Roundup: Long-term care and quarantine

Posted on by

Andrew Scheer was out first this morning, saying that he was trying to get some kind of a deal with the government on how to bring parliament back next week as they are scheduled to, and that he wants in-person sittings of some variety to ensure ongoing accountability (and he’s right). But when asked about bringing his family on that flight when they weren’t planning on them being there (and apparently Senator Don Plett had to get a different flight because it was suddenly full with Scheer’s family), he brushed off said questions. He then spent the rest of the day raising “serious concerns” about the WHO and its recommendations (recall that Jason Kenney on Monday accused Dr. Theresa Tam of repeating talking points from the People’s Republic of China), because what the world needs right now is to hew to the Trumpian instincts to undermine international institutions.

Next up was prime minister Justin Trudeau for his daily presser, in which he announced that four planes full of N95 masks have arrived and are in the process of being validated and distributed, before he brought up $130 million of new funding for the northern territories, including more money for healthcare, for Nutrition North, for northern air carriers, and money for the CanNor development agency. He also noted that they were working to enhance the Canada Emergency Business Account programme and were looking into something about commercial rent (though that’s provincial jurisdiction, so not sure what the federal government could do). As if that weren’t enough, he also raised that they were strengthening some of the measures under the Quarantine Act, as well as boosting the capacity of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, particularly when it comes to ensuring there are more inspectors on the line. Oh, and he didn’t offer any apologies for his trip to Harrington Lake on the weekend, so there was also that. When asked about the issue of long-term care facilities (which is provincial jurisdiction), Trudeau did say they were working with the provinces to see about sending some additional funds to bolster salaries, so there’s also that.

Meanwhile, Vancouver’s city council tried to meet “virtually,” and here’s how that went down, in case anyone thinks it would actually go any better with 338 MPs in parliament.

Good reads:

  • Here’s a further look at the vulnerabilities in our long-term care system in this country that the pandemic has exposed in a fatal way.
  • The Royal Canadian Mint has retooled to create hand sanitizer and plastic face-shields for hospital workers.
  • Maclean’s has a longread on what has been transpiring among the Wet’suwet’en since their provisional agreement with the federal government.
  • Here’s a look at the actual problem of wealthy Torontonians going up to Muskoka to isolate there (which proves the Harrington Lake comparisons are specious).
  • There are concerns about the virtual healthcare app that Jason Kenney is promoting in Alberta (which is now popping up in other provinces).
  • Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column looks at the options being presented about the return of Parliament, and the attempt to make a deal on how that happens.
  • Kevin Carmichael makes the case for Trudeau to extend the term of Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz (though that might be more up to Poloz to accept).
  • Susan Delacourt pokes around Jason Kenney’s taking swipes at Dr. Theresa Tam and tries to determine if there is some deeper meaning.
  • Chris Selley points out the fundamental problem with temporary foreign workers that this crisis (and the quarantine measures) is exposing.
  • Colby Cosh delves into the medical literature about COVID-19 and the loss of smell, and what is actually being said about it.
  • My column looks at what transpired during Saturday’s emergency sitting of Parliament as proof of why we need have more ongoing sittings through this crisis.

Odds and ends:

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.

6 thoughts on “Roundup: Long-term care and quarantine”

  1. Wow, that Vancouver Council meeting is every municipal clerk’s nightmare right now!

  2. Hi, the hyperlink on “concerns” about a virtual healthcare app takes me to a Maclean’s page about how to make donations of various sorts. Doesn’t look like the intended link.

  3. Technical glitches and a test pattern would be more informative than the “Andy and Skippy Show,” with the two bobblehead puppets doing their performative tantrums and conspiracy-mongering. They’ve turned Parliament into a shock jock morning zoo. Why should they continue to have the opportunity to debase the HoC with their made-for-TV Trumpian trash-talk nonsense? Because “tradition”? Or because “really great ratings”?

    I fail to see why it’s “essential” especially during a pandemic to have the wannabe Ted Cruz impersonators brought to the Saturday Night Live set to read “Green Eggs and Ham” in person like the juvenile trolls they are. Just put them in a chatroom so the adults can leave them on mute. A shadow ban for the shadow government sounds about right.

  4. No time for Andrew Scheer and his nonsense, he has nothing to say for himself and he is showing his Republican Trump colours every day. Same with Kenney a total idiot who is ruining his province. Reading trade journals on Oil and Gas, no one in the industry wants to invest in pipelines now. It is all about saving what ever you can and hope for the best. Kenney will have to explain why he wasted billions on a pipeline, but Alberta will be the poorer province by that time.

  5. “…he [Trudeau] also raised that they were strengthening some of the measures under the Quarantine Act….

    It’s worth noting that these measures were ones that British Columbia had been asking for for weeks. Adding to the initial non-response from the feds was the fact that as late as April 9th the federal government was allowing international flights to land at Kelowna and Victoria airports despite the highly touted March 18th announcement that such flights would only be allowed at Vancouver International. On April 10th, the BC government instituted its own quarantine measures for returning travellers. Premier Horgan noted, “we are in the same book [as the feds] but they are a few pages behind.”

Comments are closed.