughs, sneezes or even talks. Redfield’s CDC says face masks, worn properly, are “particularly important” when you can’t maintain a six-foot distance from someone else. You can still get, and spread, the virus when vaccinated. But if you and everyone around you is wearing the right mask, properly, the risk drops to almost zero.
Variants come and go. And not all vaccines protect against all variants, either, as we are now experiencing, the hard way. But masks work against every variant to date, and every variant that is coming our way. Whatever their genetic mutations, masks protect against any strain of COVID.
Advertisement 6
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
You know masks work. You know it. The outbreaks we are now seeing, everywhere, aren’t because people stopped getting vaccinated — they’re still getting vaccinated, and in record numbers in places like Ontario. It’s not necessarily because we got rid of vaccine passports, either, although that likely didn’t help.
The big change?
People stopped wearing masks. And COVID infections have gotten worse, and are getting worse every day.
The pandemic isn’t over. COVID-19 isn’t done with us. Get vaccinated, if you can. Socially distance and hand-wash, all that.
But don’t toss out your mask. Too many people did — and now too many people are getting sick.
— Kinsella was chief of staff to a federal Liberal minister of health
KINSELLA: COVID returns with a vengeance as people ditch masks
We don't even have to ask. About whether you've got friends and family who have gotten COVID, that is.
Bird flu spreads to 11 Ontario farms, claims 84,000 birds
Ontario is the largest producer of poultry in the country
Author of the articlean Brown
Publishing date:Apr 11, 2022 • 13 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
A sign at the entrance to a turkey farm in Oxford County in 2015 notifies visitors of enhanced biosecurity measures following an outbreak of bird flu. A new strain of bird flu has been found at 11 Ontario farms, including two in the London region. (File photo)
A sign at the entrance to a turkey farm in Oxford County in 2015 notifies visitors of enhanced biosecurity measures following an outbreak of bird flu. A new strain of bird flu has been found at 11 Ontario farms, including two in the London region. (File photo)
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About 84,000 birds in Ontario have died or been destroyed since a new strain of bird flu was detected in the province last month.
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Craig Price, who is heading up the federal government’s response to the discovery of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu, said at a media briefing Monday outbreaks have been confirmed at 11 properties in Ontario. The latest case, detected Sunday, was found in the Township of Glengarry just west of the Quebec border.
Price wouldn’t say how many birds have been destroyed in the two outbreaks closest to London – in Chatham-Kent and western Oxford County – in order to protect the identities of the producers involved.
In 2015, federal and provincial officials spent months containing and eventually eradicating a strain of bird flu. That outbreak was contained to three farms in Oxford County. About 80,000 birds, mostly turkeys, were wiped out.
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Ontario is the largest producer of poultry in the country, with much of the industry in Southwestern Ontario.
Price, the incident commander for the national emergency operations centre on avian influenza at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said more than 260,000 birds have died or been destroyed across the country. Outbreaks have been confirmed in Alberta, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Ontario.
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Canada Food Inspection Agency vehicles sit outside of a turkey farm on Highway 2 in Oxford County following an outbreak of bird flu in 2015. (London Free Press file photo)
Bird flu: Another London region farm hit by outbreak
Officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency make a line of mulch on Thursday, March 31, 2022, on the driveway of a poultry farm in Oxford County. One person is wearing a full hazardous-materials suit. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)
Local movement of birds, eggs restricted as officials seek to contain bird flu
A sign at the entrance to a turkey farm on Oxford County in 2015 notifies visitors of enhanced biosecurity measures following an outbreak of bird flu. A new strain of bird flu has been found at a farm near Thamesford, an industry group says. File photo
Bird flu confirmed at London-area farm: industry group
Canada Food Inspection Agency vehicles sit outside of a turkey farm on Highway 2 in Oxford County following an outbreak of bird flu in 2015. (London Free Press file photo)
Bird flu found in fourth southern Ontario flock
A sign at the entrance to a turkey farm on Oxford County in 2015 notifies visitors of enhanced biosecurity measures following an outbreak of bird flu. A new strain of bird flu has been found at three southern Ontario farms, including one near Thamesford. File photo
Bird flu confirmed at third farm in southern Ontario
The agency says bird flu is spreading in wild bird populations around the world and is a “significant national concern” as birds migrate to Canada.
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The first confirmed case in a wild bird in the province was a red-tailed hawk found in the Region of Waterloo on March 21, Chris Sharp, a federal-government biologist, said at the same briefing. The hawk “was showing neurological signs and it was euthanized,” Sharp said.
The first outbreak in Ontario poultry was confirmed by officials on March 27 in the Township of Guelph-Eramosa in a turkey flock.
Price did not specify where in Chatham-Kent the 10th outbreak was detected.
“We have not seen or observed evidence of farm-to-farm movement of the disease” in any of the outbreaks in Canada, Price said. Such transmission is possible, but the current outbreaks are “most likely an introduction through wild birds.”
This is the first time the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found in Canada, said Mary Jane Ireland, the executive director of the animal health directorate, policy and programs branch at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Canada’s chief veterinary officer, who also was at the briefing.
“I think this is, in recent memory, one of the larger number of cases in multiple provinces of avian influenza and the first time we have had H5N1,” she said.
Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs says bird flu is not a threat to food safety when properly handled and cooked.
It also says avian influenza is not a significant public health concern for healthy people who are not in regular contact with infected birds.
danbrown@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/DanatLFPress
torontosun.com
Ontario is the largest producer of poultry in the country
Author of the article
an BrownPublishing date:Apr 11, 2022 • 13 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
A sign at the entrance to a turkey farm in Oxford County in 2015 notifies visitors of enhanced biosecurity measures following an outbreak of bird flu. A new strain of bird flu has been found at 11 Ontario farms, including two in the London region. (File photo)
A sign at the entrance to a turkey farm in Oxford County in 2015 notifies visitors of enhanced biosecurity measures following an outbreak of bird flu. A new strain of bird flu has been found at 11 Ontario farms, including two in the London region. (File photo)
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About 84,000 birds in Ontario have died or been destroyed since a new strain of bird flu was detected in the province last month.
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Scientists discover how caffeine protects against cardiovascular disease
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Craig Price, who is heading up the federal government’s response to the discovery of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu, said at a media briefing Monday outbreaks have been confirmed at 11 properties in Ontario. The latest case, detected Sunday, was found in the Township of Glengarry just west of the Quebec border.
Price wouldn’t say how many birds have been destroyed in the two outbreaks closest to London – in Chatham-Kent and western Oxford County – in order to protect the identities of the producers involved.
In 2015, federal and provincial officials spent months containing and eventually eradicating a strain of bird flu. That outbreak was contained to three farms in Oxford County. About 80,000 birds, mostly turkeys, were wiped out.
Advertisement 3
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
Ontario is the largest producer of poultry in the country, with much of the industry in Southwestern Ontario.
Price, the incident commander for the national emergency operations centre on avian influenza at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said more than 260,000 birds have died or been destroyed across the country. Outbreaks have been confirmed in Alberta, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Ontario.
