Canada

Friday January 27, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 27, 2023

COVID-19 misinformation cost at least 2,800 lives and $300M, new report says

August 7, 2020

The spread of COVID-19 misinformation in Canada cost at least 2,800 lives and $300 million in hospital expenses over nine months of the pandemic, according to estimates in a new report out Thursday.

The report — released by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), an independent research organization that receives federal funding — examined how misinformation affected COVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths between March and November of 2021.

The authors suggest that misinformation contributed to vaccine hesitancy for 2.3 million Canadians. Had more people been willing to roll up their sleeves when a vaccine was first available to them, Canada could have seen roughly 200,000 fewer COVID cases and 13,000 fewer hospitalizations, the report says.

July 15, 2022

Alex Himelfarb, chair of the expert panel that wrote the report, said that its estimates are very conservative because it only examined a nine-month period of the pandemic.

“It’s pretty clear that tens of thousands of hospitalizations did occur because of misinformation,” Himelfarb told reporters. “We are confident that those are conservative estimates.”

Himelfarb also said the $300 million estimate covers only hospital costs — the study didn’t include indirect costs associated with factors such as delayed elective surgeries and lost wages.

A number of studies have found that getting vaccinated can reduce the risk of COVID infection and hospitalization. But only 80 per cent of Canadians have been fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from Health Canada.

June 26, 2019

The CCA report defines two groups of vaccine-hesitant individuals: those who were reluctant to get a shot and those who refused. It says that reluctant individuals expressed concerns about vaccines in general and questioned the speed with which COVID vaccines were developed.

Vaccine refusers, on the other hand, were more likely to believe that the pandemic is a hoax or greatly exaggerated, the report says.

Beyond the health impacts, misinformation is depriving people of their right to be informed, said Stephan Lewandowsky, a professor at the University of Bristol’s School of Psychological Science in the U.K. and one of the report’s authors.

September 24, 2021

“In a democracy, the public should be able to understand the risks we’re facing … and act on that basis,” he said. “But if you’re drenched in misinformation … then you’re distorting the public’s ability — and you’re denying people the right — to be informed about the risks they’re facing.”

The report says misinformation relies on simple messages meant to evoke emotional reactions. It says misinformation is often presented as coming from a credible source, such as a scientific publication. (CBC) 

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro …

 

 

Wednesday January 25, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 25, 2023

Bad Government – Worse Alternative

Trudeau is already into his eighth year in power and he has enough collective wisdom advising him to have understood that his political “biological clock” is ticking.

January 11, 2023

He has outstanding ministers like Anita Anand, Marc Miller and François-Philippe Champagne who would like their chance. The exceptional Chrystia Freeland is tired of just drumming her fingers on the table and may bolt if Trudeau sticks around.

If he does, there are items on his balance sheet that stand out for hard-pressed Canadians. Although plagiarized from the NDP, Trudeau has negotiated and put in place a plan to provide quality affordable daycare. Quite a feat.

At the same time, the chronic underperformers in key files such as Justice, Immigration, Transport and Public safety have been allowed to muddle along, accumulating errors until they become a crisis. Since when has it become a Herculean task to deliver a passport?

An impression of overall incompetence is beginning to stick to Trudeau. He needs a new broom to sweep clean in the PCO (Privy Council Office).

Trudeau’s worst mark on the progressive report card is in the environment.

October 28, 2021

When Guilbault wanders into a meeting of environmentalists today, those who once admired him now start analyzing their shoelaces.

Trudeau bought a pipeline to boost oil sands production but, ever eager to please, Guilbeault surpassed his master by going along with the mindless offshore oil extraction project at Bay du Nord.

Guilbeault has the temerity to try to sell it as”net zero,” by referring only to the extraction process. It’s embarrassing that he thinks he can con people into forgetting that the petroleum is going to get burned somewhere on the planet, contributing of course to global warming and climate change.

At the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Guilbeault has just promised to restore 19 million hectares of land. That lofty undertaking, without the slightest hint of a plan (or a deal with the provinces) only served to remind Canadians of another vapid promise Trudeau made during a previous election: plant a billion trees. The actual number of trees planted was adjacent to zero. Make the announcement and disappear, sums up the Liberal strategy on sustainable development.

