Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
In light of the emergence of the new Omicron variant of concern, calls are mounting once again for Canada to support a global initiative to temporarily waive intellectual property restrictions on COVID-19 vaccines.
Opposition politicians and medical groups are urging the Liberals to finally put their support behind a 2020 joint proposal led by India and South Africa to suspend the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for the course of the pandemic.
The move would give lower-income countries access to vital information like trade secrets, designs, and copyrights to produce COVID-19 treatments domestically, and more cheaply.
In South Africa, where the Omicron is spreading quickly, less than 25 per cent of adults have been fully vaccinated against the virus, compared to the nearly 76 per cent in Canada.
Experts say this is due to a combination of vaccine inequity and hesitancy.
The government has continued to state that they are not against the TRIPS waiver, but are consulting with countries and stakeholders on the right path forward.
Ottawa also often points to their contributions to the global vaccine sharing network COVAX, of which they’ve donated more than 8.3 million surplus vaccines of a promised 200 million by the end of 2022.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters on Tuesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to “take a position” and either support the global battle to fight the virus or protect the profits of pharmaceutical companies.
“It’s not enough for us to support Canadians and do our part here in Canada, we also have to help countries around the world and those particularly that have less means to purchase vaccines….We need to make sure that people are put first,” he said.
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) co-signed a letter to the United Nations, along with other international nursing unions, to push for political action on vaccine inequity.
Pauline Worsfold, the CFNU’s secretary treasurer and a nurse on the frontlines of the pandemic in Alberta, said the fact that Canada hasn’t agreed to sign onto the TRIPS waiver proposal is a “sin.”
“It’s inequitable to those countries that can’t afford to vaccinate, to pay the high price to vaccinate their populations…no one is safe until everyone is safe and I think this new variant is part and parcel of the proof,” she told CTVNews.ca during an interview.
Asked whether she buys into the argument that patent monopolies foster innovation and help firms recover their investments in research and development, Worsfold said “not for a second.”
A spokesperson for International Trade Minister Mary Ng previously told CTVNews.ca that the TRIPS waiver would be a priority topic discussed at the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference that was scheduled to take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3.
The conference has since been postponed due to the threat of the Omicron variant.
In a statement to CTVNews.ca issued Tuesday, the spokesperson said, “Our government has always been, and will always be, a strong advocate for vaccine equity."
“We are participating in discussions to waive intellectual property protections particular to COVID-19 vaccines under the WTO Agreement on TRIPS. Canada will continue to work with international partners in the WTO towards achieving a speedy and just recovery around the world,” said Alice Hansen.
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.