Canada Food Inspection Agency vehicles sit outside of a turkey farm on Highway 2 in Oxford County following an outbreak of bird flu in 2015. (London Free Press file photo)
Bird flu: Another London region farm hit by outbreak
Officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency make a line of mulch on Thursday, March 31, 2022, on the driveway of a poultry farm in Oxford County. One person is wearing a full hazardous-materials suit. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)
Local movement of birds, eggs restricted as officials seek to contain bird flu
A sign at the entrance to a turkey farm on Oxford County in 2015 notifies visitors of enhanced biosecurity measures following an outbreak of bird flu. A new strain of bird flu has been found at a farm near Thamesford, an industry group says. File photo
Bird flu confirmed at London-area farm: industry group
Canada Food Inspection Agency vehicles sit outside of a turkey farm on Highway 2 in Oxford County following an outbreak of bird flu in 2015. (London Free Press file photo)
Bird flu found in fourth southern Ontario flock
A sign at the entrance to a turkey farm on Oxford County in 2015 notifies visitors of enhanced biosecurity measures following an outbreak of bird flu. A new strain of bird flu has been found at three southern Ontario farms, including one near Thamesford. File photo
Bird flu confirmed at third farm in southern Ontario
The agency says bird flu is spreading in wild bird populations around the world and is a “significant national concern” as birds migrate to Canada.
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Article content
The first confirmed case in a wild bird in the province was a red-tailed hawk found in the Region of Waterloo on March 21, Chris Sharp, a federal-government biologist, said at the same briefing. The hawk “was showing neurological signs and it was euthanized,” Sharp said.
The first outbreak in Ontario poultry was confirmed by officials on March 27 in the Township of Guelph-Eramosa in a turkey flock.
Price did not specify where in Chatham-Kent the 10th outbreak was detected.
“We have not seen or observed evidence of farm-to-farm movement of the disease” in any of the outbreaks in Canada, Price said. Such transmission is possible, but the current outbreaks are “most likely an introduction through wild birds.”
This is the first time the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found in Canada, said Mary Jane Ireland, the executive director of the animal health directorate, policy and programs branch at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Canada’s chief veterinary officer, who also was at the briefing.
“I think this is, in recent memory, one of the larger number of cases in multiple provinces of avian influenza and the first time we have had H5N1,” she said.
Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs says bird flu is not a threat to food safety when properly handled and cooked.
It also says avian influenza is not a significant public health concern for healthy people who are not in regular contact with infected birds.
danbrown@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/DanatLFPress
Bird flu spreads to 11 Ontario farms, claims 84,000 birds: Agency
About 84,000 birds in Ontario have died or been destroyed since a new strain of bird flu was detected in the province last month.
Ontario politician to colleagues: You'll pay in afterlife for COVID vaccine push
A Perth County councillor who told other councillors they would be punished in the afterlife if they supported a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for employees has been docked a day's pay.
Author of the article:Galen Simmons • Stratford Beacon Herald
Publishing date:Apr 11, 2022 • 22 hours ago • 2 minute read • 80 Comments
Perth County Courthouse (Beacon Herald file photo)
Perth County Courthouse (Beacon Herald file photo)
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STRATFORD – A local county councillor who told his political colleagues they’d be punished in the afterlife if they supported a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for municipal employees has been docked a day’s pay.
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Perth County council imposed the penalty on Coun. Daryl Herlick for breaching council’s code of conduct for the second time in 14 months.
Councillors at a recent meeting heard details from the Toronto law firm that investigated a complaint against Herlick over comments he made during a closed-door council meeting Nov. 4, 2021. During the meeting, councillors discussed a proposed mandatory vaccination policy for non-unionized county employees.
According to the report by the law firm Aird Berlis, which acts as the county’s integrity commissioner, Herlick said councillors who supported the mandate would be punished in the afterlife when they are judged by God, as outlined in the Christian faith.
The complainant, who was not named, said “assurances of Biblical punishment were inappropriate in a council meeting setting and when considering matters of public policy,” the report said.
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Dasha Peregoudova, a labour and employment lawyer with the Toronto firm, said the investigation found Herlick breached council’s code of conduct that calls on councillors to “avoid aggressive, offensive and abusive conduct.”
She recommended that Herlick, who represents Perth East on county council, be docked 10 days’ pay because it was his second violation of the term. A motion to dock Herlick’s pay by 10 days and to reprimand him was defeated, but a majority of councillors agreed to dock him a day’s pay and reprimand him.
The law firm shared the findings of its investigation with Herlick and noted, based on his response, it was clear he “feels overwhelmingly justified in relying on his faith to advocate for his position on issues, as he genuinely believes that mandatory vaccination policies are harmful to citizens. He also has general concerns for humanity or morality related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“The councillor appears to strongly adhere to his interpretation of these events as they relate to Christianity, and accordingly, he is of the view that he, as a believer, is obligated to ‘call out and raise concern if you see sin,’ ” the report said.
Herlick was also reprimanded by council in September 2021 after he was found to have breached council’s code of conduct by posing for a photograph eight months earlier with members of an anti-lockdown group who were not wearing masks, practising social distancing or adhering to public-gathering limits during a state of emergency and stay-at-home order.
An investigation found Herlick breached the code of conduct by posing for the photo that showed him breaking the rules in place and sharing it on social media.
gsimmons@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
A Perth County councillor who told other councillors they would be punished in the afterlife if they supported a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for employees has been docked a day's pay.
Author of the article:Galen Simmons • Stratford Beacon Herald
Publishing date:Apr 11, 2022 • 22 hours ago • 2 minute read • 80 Comments
Perth County Courthouse (Beacon Herald file photo)
Perth County Courthouse (Beacon Herald file photo)
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STRATFORD – A local county councillor who told his political colleagues they’d be punished in the afterlife if they supported a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for municipal employees has been docked a day’s pay.
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Scientists discover how caffeine protects against cardiovascular disease
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Perth County council imposed the penalty on Coun. Daryl Herlick for breaching council’s code of conduct for the second time in 14 months.
Councillors at a recent meeting heard details from the Toronto law firm that investigated a complaint against Herlick over comments he made during a closed-door council meeting Nov. 4, 2021. During the meeting, councillors discussed a proposed mandatory vaccination policy for non-unionized county employees.
According to the report by the law firm Aird Berlis, which acts as the county’s integrity commissioner, Herlick said councillors who supported the mandate would be punished in the afterlife when they are judged by God, as outlined in the Christian faith.
The complainant, who was not named, said “assurances of Biblical punishment were inappropriate in a council meeting setting and when considering matters of public policy,” the report said.
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Dasha Peregoudova, a labour and employment lawyer with the Toronto firm, said the investigation found Herlick breached council’s code of conduct that calls on councillors to “avoid aggressive, offensive and abusive conduct.”
She recommended that Herlick, who represents Perth East on county council, be docked 10 days’ pay because it was his second violation of the term. A motion to dock Herlick’s pay by 10 days and to reprimand him was defeated, but a majority of councillors agreed to dock him a day’s pay and reprimand him.
The law firm shared the findings of its investigation with Herlick and noted, based on his response, it was clear he “feels overwhelmingly justified in relying on his faith to advocate for his position on issues, as he genuinely believes that mandatory vaccination policies are harmful to citizens. He also has general concerns for humanity or morality related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“The councillor appears to strongly adhere to his interpretation of these events as they relate to Christianity, and accordingly, he is of the view that he, as a believer, is obligated to ‘call out and raise concern if you see sin,’ ” the report said.