August 5, 2022

Brace yourselves because the new year, 2023, will likely be an election year. Should he choose to stick around, Trudeau will be in his fourth contest since first winning in 2015, a prospect as tiring for his troops as it is for Canadians.

The eternal Liberal rallying cry of “don’t split the vote” will also have more resonance than ever. Sure the Liberals successfully portrayed Andrew Scheer as a scary anti-choice relic and Erin O’Toole as (implausibly) an anti-vaxer! They won’t have anything of the kind to throw at the ultra-woke Singh. They will just have to point to Poilievre and, like a scary tale around the campfire, tell folks that Pierre the evil troll is coming for them unless they re-elect Justin the good. (CTV News) 

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro …

Tuesday January 24, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday January 24, 2023

Liberal Cabinet Retreat

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his first stop in Hamilton Monday a chance to grab lunch to go with MP Filomena Tassi at The Burnt Tongue on Locke Street.

October 28, 2022

The prime minister and his cabinet are staying in town this week from Jan. 23 to 25 for their post-holiday retreat.

After ordering a cheeseburger and broccoli cheddar soup, Trudeau took a moment to shake hands with the lunch crowd and pose for some photos.

Leaving the restaurant, he posed for a photo with Ashley Acacio and her three-week-old son Mac in his stroller, even correcting the position of a staffer taking a photo for the pair.

On the way to his vehicle, Trudeau hopped on an HSR bus that stopped to greet riders.

Meanwhile, about 200 demonstrators gathered downtown Monday to protest the retreat, calling for migrant rights. They were joined by anti-war demonstrators and about 25 anti-Trudeau and anti-vaccine mandate protesters.

The protesters marched along Main Street, across Summers Lane and blocked King Street in front of the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel for around 20 minutes.

Trudeau’s itinerary said he is expected to attend the retreat, which will focus on affordability and the economy, at 5:30 p.m. Monday. (Toronto Star) 

December 9, 2022

Meanwhile, it’s at the grocery store. It’s at the gas pumps. It’s at your favourite restaurant.

Nearly everywhere Canadians have gone in the past year, every bill might as well have had an extra charge tacked on to the bottom reading simply: inflation.

A shorthand for what’s essentially the rising cost of living, inflation swept across the globe in 2022 and Canada was not immune from its sting.

Canadians eager to travel in June after years of COVID-19 restrictions were met by a 49.7 per cent year-over-year hike in the cost of accommodations. The rest of that summer saw the average price for regular gasoline soar past $2 per litre in many parts of the country. And in October, Canadians were paying 44.8 per cent more for pasta from the grocery store than the same month a year earlier.

April 25, 2014

Poll after poll showed how stretched Canadian dollars had become amid 40-year highs in inflation, with many forced to make impossible decisions about how to feed their families, pay for medications and keep a roof over their heads.

More than a third (36 per cent) of Canadians say their financial situations are very bad or somewhat bad heading into 2023, according to Ipsos Public Affairs polling conducted exclusively for Global News between Dec. 14 and 16. (Global News) 

In the swearing-in of cabinet following the 2021 federal election, the dropping of the awkwardly named Minister of Middle-Class Prosperity, held by Mona Fortier, signalled the short termed portfolio (2019-2021) was an ill conceived addition to the executive team under Prime Minister Trudeau.

Friday January 20, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 20, 2023

Jacinda Ardern enjoys ‘good night’s sleep’ after decision to quit

August 30, 2022

Jacinda Ardern said today that she had no regrets about standing down as New Zealand’s prime minister, after an announcement that shocked both her supporters and critics.

A day after revealing she would not stand for re-election because she had no more “in the tank”, she said she was feeling a range of emotions from sadness to a “sense of relief”.

Ardern, who will leave office within weeks, said she would not openly back any of the likely candidates to replace her. Her governing Labour Party is trailing in the polls and predicted to lose the next election due in October.

Speaking outside an airport in the North Island city of Napier, where the Labour Party caucus had gathered for a retreat, Ardern, 42, said she had “slept well for the first time in a long time”.

