Border brawls and regulating streaming giants

05/13/21 • 23 min

For weeks, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been urging the federal government to tighten border restrictions in an effort to prevent more cases of COVID-19 from entering Canada. But how much is travel influencing the spread of the virus in this third wave? Elamin and Rosie take stock of what the federal government has implemented up to this point, and weigh Ontario’s asks against the latest data. The two also dive into the hullabaloo surrounding Bill C-10, the government’s broadcasting bill, and the confusion over whether it would involve regulating people who post to YouTube and TikTok. Rosie and Elamin break down what’s at the core of the proposed legislation, and what’s at stake politically.

Previous Episode

Concern and confusion over ‘preferred’ vaccines

For months, the Prime Minister has said that the best COVID-19 vaccine is the first one that’s offered to you. If you’ve been watching the headlines this week, that might have felt hard to square with the message brought forward by the independent body of experts offering guidance on approved vaccines (you may know them as the National Advisory Committee on Immunization). NACI this week reiterated their position that mRNA shots — like those from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna — are their “preferred vaccines” over viral vector shots like AstraZeneca, because of the latter’s rare risk of blood clots. But as Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam underscored this week, it all comes down to weighing that risk against the risk of contracting COVID-19. Elamin and Rosie realize it’s a lot of information for anyone to navigate, which has them wondering: if NACI’s main role is to provide recommendations to those distributing vaccines, namely provinces and territories — should this committee be speaking directly to Canadians? Rosie and Elamin also turn their attention to Alberta, which is experiencing the highest active case rate per capita compared to any other province or U.S. state. Premier Jason Kenney has announced a new round of public health restrictions, after facing criticism over waiting too long to enact further measures — and additional criticism from even inside his own caucus, as some MLAs have condemned further restrictions. How can Alberta climb out of this?

Next Episode

Should Canada share its shots?

This week, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to ship 20 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines to countries that need them — meaning our southern neighbours will be sending abroad a total of 80 million shots by the end of June. This comes just days after the WHO urged rich countries like Canada and the U.S. to consider sharing shots before vaccinating its youngest citizens. As Canada gets closer to surpassing the U.S. in administering first doses, should the federal government follow Biden’s lead and consider sending shots to countries that haven’t yet had the chance to protect their citizens? Or does a government’s own citizens need to be taken care of first? Rosie and Elamin also can’t help but notice how the U.S. is reopening far faster than Canada, even as Quebec (and a few weeks ago, Saskatchewan) unveiled its plan to ease restrictions and allow, for example, restaurants and gyms to welcome people indoors as soon as the end of May. Will governments be able to manage the patience of Canadians over the coming months?