Herlick was also reprimanded by council in September 2021 after he was found to have breached council’s code of conduct by posing for a photograph eight months earlier with members of an anti-lockdown group who were not wearing masks, practising social distancing or adhering to public-gathering limits during a state of emergency and stay-at-home order.
An investigation found Herlick breached the code of conduct by posing for the photo that showed him breaking the rules in place and sharing it on social media.
gsimmons@postmedia.com
Area politician to colleagues: you'll pay in afterlife for COVID vaccine push
A local county councillor who told his political colleagues they'd be punished in the afterlife if they supported a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for…
Humbled British PM apologizes after fine for lockdown birthday bash
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Apr 12, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation
A police officer holds a piece of paper as he leaves 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Britain's Prime Minister, in London on January 25, 2022.
A police officer holds a piece of paper as he leaves 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Britain's Prime Minister, in London on January 25, 2022. PHOTO BY DANIEL LEAL /AFP via Getty Images
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LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized but defied calls to resign on Tuesday after being fined for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by attending a gathering in his office to celebrate his birthday.
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Johnson said people had the right to expect better after he, his wife, and his finance minister Rishi Sunak were fined for breaching laws his government brought in to curb COVID-19.
“It didn’t occur to me that, as I say, that I was in breach of the rules. I now humbly accept that I was,” Johnson said. “I think the best thing I can do now is, having settled the fine, is focus on the job and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Police have been investigating 12 gatherings at Johnson’s Downing Street office and the Cabinet Office after a damning internal inquiry found his staff had enjoyed unauthorized alcohol-fueled parties.
Johnson said he had attended some of the events, held when social mixing was all but banned, but he has always denied knowingly committing any wrongdoing.
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Tuesday’s fine, one of more than 50 police said they would issue, related to a gathering in the Cabinet Room of Downing Street to mark his 56th birthday on June 19, 2020, an event which he said lasted no more than 10 minutes.
“I understand the anger that many will feel that I, myself, fell short, when it came to observing the very rules which the government I lead had introduced to protect the public,” he said in a televised interview from his country residence Chequers.
It is believed to be the first time a British leader has been found to have broken the law while in office.
Johnson swept to power in 2019 on a promise to complete Britain’s exit from the European Union, but his premiership has suffered a series of controversies and missteps in recent months.
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Revelations about boozy Downing Street parties provoked resignation calls from lawmakers in his own Conservative Party earlier this year. However, that pressure has abated with the war in Ukraine in which he has sought to play a leading role in the West’s response.
Some of the gatherings took place when people could not attend funerals or say farewell to loved ones dying in hospital.
After the events were first reported in late 2021, Johnson said there were no parties and that all rules were followed.
He later apologized to parliament for attending one event, which he said he thought was work-related. He also apologized to Queen Elizabeth for another at which staff partied on the eve of her husband’s funeral.
In June 2020, when Johnson’s birthday party took place, people from different households were not allowed to meet indoors and were asked to maintain a two-meter distance from each other.
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The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group said it was “still unbelievably painful” that Johnson had broken his own rules when they were unable to be with dying loved ones.
Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer said Johnson and Sunak had dishonored the sacrifices people had made during the pandemic as well as their own offices of state.
“This is the first time in the history of our country that a prime minister has been found to be in breach of the law, and then he lied repeatedly to the public about it,” Starmer said.
“Britain deserves better, they have to go.”
A snap poll for YouGov found 57% of voters thought he should resign and 75% believed he had knowingly lied. In another survey by Savanta ComRes, 61% said he should quit.
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The prime minister’s immediate future will be determined by Conservative lawmakers, who can trigger a leadership challenge if 54 of the party’s 360 parliamentary members demand a confidence vote.
Some of those who have previously called for his head said now was not the time.
“In the middle of war in Europe, when Vladimir Putin is committing war crimes and the UK is Ukraine’s biggest ally, as President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy said at the weekend, it wouldn’t be right to remove the prime minister at this time,” said Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservative Party.
Others warned Johnson’s long-term position was still far from secure. “This not the end of this matter,” Conservative lawmaker Andrew Bridgen said.
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In Johnson’s favor is the lack of an obvious candidate to replace him. The fines cap a terrible week for Sunak who had been considered a leading contender.
The chancellor was already facing serious questions about his family’s finances and wealth, at a time when large tax rises have taken effect, and when he has been criticized for not doing enough to help Britons through the biggest cost-of-living squeeze since records began in 1956.
His wife Akshata Murty, who owns about 0.9% of Indian IT giant Infosys, confirmed that she had non-domiciled tax status, meaning she did not pay tax on earnings from outside Britain. She said on Friday she would pay British tax on foreign income after days of criticism.
He also faced questions over why he only gave up a U.S. “green card” – an immigration status intended for permanent U.S. residents – after he became finance minister in 2020.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Apr 12, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation
A police officer holds a piece of paper as he leaves 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Britain's Prime Minister, in London on January 25, 2022.
A police officer holds a piece of paper as he leaves 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Britain's Prime Minister, in London on January 25, 2022. PHOTO BY DANIEL LEAL /AFP via Getty Images
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LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized but defied calls to resign on Tuesday after being fined for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by attending a gathering in his office to celebrate his birthday.
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Johnson said people had the right to expect better after he, his wife, and his finance minister Rishi Sunak were fined for breaching laws his government brought in to curb COVID-19.
“It didn’t occur to me that, as I say, that I was in breach of the rules. I now humbly accept that I was,” Johnson said. “I think the best thing I can do now is, having settled the fine, is focus on the job and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Police have been investigating 12 gatherings at Johnson’s Downing Street office and the Cabinet Office after a damning internal inquiry found his staff had enjoyed unauthorized alcohol-fueled parties.
Johnson said he had attended some of the events, held when social mixing was all but banned, but he has always denied knowingly committing any wrongdoing.
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Tuesday’s fine, one of more than 50 police said they would issue, related to a gathering in the Cabinet Room of Downing Street to mark his 56th birthday on June 19, 2020, an event which he said lasted no more than 10 minutes.
“I understand the anger that many will feel that I, myself, fell short, when it came to observing the very rules which the government I lead had introduced to protect the public,” he said in a televised interview from his country residence Chequers.
It is believed to be the first time a British leader has been found to have broken the law while in office.
Johnson swept to power in 2019 on a promise to complete Britain’s exit from the European Union, but his premiership has suffered a series of controversies and missteps in recent months.
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Revelations about boozy Downing Street parties provoked resignation calls from lawmakers in his own Conservative Party earlier this year. However, that pressure has abated with the war in Ukraine in which he has sought to play a leading role in the West’s response.
Some of the gatherings took place when people could not attend funerals or say farewell to loved ones dying in hospital.
After the events were first reported in late 2021, Johnson said there were no parties and that all rules were followed.
He later apologized to parliament for attending one event, which he said he thought was work-related. He also apologized to Queen Elizabeth for another at which staff partied on the eve of her husband’s funeral.
