Canadian COVID-19 News

[desodave]

The "original" Canadian constitution was the British North America Act (1867) and forms the basis of our more recently repatriated Constitution. BC signed on at a later date. Sec 92 and 93 of the BNA Act give the jurisdictional breakdown in detail. There are quirks related to the later provinces signing on, eg, the inland waters seabed ownership.
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/...reg/p1t13.html

[Mike OReilly]

Here's another sad/pathetic story (which I doubt is unique to Alberta):

Globe&Mail: Alberta physicians face more aggressive, misinformed patients

Raj said since Premier Jason Kenney announced a proof of vaccination program to try to turn back a crippling fourth wave in the province, safety has become such a concern that Sehet Medical Clinic is now dealing with new patients wanting an exemption only on the phone.

Raj and another Calgary physician said more than three patients a day are asking their clinics for an exemption. Dr. Mukarram Zaidi said one patient tried to bribe him with $200.

The long this goes on, the more I am convinced that it's not the virus that is the danger, but the rapidly growing embrace of misinformation and disinformation.

[Pelagic]

Has no one considered that this disjointed "Provincial" approach to managing a national pandemic, prevents Canadians from actually monitoring the effectiveness of national restrictions during closed international borders.
It also seems to politicize and polarize the management of regional solutions

I hope we learn for next phase that a national pandemic emergency, should be managed on the national level.

Edit, ...Mike's post underscores my point

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Here's another sad/pathetic story (which I doubt is unique to Alberta):

Globe&Mail: Alberta physicians face more aggressive, misinformed patients


The long this goes on, the more I am convinced that it's not the virus that is the danger, but the rapidly growing embrace of misinformation and disinformation.

Quite right, Mike.


And they're the only ones engaged in violence, the anti-vaxxer denialists. Who have the nerve, like kmac, to blame us for being mad at them!


Yes, I'm mad, frustrated and pissed off: at stupidity.


But never violent.

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Has no one considered that this disjointed "Provincial" approach to managing a national pandemic, prevents Canadians from actually monitoring the effectiveness of national restrictions during closed international borders.
It also seems to politicize and polarize the management of regional solutions

I hope we learn for next phase that a national pandemic emergency, should be managed on the national level.

The problem with Canada...

Sigh. the problem with our current system combined with a history of political infighting is that the only way to solve some of the important issues of our time (electoral reform, the senate, healthcare crises etc.) is that it takes agreement from all the stake holders without a lot of trying to tack on extra provisions like distinct society, aboriginal rights, transfer payments etc. etc. ad nauseum. And that's not likely to happen.

So no. We won't learn.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

Nice (or not) to see the US isn't alone in poor governance. No wonder the global response was soo poor.

These are not Canadian rules that are being bypassed. They are American.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Has no one considered that this disjointed "Provincial" approach to managing a national pandemic, prevents Canadians from actually monitoring the effectiveness of national restrictions during closed international borders.
It also seems to politicize and polarize the management of regional solutions

I hope we learn for next phase that a national pandemic emergency, should be managed on the national level.

Edit, ...Mike's post underscores my point

I don't think you'd get much argument from medical and public health people. But like Mac says, it's not really that simple. It would require a Constitutional change, and like most countries, amending our Constitution is a difficult, and nearly impossible process (to put it mildly).

But to be clear, the international border IS managed federally and is monitored at this level. Health outcomes are managed provincially, but there is pretty good sharing and collection of data.

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-heal...essionals.html

The challenge for Canada is the intranational travel and controls. Here we see the patchwork of responses, and outcomes, from various provincial and territorial policy choices. In the east we've seen the Atlantic provinces take an incredibly hard line, to the point of stopping nearly all travel into their region. Out west, especially in Alberta and Saskatchewan, we've seen a far more laissez-faire approach. And Quebec and Ontario have waffled between these two.

I've driven across this vast country a few times during this pandemic. It's amazing, and pretty confusing, to experience the wide variety of responses. A national response would have been so much more sensible ... but given our Constitution, and a lack of political will to work as one, that simply can't happen internally.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Has no one considered that this disjointed "Provincial" approach to managing a national pandemic, prevents Canadians from actually monitoring the effectiveness of national restrictions during closed international borders.
It also seems to politicize and polarize the management of regional solutions

I hope we learn for next phase that a national pandemic emergency, should be managed on the national level.

Edit, ...Mike's post underscores my point

Actually, it's a worldwide pandemic. So, by your logic we should give the WHO authority to manage the response in every country in the world - including Canada and the US.

[kmacdonald]

A very popular singer, songwriter in the US said that the Covid Vaccine can cause impedance. Do any studies in Canada support that?

[desodave]

Originally Posted by Macblaze

The problem with Canada...



Sigh. the problem with our current system combined with a history of political infighting is that the only way to solve some of the important issues of our time (electoral reform, the senate, healthcare crises etc.) is that it takes agreement from all the stake holders without a lot of trying to tack on extra provisions like distinct society, aboriginal rights, transfer payments etc. etc. ad nauseum. And that's not likely to happen.



