Oct 17 2020 — K.W. Grafton — National Newswatch — With perhaps the only presidential “debate” this election cycle in the rear-view mirror – described politely on MSNBC by ex-Trump lawyer/fixer and felon Michael Cohen as a “fecal-display” – and a November 3rd election looming on the near horizon (unless the President can find some creative way to delay it), it is timely to look back over the […]
Oct 15 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — When the pandemic first hit, none of us knew what to expect. Medical experts called for a lockdown and governments took their advice. This time round it’s different. Our political leaders are being called on to protect both our health and our economy. As Doug Ford noted on Tuesday, that can be an unpleasant place […]
Oct 14 2020 — Nigel Rawson and John Adams — National Newswatch — The federal government intends to drastically transform the rules of its tribunal that sets ceiling prices for new drugs and vaccines in Canada in January. Guidelines will be released imminently for how the new price controls will work. Key elements of the government’s plan have been strongly criticized by patients, drug developers and analysts since […]
Oct 14 2020 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Canadian plant breeders need a modernized federal approval system for new varieties that is science-based, proportionate to risk, supports innovation and is predictable, says Jennifer Hubert, Director of Plant Biotechnology with CropLife Canada. The current system is intended to ensure the health and safety of consumers and encourage innovation. “But the devil is in the […]
Oct 14 2020 — Peter Phillips — National Newswatch — The federal Department of Health was established in 1919 in the wake of World War I and the H1N1 pandemic (Spanish Influenza) and has responded to a wide range of public health crises- from tuberculosis, syphilis, polio, SARS and AIDS, to “non-infectious epidemics” such as obesity and the opioid crisis. However, the past 9 months […]
Oct 12 2020 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — We just might be on the verge of something many thought they might never see again – a more stabilized world. The Trump meltdown in Washington has consumed every useable space of media coverage, but what America is experiencing is something that is making ripples throughout much of the world. That violent brand of populism […]
Oct 9 2020 — Arash Haddadi — National Newswatch — Over the past seven months, as the world has been dramatically affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, researchers and innovators around the globe have turned their focus to critical aspects of the fight against this dangerous virus. Prevention techniques, therapeutic options and vaccine development have been the preoccupation of most of the research. As a PhD […]
Oct 8 2020 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — “We’ve rounded the corner on the coronavirus,” said Donald Trump. Two days later, he rounded that corner straight into Walter Reed Military Hospital, himself the victim of the virus he had downplayed since February. There have been many difficult things to watch over the last number of months, but the most difficult has been the […]
Oct 7 2020 — K.W. Grafton — National Newswatch — Many watching the first Trump-Biden debate on September 29th were haunted by the words of outgoing president Barack Obama in 2016, who described Donald Trump as, “uniquely unqualified to be President” and “unfit”. Unfortunately, more than mere partisan hyperbole, Trump has vindicated Obama’s remarks daily over the past four years – tweet by presidential tweet. With […]
Oct 7 2020 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Move will help companies market domestic products around the world. Ottawa—The Canada Brand platform will receive a makeover to enable it to perform more effectively in today’s social media systems and digital platforms, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Trade Minister Mary Ng have announced. The Canada Brand was launched in 2006 and provides a […]
Oct 6 2020 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Details on where funding to be spent expected in coming months. Ottawa—Improved rural broadband internet service and agriculture irrigation projects will be receiving major financial support from the Canada Infrastructure Bank in the coming months. It will invest $2 billion into expanding high-speed broadband, and $1.5 billion to irrigate an additional 700,000 acres across […]
Oct 6 2020 — Don Lenihan and Andrew Balfour — National Newswatch — If this were the 1990s, Erin O’Toole’s election strategists would have one word for him: narrative. They’d tell him to craft a story that unites people across the country. But elections are changing. The Liberals, we’re told, won the last one through thousands of highly targeted messaging campaigns. What does this mean for the next […]
Oct 4 2020 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — You sometimes have to wonder how the Americans do it. Somehow, they are enduring through one of the most chaotic political eras in modern times. But it must be exhausting. What once might have been fascinating political theatre has been rendered negligible by a recessive economy and an oppressive pandemic. Beleaguered on all sides, it […]
Oct 2 2020 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — First promised in April 2019, poultry and egg producers still waiting for payment. Ottawa—Buried in the government’s Sept. 24 policy speech was the repeat of a promise to compensate supply-managed farmers and processors for losses caused by three trade deals. “The government will also ensure that those in Canada’s supply managed sectors receive full […]
Oct 1 2020 — François Pilon — National Newswatch — With more COVID-19 surges expected this fall, health administrators and communities are focused on avoiding the severe shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) that threatened the safety of our frontline workers and patients at the pandemic’s outset. The COVID-19 virus is unprecedented in that it is both highly contagious and more lethal than past outbreaks. […]