In June 2020, when Johnson’s birthday party took place, people from different households were not allowed to meet indoors and were asked to maintain a two-meter distance from each other.
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Article content
The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group said it was “still unbelievably painful” that Johnson had broken his own rules when they were unable to be with dying loved ones.
Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer said Johnson and Sunak had dishonored the sacrifices people had made during the pandemic as well as their own offices of state.
“This is the first time in the history of our country that a prime minister has been found to be in breach of the law, and then he lied repeatedly to the public about it,” Starmer said.
“Britain deserves better, they have to go.”
A snap poll for YouGov found 57% of voters thought he should resign and 75% believed he had knowingly lied. In another survey by Savanta ComRes, 61% said he should quit.
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The prime minister’s immediate future will be determined by Conservative lawmakers, who can trigger a leadership challenge if 54 of the party’s 360 parliamentary members demand a confidence vote.
Some of those who have previously called for his head said now was not the time.
“In the middle of war in Europe, when Vladimir Putin is committing war crimes and the UK is Ukraine’s biggest ally, as President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy said at the weekend, it wouldn’t be right to remove the prime minister at this time,” said Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservative Party.
Others warned Johnson’s long-term position was still far from secure. “This not the end of this matter,” Conservative lawmaker Andrew Bridgen said.
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In Johnson’s favor is the lack of an obvious candidate to replace him. The fines cap a terrible week for Sunak who had been considered a leading contender.
The chancellor was already facing serious questions about his family’s finances and wealth, at a time when large tax rises have taken effect, and when he has been criticized for not doing enough to help Britons through the biggest cost-of-living squeeze since records began in 1956.
His wife Akshata Murty, who owns about 0.9% of Indian IT giant Infosys, confirmed that she had non-domiciled tax status, meaning she did not pay tax on earnings from outside Britain. She said on Friday she would pay British tax on foreign income after days of criticism.
He also faced questions over why he only gave up a U.S. “green card” – an immigration status intended for permanent U.S. residents – after he became finance minister in 2020.
Humbled British PM apologizes after fine for lockdown birthday bash
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized but defied calls to resign on Tuesday after being fined for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by…
Hillier should be 'reprimanded' over COVID-19 vax posts, Integrity Commissioner says
Author of the article:Antonella Artuso
Publishing date:Apr 13, 2022 • 13 hours ago • 2 minute read • 5 Comments
Randy Hillier pictured at Ottawa police headquarters where he turned himself in to police.
Randy Hillier pictured at Ottawa police headquarters where he turned himself in to police. PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia
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Ontario Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake has recommended that independent MPP Randy Hillier be reprimanded by the legislative assembly following separate investigations into controversial social media posts and his use of public office resources.
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NDP MPP Peggy Sattler launched a complaint alleging Hillier posted online the names and photos of people that were seriously ill or had died and inappropriately linked their illnesses to the use of COVID-19 vaccines.
“Having considered the Legislative Assembly’s swift and categorical censure of Mr. Hillier’s conduct in this matter and that Mr. Hillier issued a public apology to the families involved, the Commissioner nonetheless balanced the mitigating and aggravating features of this case and recommends that the Assembly reprimand Mr. Hillier,” a news release says.
In a separate investigation following a complaint by NDP MPP Ian Arthur, Hillier was alleged to have used constituency or legislative resources for the partisan purpose of promoting No More Lockdowns Canada and the People’s Party of Canada (PPE).
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“Following the inquiry, Commissioner Wake found that Mr. Hillier had not breached section 3 of the Act since no private or pecuniary interest had been engaged but the three breaches of parliamentary convention had been established,” a news release says. “He recommended that Mr. Hillier be reprimanded by the Assembly for these breaches of parliamentary convention.”
Hillier could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
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Independent MPP Randy Hillier speaks before Maxine Bernier, leader of the People's Party of Canada, during a campaign stop Wednesday at the Leaky Tank Restaurant in Sarnia, Ont.
MPP Randy Hillier apologizes for COVID-19 social media post
MPP Randy Hillier.
BONOKOSKI: The often grandiloquent accusations of MPP Randy Hillier
Randy Hillier, independent MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston argues with police at a protest against government measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, in Peterborough, Ont., Saturday, April 24, 2021.
Ontario legislature condemns Randy Hillier's COVID-19 posts, calls for apology
However, the Commissioner notes in his report that the MPP confirmed he would not be seeking re-election and that he was unable to respond to his inquiries unless the assembly lifted an existing censure motion.
“He apologized for not being able to meet the requirements which I had conveyed to him and that he was unable to complete my requests,” Wake said in his report. “Without going into the personal reasons put forward in his letter I was left with the clear impression that he was withdrawing from any further participation in each of the investigations I was conducting.”
aartuso@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Antonella Artuso
Publishing date:Apr 13, 2022 • 13 hours ago • 2 minute read • 5 Comments
Randy Hillier pictured at Ottawa police headquarters where he turned himself in to police.
Randy Hillier pictured at Ottawa police headquarters where he turned himself in to police. PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia
Article content
Ontario Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake has recommended that independent MPP Randy Hillier be reprimanded by the legislative assembly following separate investigations into controversial social media posts and his use of public office resources.
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NDP MPP Peggy Sattler launched a complaint alleging Hillier posted online the names and photos of people that were seriously ill or had died and inappropriately linked their illnesses to the use of COVID-19 vaccines.
“Having considered the Legislative Assembly’s swift and categorical censure of Mr. Hillier’s conduct in this matter and that Mr. Hillier issued a public apology to the families involved, the Commissioner nonetheless balanced the mitigating and aggravating features of this case and recommends that the Assembly reprimand Mr. Hillier,” a news release says.
In a separate investigation following a complaint by NDP MPP Ian Arthur, Hillier was alleged to have used constituency or legislative resources for the partisan purpose of promoting No More Lockdowns Canada and the People’s Party of Canada (PPE).
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“Following the inquiry, Commissioner Wake found that Mr. Hillier had not breached section 3 of the Act since no private or pecuniary interest had been engaged but the three breaches of parliamentary convention had been established,” a news release says. “He recommended that Mr. Hillier be reprimanded by the Assembly for these breaches of parliamentary convention.”
Hillier could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Independent MPP Randy Hillier speaks before Maxine Bernier, leader of the People's Party of Canada, during a campaign stop Wednesday at the Leaky Tank Restaurant in Sarnia, Ont.
MPP Randy Hillier apologizes for COVID-19 social media post
MPP Randy Hillier.
BONOKOSKI: The often grandiloquent accusations of MPP Randy Hillier
Randy Hillier, independent MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston argues with police at a protest against government measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, in Peterborough, Ont., Saturday, April 24, 2021.
Ontario legislature condemns Randy Hillier's COVID-19 posts, calls for apology
However, the Commissioner notes in his report that the MPP confirmed he would not be seeking re-election and that he was unable to respond to his inquiries unless the assembly lifted an existing censure motion.
“He apologized for not being able to meet the requirements which I had conveyed to him and that he was unable to complete my requests,” Wake said in his report. “Without going into the personal reasons put forward in his letter I was left with the clear impression that he was withdrawing from any further participation in each of the investigations I was conducting.”
aartuso@postmedia.com
Hillier should be 'reprimanded' over COVID-19 vax posts, Integrity Commissioner says
Ontario Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake has recommended that independent MPP Randy Hillier be reprimanded by the legislative assembly.
