More than half of Canadians say freedom of speech is under threat, new poll suggests
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.
Travel bans implemented on seven southern African countries in a bid to keep the new omicron COVID-19 variant out of Canada must be backed up with more stringent testing and tracing at the border, according to an expert in the field.
Dr. Nazeem Muhajarine, an epidemiologist in Saskatoon, told CTV News Channel that the travel bans implemented on Friday should include “very, very careful and very comprehensive screening at the border of travellers coming into the country.”
“I really think that’s what we need to focus on,” he said. “Testing, tracing [and] if needed, isolating our travellers more than any kind of carte blanche in our travel bans.”
“Those are very crude, sledgehammer-types of measures,” he continued, “And I think we need a little bit sharper, more data driven measures like testing, tracing in place.”
Mihajarine’s remarks come as Canada confirmed its first two cases of the B.1.1.529 -- or omicron variant -- in Ontario.
In a statement Sunday evening, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott and Dr. Kieran Moore, chief medical officer of health, said both cases of the omicron variant were detected in Ottawa.
“Both of which were reported in individuals with recent travel from Nigeria,” the statement reads. “Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the patients are in isolation.”
Canada’s Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said as monitoring and testing continues across the country, “it is expected that other cases of this variant will be found in Canada.”
“I know that this new variant may seem concerning, but I want to remind Canadians that vaccination, in combination with public health and individual protective measures, is working to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and its variants in our communities,” Duclos said in a statement Sunday.
On Friday, officials announced a travel ban barring foreign travellers from seven southern African countries from entering Canada.
Border measures have been tightened on anyone who has travelled to South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Namibia.
Officials are also asking anyone who had travelled to one of the countries in the last 14 days, who is now in Canada, to get a COVID-19 test and isolate.
Canadians or other permanent residents seeking re-entry must also quarantine for 14 days and undergo enhanced screening and testing.
Global Affairs Canada also issued a travel advisory, urging Canadians not to travel to the region.
Canada is just one of several countries, including the U.S., Britain and the European Union, that have implemented more stringent travel rules over fears of the omicron variant.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, said the omicron variant is “unusual” because it has a high number of mutations.
“Due to the potential for increased transmissibility and the possibility of increased resistance to vaccine induced protection, we’re concerned about this new variant and are closely monitoring the evolving situation,” she told reporters.
Tam said laboratories across the country have been “alerted” to the new variant, but conceded it would be “very difficult” to keep the omicron variant from reaching Canada.
Dr. Zain Chagla, an associate professor of medicine at McMaster University, told The Canadian Press that the “blind closures” don’t make scientific sense, adding that the variant may have been first detected in South Africa because they have good genomic surveillance infrastructure.
“This has likely been circulating for some time,” he told the outlet. “It really doesn’t make sense that we use rigid travel bans as a way of preventing cases, as compared to mitigating spread.”
Chagla said this underscores the urgent need for a united, global effort to increase access to vaccines around the world.
He said Canada should evaluate whether it should import more vaccines for boosters for low-risk populations, or if it should work on getting vaccines to countries in need.
"If we're going to repeat the same mistakes this time, and keep re-vaccinating our lowest risk populations and forget about our global duties, I'm pretty sure we're going to see this scenario playing itself out over and over and over again,” he said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) designated omicron a ‘variant of concern’ on Friday.
On Sunday, the WHO said it was not yet clear whether the variant, which was first reported in South Africa, is more transmissible than other variants, or whether it causes more severe disease.
“Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, but this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection,” the WHO said.
Muhajarine echoed this, saying we are in the “very early days” of studying the variant.
“I think scientists, lab scientists are really getting going in doing experiments to find out how transmissible, and particularly whether this variant will have an advantage in evading, to some extent vaccine induced antibody immunity, that first line of defence that vaccines and the body produces in blocking the variants from getting into cells,” he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Emotional support animal registrations in the United States reached 115,832 last year, by an industry group’s count. But in the eyes of reptile rescuer Joie Henney, there’s only one: 'Wally Gator.'
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
The federal government is set to announce funding to help Toronto host six matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
With the sheer number of passwords needed today, it may come as no surprise that over 60 per cent of Canadians feel overwhelmed, and over a third reportedly forget their passwords monthly.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.