In response to questions by reporters, she rejected suggestions by some commentators that experiences of misogyny had played a role in her decision.

June 28, 2021

Ardern said she had a “message for women in leadership and girls who are considering leadership in the future” that “you can have a family and be in these roles”, adding “you can lead in your own style”.

Ardern was the youngest female head of government when she became prime minister in 2017 at 37. She achieved a global profile as she led the country through its worst terrorist attack, a deadly volcanic eruption and the Covid-19 pandemic. She won a landslide second term in 2020 but her popularity waned as she battled declining trust in government, a worsening economic situation and a resurgent conservative opposition.

“You cannot and should not do the job unless you have a full tank, plus a bit in reserve for those unplanned and unexpected challenges,” she said. “I no longer have enough in the tank to do the job justice.”

Trying to head off speculation about hidden motives for her decision, she added: “The only interesting angle you will find is that after going on six years of some big challenges, that I am human. Politicians are human. We give all that we can, for as long as we can, and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time.” (The Times) 

September 10, 2022

Meanwhile in a survey made public in Canada recently, fifty-four per cent of those polled said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should step down as the leader of the Liberal Party in 2023, though just 27 per cent said they believe he’ll do so. (Global News) 

 

Thursday January 19, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 19, 2023

Health Canada recommends limiting alcohol to just 2 drinks per week

January 16, 2019

New alcohol guidelines recommending that Canadians limit themselves to just two drinks a week – and ideally cut alcohol altogether – have prompted intense debate over risk versus enjoyment in a country where the vast majority of adults regularly consume alcohol.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) this week called for a substantial reduction in consumption, warning that seemingly moderate drinking poses a number of serious health risks, including cancer, heart disease and stroke.

The new guidelines, funded by Health Canada, represent a dramatic shift from previous recommendations issued in 2011, when Canadians were told that low-risk consumption meant no more than 10 drinks a week for women and 15 drinks a week for men.

“We wanted to simply to present the evidence to the Canadian public, so they could reflect on their drinking and make informed decisions,” said Peter Butt, a professor of family medicine at the University of Saskatchewan and a member of the panel that drafted the guidelines. “It’s fundamentally based on the right to know.”

September 24, 2015

In its measurements, the CCSA considers a standard drink to be a 12oz (355ml) serving of 5%-alcohol beer, a 5oz (148ml) glass of 12%-alcohol wine or a shot glass of 40% spirits.

In the UK, the NHS recommends no more than six 6oz glasses of wine or six pints of 4% beer per week – ideally spread across three days or more. Health officials in the United States recommend no more than two drinks per day for men and only one for women.

But Canadian experts say that new research suggests three to six drinks a week should be considered moderate risk for both men and women, and seven or more drinks a week is high risk. In addition to elevated risk of colon and breast cancer, as well as heart disease and strokes, the CCSA also identified both injuries and violence as negative outcomes from drinking alcohol.

“This isn’t about prohibition. This is simply about reducing the amount one drinks,” said Butt.

The guidelines also warn that no amount of alcohol is safe when pregnant or trying to get pregnant. While abstinence during breastfeeding is the safest option, a standard drink occasionally does not significantly elevate risk.

June 26, 2009

The new guidelines were met with skepticism by some health experts.

“This type of research often marginalizes other considerations of health and wellbeing from alcohol,” said Dan Malleck, a professor of health sciences at Brock University.

“With their job as the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse and Addiction, there’s no space in there for considering there might be benefits. Their job is to find harm.”

Malleck described the guidelines as “irresponsible”, and said they risk creating “anxiety and stress” among Canadians who once saw themselves as moderate drinkers but now occupy a “high-risk” category.

“The research they’re using also ignores the enjoyment and pleasure and stress relief and collegiality associated with alcohol. None of those things are in the calculation whatsoever,” he said. “We aren’t just machines with inputs and output of chemicals or nutrition. We actually exist in a social space. And that has a significant impact on our health.”

Others, however, see the guidelines as an attempt to help Canadians better understand the realities of alcohol consumption. (The Guardian)