COVID-19 vaccines in national stockpile starting to expire as uptake slows
So far less than 2% of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine supply has expired
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Mia Rabson
Publishing date:Apr 13, 2022 • 16 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
In this file photo taken on Nov. 24, 2021 a nurse prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children for distribution in Montreal.
In this file photo taken on Nov. 24, 2021 a nurse prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children for distribution in Montreal. PHOTO BY ANDREJ IVANOV /AFP via Getty Images
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OTTAWA — Health Canada says almost 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines held in a national inventory have expired since January.
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That includes more than 420,000 doses of Moderna’s Spikevax that hit the end of their shelf life on Tuesday. Those doses had already seen their expiration date pushed back two months.
The government says this is a relatively new issue because dose deliveries were aligned with demand until late last year. But uptake of vaccines has slowed even as governments and public health authorities urge people to get a booster shot.
The Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine booster, formerly known as Moderna, is pictured in an undated file photo.
The Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine booster, formerly known as Moderna, is pictured in an undated file photo. PHOTO BY LINDSAY MOREY /Postmedia Network
More than 80% of Canadians are considered fully vaccinated, while 57% of adults and 15% of teenagers have received a third dose.
Some provinces are extending fourth doses to high-risk populations as well and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization this week issued more urgent advice for younger adults and teens to get their third dose as the sixth wave of COVID-19 keeps growing.
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Still uptake is significantly lower than it has been, falling from a peak of 600,000 doses a day in June, to 250,000 in January, and about 30,000 daily over the last month.
So far less than 2% of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine supply has expired, though that number doesn’t include doses that expired after being shipped to provinces and territories.
Last fall, a Canadian Press survey of provincial governments on wasted doses found at least 120,000 doses sent to provinces had expired, but the data didn’t include numbers from Ontario, which refused to respond to the question.
Dr. Srinivas Murthy, an infectious disease expert at the University of British Columbia, said losing some doses to expiration is normal in vaccine campaigns.
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“You’re distributing a good to all parts of the country with varying uptake rates and varying desires for a specific product during that process, so some products will meet their expiry date,” he said.
Canada has only donated 15 million of the 38 million doses it promised to share from its own supplies, but demand for those has also fallen this year. The COVAX vaccine sharing alliance distributing most donations has slowed its requests in recent weeks as supplies exceeded the ability of countries to get doses into arms.
Murthy said Canada should have done more earlier to facilitate vaccinations in lower-income countries by supporting changes to licensing laws and manufacturing so the vaccines could be made in more places.
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Those changes are now in the works but Murthy said it shouldn’t have taken two years for that to happen.
Canada now has 18 million doses in its national stockpile and the vast majority will expire within the next four months. That includes 4,200 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that run out of time at the end of April, more than 900,000 doses of the pediatric Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that expire in June, and 3.1 million doses from a recent shipment of the new vaccine from Novavax that expire at the end of August.
Almost 5.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adults and teenagers will expire in July and August. Another 8.2 million doses of Spikevax expire between May and October.
Provinces and territories still have between 10 and 12 million doses in their own stockpiles.
Health Canada said in a written statement that it’s working to manage doses to limit expirations, including donating when possible and working with manufacturers to see if expired doses can still be used safely.
Health Canada has revised expiration dates multiple times in the last year, as the companies that make the vaccines were able to get better data on how long the vaccines remained viable.
Pfizer’s shelf life was extended from six months to nine months last summer, and Moderna’s from seven months to nine months in December.
torontosun.com
So far less than 2% of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine supply has expired
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Mia Rabson
Publishing date:Apr 13, 2022 • 16 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
In this file photo taken on Nov. 24, 2021 a nurse prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children for distribution in Montreal.
In this file photo taken on Nov. 24, 2021 a nurse prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children for distribution in Montreal. PHOTO BY ANDREJ IVANOV /AFP via Getty Images
Article content
OTTAWA — Health Canada says almost 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines held in a national inventory have expired since January.
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That includes more than 420,000 doses of Moderna’s Spikevax that hit the end of their shelf life on Tuesday. Those doses had already seen their expiration date pushed back two months.
The government says this is a relatively new issue because dose deliveries were aligned with demand until late last year. But uptake of vaccines has slowed even as governments and public health authorities urge people to get a booster shot.
The Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine booster, formerly known as Moderna, is pictured in an undated file photo.
The Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine booster, formerly known as Moderna, is pictured in an undated file photo. PHOTO BY LINDSAY MOREY /Postmedia Network
More than 80% of Canadians are considered fully vaccinated, while 57% of adults and 15% of teenagers have received a third dose.
Some provinces are extending fourth doses to high-risk populations as well and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization this week issued more urgent advice for younger adults and teens to get their third dose as the sixth wave of COVID-19 keeps growing.
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Still uptake is significantly lower than it has been, falling from a peak of 600,000 doses a day in June, to 250,000 in January, and about 30,000 daily over the last month.
So far less than 2% of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine supply has expired, though that number doesn’t include doses that expired after being shipped to provinces and territories.
Last fall, a Canadian Press survey of provincial governments on wasted doses found at least 120,000 doses sent to provinces had expired, but the data didn’t include numbers from Ontario, which refused to respond to the question.
Dr. Srinivas Murthy, an infectious disease expert at the University of British Columbia, said losing some doses to expiration is normal in vaccine campaigns.
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Article content
“You’re distributing a good to all parts of the country with varying uptake rates and varying desires for a specific product during that process, so some products will meet their expiry date,” he said.
Canada has only donated 15 million of the 38 million doses it promised to share from its own supplies, but demand for those has also fallen this year. The COVAX vaccine sharing alliance distributing most donations has slowed its requests in recent weeks as supplies exceeded the ability of countries to get doses into arms.
Murthy said Canada should have done more earlier to facilitate vaccinations in lower-income countries by supporting changes to licensing laws and manufacturing so the vaccines could be made in more places.
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Article content
Those changes are now in the works but Murthy said it shouldn’t have taken two years for that to happen.
Canada now has 18 million doses in its national stockpile and the vast majority will expire within the next four months. That includes 4,200 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that run out of time at the end of April, more than 900,000 doses of the pediatric Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that expire in June, and 3.1 million doses from a recent shipment of the new vaccine from Novavax that expire at the end of August.
Almost 5.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adults and teenagers will expire in July and August. Another 8.2 million doses of Spikevax expire between May and October.
Provinces and territories still have between 10 and 12 million doses in their own stockpiles.
Health Canada said in a written statement that it’s working to manage doses to limit expirations, including donating when possible and working with manufacturers to see if expired doses can still be used safely.
Health Canada has revised expiration dates multiple times in the last year, as the companies that make the vaccines were able to get better data on how long the vaccines remained viable.
Pfizer’s shelf life was extended from six months to nine months last summer, and Moderna’s from seven months to nine months in December.
COVID-19 vaccines in national stockpile starting to expire as uptake slows
Health Canada says almost 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines held in a national inventory have expired since January.