So no. We won't learn.

I'm not so sure about it being a problem. I've lived in BC most of my life and there have always been strong anti-central Canada sentiments. There are major regional differences and I think most of them are better accommodated by provincial governments. You know what sort of reaction would be provoked by fiats from Ottawa.
When the pandemic first hit, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice ALL the provincial premiers were playing. They agreed to Ottawa purchasing vaccines for the country, not bidding against each other. Most cooperative than I've ever seen in fact. It's only been as we've progressed that differences have surfaced. I think we'd have had more turmoil if Ottawa was completely in charge.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Has no one considered that this disjointed "Provincial" approach to managing a national pandemic, prevents Canadians from actually monitoring the effectiveness of national restrictions during closed international borders.
It also seems to politicize and polarize the management of regional solutions

I hope we learn for next phase that a national pandemic emergency, should be managed on the national level.

Edit, ...Mike's post underscores my point

And who is to say a national approach would be any better? If Mr. O'Toole had been elected Prime Minister, and the federal government had the responsibility of managing the pandemic we could expect a response similar to Alberta's - with similar results.

Here in BC we have different rules for different regions (albeit provincially imposed) depending on local conditions and attitudes.

With federal jurisdiction, imaginative solutions such as the quite successful "Atlantic Bubble" would never have occurred.

[kmacdonald]

Originally Posted by Scorpius

And who is to say a national approach would be any better? If Mr. O'Toole had been elected Prime Minister, and the federal government had the responsibility of managing the pandemic we could expect a response similar to Alberta's - with similar results.

Here in BC we have different rules for different regions (albeit provincially imposed) depending on local conditions and attitudes.

With federal jurisdiction, imaginative solutions such as the quite successful "Atlantic Bubble" would never have occurred.

What is the economic cost of that?

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by desodave

I'm not so sure about it being a problem. I've lived in BC most of my life and there have always been strong anti-central Canada sentiments. There are major regional differences and I think most of them are better accommodated by provincial governments. You know what sort of reaction would be provoked by fiats from Ottawa.
When the pandemic first hit, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice ALL the provincial premiers were playing. They agreed to Ottawa purchasing vaccines for the country, not bidding against each other. Most cooperative than I've ever seen in fact. It's only been as we've progressed that differences have surfaced. I think we'd have had more turmoil if Ottawa was completely in charge.

I guiltily admit to being a federalist. I've lived in Quebec and Alberta — the two most "individualist" provinces and have generally felt that regionalism is more trouble than its worth. But thankfully I'm not in charge. But it's a pity we have to invoke crap like the war measures act to get something done.

But you are right, the province have being playing fairly nice throughout this mess...

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

What is the economic cost of that?

Probably less than a national approach. At least the authorities have some sense of what is happening on the ground and can manage with some sensitivity and finesse - unlike, for example, the ocean fisheries, which are managed from (and totally f**ked up by) Ottawa.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

A very popular singer, songwriter in the US said that the Covid Vaccine can cause impedance. Do any studies in Canada support that?

I haven’t heard of Covid-19 effecting people’s electrical characteristics.
Impedance [Z], a vector quantity of resistance and reactance, is an expression of the opposition that an electronic component, circuit, or system offers to alternating and/or direct electric current.

But, I’ve read that COVID-19 can cause erectile dysfunction (ED).

As early as June 2020, studies showed a link between COVID-19 and erectile dysfunction [ED]. This was an unexpected finding, since people who were sick with COVID-19 were mainly having lung and respiratory symptoms.

Ongoing research demonstrated that the COVID-19 virus attacks the endothelium. The endothelium is the lining of all blood vessels, like veins and arteries, in the body.
The process is complex, but basically, when the endothelium is damaged, blood vessels don’t work properly and can’t deliver oxygen and other nutrients to the body’s organs. Without them, organs can’t function as well.

And since all organs have blood vessels, the COVID-19 virus could cause damage to any organ in the body this way — including the penis.

“Addressing male sexual and reproductive health in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak” ~ by A. Sansone et al
“... Despite being a trivial matter for patients in intensive care units (ICUs), erectile dysfunction (ED) is a likely consequence of COVID-19 for survivors, and considering the high transmissibility of the infection and the higher contagion rates among elderly men, a worrying phenomenon for a large part of affected patients ...”
➥ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7355084/

“Love in the time of COVID-19: a scoping review on male sexual health” ~ by Jahanzeb Malik et al
“... One such reported sequelae of COVID-19 is sexual dysfunction in males even after recovery from the disease ...”
➥ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34211656/

““Mask up to keep it up”: Preliminary evidence of the association between erectile dysfunction and COVID-19" ~ by Andrea Sansone et al
“Erectile dysfunction (ED), as the hallmark of endothelial dysfunction, could be a short- or long-term complication of COVID-19. Additionally, being ED a clinical marker and predictor of non-communicable chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular, subjects with ED could potentially have a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 ...”
➥ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/andr.13003