U.K. PM Johnson shredded ministerial code with lockdown breaches: constitutional expert
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Apr 17, 2022 • 20 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts as he meets with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo in London, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts as he meets with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo in London, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. PHOTO BY JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP via Getty Images
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LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thrust Britain into a constitutional crisis by breaking the law he set for pandemic restrictions, effectively “shredding the ministerial code,” the country’s leading constitutional expert said on Sunday.
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Peter Hennessy, a historian and member of the upper house of parliament, said Johnson had become “the great debaser in modern times of decency in public and political life” after he was fined by police for attending a social gathering in Downing Street while lockdown restrictions were in place.
The ministerial code sets out the standards of conduct expected of ministers and how they discharge their duties, according to the government website.
Johnson has been accused of misleading parliament over the matter by opposition lawmakers after he told parliament last year that all rules were followed in Downing Street during the pandemic. He will appear in the House of Commons on Tuesday to explain why he was fined by police.
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He has also apologized after he became the first British leader found to have broken the law while in office. Police are investigating further gatherings and he could receive further fines.
“I think we’re in the most severe constitutional crisis involving a prime minister that I can remember,” Hennessy told BBC Radio, asking why anyone in public life would adhere to the rules when the prime minister did not.
“The prime minister sealed his place in British history as the first lawbreaker to have occupied the premiership,” he said, adding that he was no longer worthy of serving the queen or her country.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a minister in Johnson’s cabinet, said he respected Hennessy but did not think the constitutional expert had fully understood the constitutional significance of the ministerial code.
Johnson, he said, had told parliament in good faith that he had not broken any rules, because he did not believe he had.
“It is very hard to see that he could meet the high bar of deliberately misleading parliament,” Rees-Mogg told the BBC. “So I think Lord Hennessy, who is one of the most distinguished living constitutionalists, is on this occasion wrong.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Apr 17, 2022 • 20 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts as he meets with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo in London, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts as he meets with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo in London, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. PHOTO BY JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP via Getty Images
Article content
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thrust Britain into a constitutional crisis by breaking the law he set for pandemic restrictions, effectively “shredding the ministerial code,” the country’s leading constitutional expert said on Sunday.
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Article content
Peter Hennessy, a historian and member of the upper house of parliament, said Johnson had become “the great debaser in modern times of decency in public and political life” after he was fined by police for attending a social gathering in Downing Street while lockdown restrictions were in place.
The ministerial code sets out the standards of conduct expected of ministers and how they discharge their duties, according to the government website.
Johnson has been accused of misleading parliament over the matter by opposition lawmakers after he told parliament last year that all rules were followed in Downing Street during the pandemic. He will appear in the House of Commons on Tuesday to explain why he was fined by police.
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Article content
He has also apologized after he became the first British leader found to have broken the law while in office. Police are investigating further gatherings and he could receive further fines.
“I think we’re in the most severe constitutional crisis involving a prime minister that I can remember,” Hennessy told BBC Radio, asking why anyone in public life would adhere to the rules when the prime minister did not.
“The prime minister sealed his place in British history as the first lawbreaker to have occupied the premiership,” he said, adding that he was no longer worthy of serving the queen or her country.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a minister in Johnson’s cabinet, said he respected Hennessy but did not think the constitutional expert had fully understood the constitutional significance of the ministerial code.
Johnson, he said, had told parliament in good faith that he had not broken any rules, because he did not believe he had.
“It is very hard to see that he could meet the high bar of deliberately misleading parliament,” Rees-Mogg told the BBC. “So I think Lord Hennessy, who is one of the most distinguished living constitutionalists, is on this occasion wrong.”
U.K. PM Johnson shredded ministerial code with lockdown breaches: constitutional expert
Boris Johnson has thrust Britain into a constitutional crisis by breaking law he set for pandemic restrictions, constitutional expert says.
Laws for thee , but not for me . So many of these politicians caught flouting their rules on both sides of the pond , it is almost as if they know it is all a hoax or something .U.K. PM Johnson shredded ministerial code with lockdown breaches: constitutional expert
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Apr 17, 2022 • 20 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts as he meets with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo in London, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts as he meets with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo in London, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. PHOTO BY JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP via Getty Images
Article content
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thrust Britain into a constitutional crisis by breaking the law he set for pandemic restrictions, effectively “shredding the ministerial code,” the country’s leading constitutional expert said on Sunday.
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Article content
Peter Hennessy, a historian and member of the upper house of parliament, said Johnson had become “the great debaser in modern times of decency in public and political life” after he was fined by police for attending a social gathering in Downing Street while lockdown restrictions were in place.
The ministerial code sets out the standards of conduct expected of ministers and how they discharge their duties, according to the government website.
Johnson has been accused of misleading parliament over the matter by opposition lawmakers after he told parliament last year that all rules were followed in Downing Street during the pandemic. He will appear in the House of Commons on Tuesday to explain why he was fined by police.
Advertisement 3
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Article content
He has also apologized after he became the first British leader found to have broken the law while in office. Police are investigating further gatherings and he could receive further fines.
“I think we’re in the most severe constitutional crisis involving a prime minister that I can remember,” Hennessy told BBC Radio, asking why anyone in public life would adhere to the rules when the prime minister did not.
“The prime minister sealed his place in British history as the first lawbreaker to have occupied the premiership,” he said, adding that he was no longer worthy of serving the queen or her country.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a minister in Johnson’s cabinet, said he respected Hennessy but did not think the constitutional expert had fully understood the constitutional significance of the ministerial code.
Johnson, he said, had told parliament in good faith that he had not broken any rules, because he did not believe he had.
“It is very hard to see that he could meet the high bar of deliberately misleading parliament,” Rees-Mogg told the BBC. “So I think Lord Hennessy, who is one of the most distinguished living constitutionalists, is on this occasion wrong.”
U.K. PM Johnson shredded ministerial code with lockdown breaches: constitutional expert
Boris Johnson has thrust Britain into a constitutional crisis by breaking law he set for pandemic restrictions, constitutional expert says.
Boris Johnson apologizes to U.K. parliament over lockdown breaches
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
William James and Andrew Macaskill and Alistair Smout
Publishing date:Apr 19, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized to parliament on Tuesday after he was fined by police for breaking lockdown rules, saying he did not know a birthday gathering at the height of the pandemic was in breach of the rules he had set.
Opposition lawmakers argue that the prime minister must go, saying he set stringent rules during COVID-19, broke those rules in Downing Street and then repeatedly lied to parliament when he said all guidelines had been met.
Johnson told the House of Commons he had not deliberately mislead parliament but said it had never occurred to him that he was in breach of the rules. He acknowledged that the public had a right to expect better.
His apology came as the Speaker of the House said a vote could be held on Thursday into whether Johnson should be investigated over claims he misled parliament.
Under the ministerial code, knowingly misleading parliament is an offense that should result in resignation.
“As soon as I received the notice (from the police), I acknowledged the hurt and the anger, and I said that people had a right to expect better of their prime minister,” Johnson told parliament.
Labour leader Keir Starmer accused Johnson of failing to respect the sacrifices made by the British public during lockdowns, and of demeaning his office.
Urging him to resign, he said the prime minister had the chance to: “bring decency, honesty and integrity back into our politics and stop the denigration of everything that this country stands for.”
Johnson told parliament in December that “all guidance was followed completely” over the lockdown restrictions. He was fined by the police last week after an internal inquiry found Downing Street held alcohol-fueled parties at a time when people were not allowed to attend funerals or visit the sick.
Initial reports of the parties caused a furore in Britain, but pressure from Johnson’s own lawmakers has abated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in which he has sought to play a leading role in the West’s response. While a handful have repeated calls for him to go, most say now is not the time.
However Mark Harper, a former Conservative chief whip who once helped maintain party discipline, used the occasion to tell Johnson in the chamber that he needed to quit, saying he did not believe “he is worthy of the great office that he holds.”
FULL INQUIRY
Lawmakers will now vote on Thursday on whether Johnson should be referred to parliament’s privileges committee for an inquiry.
However, the motion is unlikely to pass because Johnson retains the support of most lawmakers in his Conservative Party and can still command a majority in parliament.
In his first statement to parliament since being handed the fine, Johnson attempted to deflect some of the criticism by talking about other issues he is dealing with, including the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and immigration.
But the police have investigated 12 gatherings in Downing Street and the prime minister could yet be fined again.
The pressure will also build, with other Conservative lawmakers expected to take the party’s performance in local elections on May 5 into account, along with voter perceptions of the prime minister.
A poll by J L Partners for The Times newspaper, which asked almost 2,000 people to give their view of the prime minister in a few words, found comments from 72% of respondents were negative, compared with 16% that were positive. The most common word used was “liar,” it reported. “Buffoon” featured highly.
John Whittingdale, a former Conservative minister, said that while many of his constituents were angry, now was not the time to replace the prime minister because of the war in Ukraine.
“We currently face the gravest crisis in our global security for a long time and it is essential that we remain focused on beating Putin and stopping the aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
William James and Andrew Macaskill and Alistair Smout
Publishing date:Apr 19, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized to parliament on Tuesday after he was fined by police for breaking lockdown rules, saying he did not know a birthday gathering at the height of the pandemic was in breach of the rules he had set.
Opposition lawmakers argue that the prime minister must go, saying he set stringent rules during COVID-19, broke those rules in Downing Street and then repeatedly lied to parliament when he said all guidelines had been met.
Johnson told the House of Commons he had not deliberately mislead parliament but said it had never occurred to him that he was in breach of the rules. He acknowledged that the public had a right to expect better.
His apology came as the Speaker of the House said a vote could be held on Thursday into whether Johnson should be investigated over claims he misled parliament.
Under the ministerial code, knowingly misleading parliament is an offense that should result in resignation.
“As soon as I received the notice (from the police), I acknowledged the hurt and the anger, and I said that people had a right to expect better of their prime minister,” Johnson told parliament.
Labour leader Keir Starmer accused Johnson of failing to respect the sacrifices made by the British public during lockdowns, and of demeaning his office.
Urging him to resign, he said the prime minister had the chance to: “bring decency, honesty and integrity back into our politics and stop the denigration of everything that this country stands for.”
Johnson told parliament in December that “all guidance was followed completely” over the lockdown restrictions. He was fined by the police last week after an internal inquiry found Downing Street held alcohol-fueled parties at a time when people were not allowed to attend funerals or visit the sick.
Initial reports of the parties caused a furore in Britain, but pressure from Johnson’s own lawmakers has abated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in which he has sought to play a leading role in the West’s response. While a handful have repeated calls for him to go, most say now is not the time.
However Mark Harper, a former Conservative chief whip who once helped maintain party discipline, used the occasion to tell Johnson in the chamber that he needed to quit, saying he did not believe “he is worthy of the great office that he holds.”
FULL INQUIRY
Lawmakers will now vote on Thursday on whether Johnson should be referred to parliament’s privileges committee for an inquiry.
However, the motion is unlikely to pass because Johnson retains the support of most lawmakers in his Conservative Party and can still command a majority in parliament.
In his first statement to parliament since being handed the fine, Johnson attempted to deflect some of the criticism by talking about other issues he is dealing with, including the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and immigration.
But the police have investigated 12 gatherings in Downing Street and the prime minister could yet be fined again.
The pressure will also build, with other Conservative lawmakers expected to take the party’s performance in local elections on May 5 into account, along with voter perceptions of the prime minister.
A poll by J L Partners for The Times newspaper, which asked almost 2,000 people to give their view of the prime minister in a few words, found comments from 72% of respondents were negative, compared with 16% that were positive. The most common word used was “liar,” it reported. “Buffoon” featured highly.
John Whittingdale, a former Conservative minister, said that while many of his constituents were angry, now was not the time to replace the prime minister because of the war in Ukraine.
“We currently face the gravest crisis in our global security for a long time and it is essential that we remain focused on beating Putin and stopping the aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
Boris Johnson apologizes to U.K. parliament over lockdown breaches
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized to parliament on Tuesday after he was fined by police for breaking lockdown rules.
Because then outlets like CBC would have to showcase the result of their anti small business and pro lockdown rhetoric for the last 2 years
U.K. PM Johnson will face contempt probe, reigniting leadership doubts
British leader has been fighting for political survival for months
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Alistair Smout and William James
Publishing date:Apr 21, 2022 • 20 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a blow to his authority on Thursday when lawmakers triggered an investigation into whether he had misled parliament and an influential former ally called on him to quit.
Johnson has been fighting for political survival for months after he told parliament that his Downing Street office had followed all lockdown rules during the COVID pandemic, only for an internal report to find it had held alcohol-fueled parties at that time.
Police have since fined Johnson. He denies deliberately misleading parliament, which is a resigning matter, and says he did not realize he was breaking the rules. He has apologized for his conduct.
During a parliamentary debate politicians from all sides called on Johnson to go, and lawmakers backed an opposition motion that his statements “appear to amount to misleading the House” and should be investigated by its Committee of Privileges. Johnson’s Conservatives did not oppose the move.
The episode reignites questions about Johnson’s future, with further revelations and fines over lockdown parties possible and local elections on May 5 expected to reveal that voters’ trust in his leadership has been badly damaged.
“I don’t want this thing to endlessly go on. But I have absolutely nothing, frankly, to hide,” Johnson told Sky News when asked about the investigations during a visit to India.
In the parliamentary debate before lawmakers approved the motion, one once loyal lawmaker from the ruling Conservatives said the prime minister should now quit.
Steve Baker accused Johnson of breaking the “letter and spirit” of the law, adding: “The prime minister now should be long gone… (He) should just know that the gig’s up.”
Baker, a former minister, strongly supported Johnson over taking Britain out of the European Union and he retains influence among some Conservative lawmakers after successfully coordinating their resistance to efforts to water down Brexit.
‘GRAVE ACCUSATION’
The approach of Johnson’s government to the debate appeared in disarray, as they pulled an amendment designed to delay the motion the morning after they announced it.
The government said it was now satisfied that any parliamentary probe would only take place after the police investigation had finished, even without their amendment.
Johnson’s position had recently been strengthened by his support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, with some of his lawmakers saying it is not the time to change leader.
However some Conservatives had been uneasy at the prospect of being ordered to oppose greater scrutiny of an issue that has damaged voters’ trust in the government.
Johnson now could face the release of further evidence of parties at the heart of government during the stringent lockdowns he had ordered the country to observe.
He may also be fined again for further gatherings, although police said they would delay further updates on their investigation until after local elections on May 5.
To mount a challenge to Johnson’s leadership, 54 Conservative lawmakers must write letters expressing no confidence in him. That would lead to a confidence vote and, if he lost, a contest to replace him.
Opposition leader Keir Starmer led the criticism of Johnson.
“The prime minister has been accused of repeatedly, deliberately and routinely misleading this House over parties held in Downing Street during lockdown,” Starmer said.
“This is a serious and grave accusation. It amounts to contempt of parliament.”
torontosun.com
British leader has been fighting for political survival for months
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Alistair Smout and William James
Publishing date:Apr 21, 2022 • 20 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a blow to his authority on Thursday when lawmakers triggered an investigation into whether he had misled parliament and an influential former ally called on him to quit.
Johnson has been fighting for political survival for months after he told parliament that his Downing Street office had followed all lockdown rules during the COVID pandemic, only for an internal report to find it had held alcohol-fueled parties at that time.
Police have since fined Johnson. He denies deliberately misleading parliament, which is a resigning matter, and says he did not realize he was breaking the rules. He has apologized for his conduct.
During a parliamentary debate politicians from all sides called on Johnson to go, and lawmakers backed an opposition motion that his statements “appear to amount to misleading the House” and should be investigated by its Committee of Privileges. Johnson’s Conservatives did not oppose the move.
The episode reignites questions about Johnson’s future, with further revelations and fines over lockdown parties possible and local elections on May 5 expected to reveal that voters’ trust in his leadership has been badly damaged.
“I don’t want this thing to endlessly go on. But I have absolutely nothing, frankly, to hide,” Johnson told Sky News when asked about the investigations during a visit to India.
In the parliamentary debate before lawmakers approved the motion, one once loyal lawmaker from the ruling Conservatives said the prime minister should now quit.
Steve Baker accused Johnson of breaking the “letter and spirit” of the law, adding: “The prime minister now should be long gone… (He) should just know that the gig’s up.”
Baker, a former minister, strongly supported Johnson over taking Britain out of the European Union and he retains influence among some Conservative lawmakers after successfully coordinating their resistance to efforts to water down Brexit.
‘GRAVE ACCUSATION’
The approach of Johnson’s government to the debate appeared in disarray, as they pulled an amendment designed to delay the motion the morning after they announced it.
The government said it was now satisfied that any parliamentary probe would only take place after the police investigation had finished, even without their amendment.
Johnson’s position had recently been strengthened by his support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, with some of his lawmakers saying it is not the time to change leader.
However some Conservatives had been uneasy at the prospect of being ordered to oppose greater scrutiny of an issue that has damaged voters’ trust in the government.
Johnson now could face the release of further evidence of parties at the heart of government during the stringent lockdowns he had ordered the country to observe.
He may also be fined again for further gatherings, although police said they would delay further updates on their investigation until after local elections on May 5.
To mount a challenge to Johnson’s leadership, 54 Conservative lawmakers must write letters expressing no confidence in him. That would lead to a confidence vote and, if he lost, a contest to replace him.
Opposition leader Keir Starmer led the criticism of Johnson.
“The prime minister has been accused of repeatedly, deliberately and routinely misleading this House over parties held in Downing Street during lockdown,” Starmer said.
“This is a serious and grave accusation. It amounts to contempt of parliament.”
U.K. PM Johnson will face contempt probe, reigniting leadership doubts
Britain's Boris Johnson suffered a blow to his authority Thursday when an investigation was triggered into whether he had misled parliament.
Ontario's 19th bird flu outbreak reported in Huron County
A poultry flock in Huron County has been infected with a new strain of bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.
Author of the articlean Brown
Publishing date:Apr 26, 2022 • 13 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
A poultry flock in Huron County has been infected with a new strain of bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.
There are now 19 outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu in Ontario. The federal agency estimates 250,000 birds in the province have been impacted since the first outbreak was declared March 27.
The federal agency didn’t specify on its website where the affected farm is in Huron County, or the type of poultry.
The other outbreaks closest to London are near Durham in the Municipality of West Grey (confirmed April 9), in Chatham-Kent (confirmed April 6) and near Thamesford in western Oxford County (confirmed March 28).
Control zones have been set up around each property, so officials can control the movement of people and birds on and off those farms.
Outside of Ontario, there are outbreaks in every province except Prince Edward Island.
In 2015, federal and provincial officials spent months containing and eventually eradicating another strain of bird flu. That outbreak was contained to three farms in Oxford County. About 80,000 birds, mostly turkeys, were wiped out.
danbrown@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/DanatLFPress
torontosun.com
A poultry flock in Huron County has been infected with a new strain of bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.
Author of the article
an BrownPublishing date:Apr 26, 2022 • 13 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
A poultry flock in Huron County has been infected with a new strain of bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.
There are now 19 outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu in Ontario. The federal agency estimates 250,000 birds in the province have been impacted since the first outbreak was declared March 27.
The federal agency didn’t specify on its website where the affected farm is in Huron County, or the type of poultry.
The other outbreaks closest to London are near Durham in the Municipality of West Grey (confirmed April 9), in Chatham-Kent (confirmed April 6) and near Thamesford in western Oxford County (confirmed March 28).
Control zones have been set up around each property, so officials can control the movement of people and birds on and off those farms.
Outside of Ontario, there are outbreaks in every province except Prince Edward Island.
In 2015, federal and provincial officials spent months containing and eventually eradicating another strain of bird flu. That outbreak was contained to three farms in Oxford County. About 80,000 birds, mostly turkeys, were wiped out.
danbrown@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/DanatLFPress
Bird flu: Ontario's 19th outbreak reported in Huron County
A poultry flock in Huron County has been infected with a new strain of bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.
Is everyone dead yet ?Ontario's 19th bird flu outbreak reported in Huron County
A poultry flock in Huron County has been infected with a new strain of bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.
Author of the article
Publishing date:Apr 26, 2022 • 13 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
A poultry flock in Huron County has been infected with a new strain of bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.
There are now 19 outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu in Ontario. The federal agency estimates 250,000 birds in the province have been impacted since the first outbreak was declared March 27.
The federal agency didn’t specify on its website where the affected farm is in Huron County, or the type of poultry.
The other outbreaks closest to London are near Durham in the Municipality of West Grey (confirmed April 9), in Chatham-Kent (confirmed April 6) and near Thamesford in western Oxford County (confirmed March 28).
Control zones have been set up around each property, so officials can control the movement of people and birds on and off those farms.
Outside of Ontario, there are outbreaks in every province except Prince Edward Island.
In 2015, federal and provincial officials spent months containing and eventually eradicating another strain of bird flu. That outbreak was contained to three farms in Oxford County. About 80,000 birds, mostly turkeys, were wiped out.
danbrown@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/DanatLFPress
Bird flu: Ontario's 19th outbreak reported in Huron County
A poultry flock in Huron County has been infected with a new strain of bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.