Newly identified mosasaur was fish-hunting monster

by Michael Miller, University of Cincinnati

The Smoky Hill Chalk Member is a fossil-rich region of western Kansas where a new species of mosasaur was discovered. Credit: Takuya Konishi

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati identified a new species of mosasaur—an 18-foot-long fish-eating monster that lived 80 million years ago.

UC assistant professor-educator Takuya Konishi and his student, UC graduate Alexander Willman, named the mosasaur Ectenosaurus everhartorum after paleontologists Mike and Pamela Everhart. The mosasaur inhabited the Western Interior Seaway in what today is western Kansas.

The discovery was announced this week in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.

The newly identified mosasaur marks only the second species in the genus Ectenosaurus.

"Mosasaurs in western Kansas have been well sampled and well researched. Those two factors create tall odds when you try to find something new," Konishi said.

Mosasaurs were enormous marine reptiles, some as big as school buses. They inhabited oceans around the world during the Cretaceous period around the time of Tyrannosaurus rex. If Ectenosaurus clidastoides with its long, slender jaws resembles a gharial crocodile, Konishi said the new species is closer to a false gharial crocodile with notably blunter jaws.

Konishi, who teaches in the Biological Sciences Department of UC's College of Arts and Sciences, first encountered the fossil in 2004 while working as a graduate student in systematics and evolution. Konishi was studying fossils of Platecarpus, a different genus of mosasaur in storage at Fort Hays State University's Sternberg Museum of Natural History, when he recognized something odd about one specimen.

UC paleontologist Takuya Konishi helped identify a new species of mosasaur from a specimen he first saw in 2004. Here he stands in front of another mosasaur skull. Credit: Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative

"It wasn't a platecarpus. The frontal bone above the eye socket was much longer. The bones of Platecarpus should have had a broader triangle," he said. "That was one telltale sign."

Konishi suspected the specimen was a type of ectenosaur, only one species of which had been identified. But the teeth seemed all wrong. The now-empty sockets that would have contained the mosasaur's sharp, curved teeth in the unidentified specimen would have extended around the front of its mouth, unlike other recognized species that has a toothless rostrum, the bony protuberance at the front of the mouth.

For years, the fossils puzzled him.

"Some things just stick in your mind and they're hard to let go," he said.

But the mystery would have to wait because Konishi was busy finishing his doctoral degree and launching an academic career that would bring him to UC's College of Arts and Sciences.

The first mosasaur fossils were found in the Netherlands a half-century before anyone used the term "dinosaur." Mosasaurs began to capture the nation's attention after the Civil War when the nation's premier paleontologists, Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, began to study Cretaceous limestone in Kansas in a partnership that became a bitter public feud. Since then, Kansas has become world-renowned for mosasaur research.

Generations of experts have come to Kansas to study its specimens, which are on display at museums around the world.

University of Cincinnati graduate Alexander Willman was lead author of a study identifying a new species of mosasaur. Credit: Takuya Konishi

"It's a famous place for mosasaur research. It's quite well known," Konishi said. "So I thought I don't have to be the guy to place a stake. I'm sure someone will catch it. But nobody did."

Ectenosaur is unusual for how few specimens have been found in the genus compared to other mosasaurs, Konishi said.

"In western Kansas we have over 1,500 mosasaur specimens. Out of those we can only find one specimen each representing these two species of ectenosaur," Konishi said. "That's sort of crazy."

When Konishi confirmed with the Sternberg Museum that no other researchers were studying the specimen, he asked them to ship the fossils to UC. When he opened the carefully bubble-wrapped contents, his initial impressions were confirmed.

"By then I had looked at all the other known Platecarpus specimens under the sun, as it were. And this specimen was distinct from the others," he said. "To me it was so obvious."

At the same time, Konishi's student Willman inquired about working on a research project. He received a UC Undergraduate STEM Experience grant to help with the taxonomic identification.

"I was beyond excited to be part of the discovery," Willman said.

UC researchers identified the mosasaur as belonging to the same genus as Ectenosaurus clidastoides, pictured. The above specimen was found in Kansas in 1953. Credit: Mike Everhart

The third author on the study, Michael Caldwell, is a professor of biology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton.

Willman illustrated the fossils in painstaking detail to help scientists understand the morphological differences that make the mosasaur unique.

"I was very happy with how he brought these broken bones to life," Konishi said. "It helped make our case very convincing to anyone that this is something new that warrants the establishment of a new taxon."

The researchers dedicated the project to the late Dale Russell, whose work has had a profound impact in North American mosasaur paleontology, Konishi said. But they named the mosasaur for the Everharts, a Kansas couple who have spent more than 30 years sharing their fossils with museums and leading research field trips in the fossil-rich Smoky Hill Chalk.

"We're still in a little bit of shock at the news. It's very exciting," Pamela Everhart said.

"It's a great honor," said Mike Everhart, author of "Oceans of Kansas" about mosasaurs and other prehistoric life that inhabited the Western Interior Seaway during the Cretaceous Period.

Mosasaurs are very special to him, he said.

"The oceans would not have been a safe place for swimming in the Cretaceous," he said. "Mosasaurs were the top predator in the ocean during those times."

Did mosasaurs hunt like killer whales?

More information: Alexander J. Willman et al, A new species of Ectenosaurus (Mosasauridae: Plioplatecarpinae) from western Kansas, USA, reveals a novel suite of osteological characters for the genus, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (2021). DOI: 10.1139/cjes-2020-0175

Journal information: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 

Provided by University of Cincinnati 

Newly identified mosasaur was fish-hunting monster

Researchers name species for husband-wife paleontologists in Kansas

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

 

IMAGE: UC PALEONTOLOGIST TAKUYA KONISHI HELPED IDENTIFY A NEW SPECIES OF MOSASAUR FROM A SPECIMEN HE FIRST SAW IN 2004. HERE HE STANDS IN FRONT OF ANOTHER MOSASAUR SKULL. view more 

CREDIT: JOSEPH FUQUA II/UC CREATIVE

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati identified a new species of mosasaur — an 18-foot-long fish-eating monster that lived 80 million years ago.

UC assistant professor-educator Takuya Konishi and his student, UC graduate Alexander Willman, named the mosasaur Ectenosaurus everhartorum after paleontologists Mike and Pamela Everhart. The mosasaur inhabited the Western Interior Seaway in what today is western Kansas.

The discovery was announced this week in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.

The newly identified mosasaur marks only the second species in the genus Ectenosaurus.

“Mosasaurs in western Kansas have been well sampled and well researched. Those two factors create tall odds when you try to find something new,” Konishi said.

Mosasaurs were enormous marine reptiles, some as big as school buses. They inhabited oceans around the world during the Cretaceous period around the time of Tyrannosaurus rex. If Ectenosaurus clidastoides with its long, slender jaws resembles a gharial crocodile, Konishi said the new species is closer to a false gharial crocodile with notably blunter jaws.

Konishi, who teaches in the Biological Sciences Department of UC's College of Arts and Sciences, first encountered the fossil in 2004 while working as a graduate student in systematics and evolution. Konishi was studying fossils of Platecarpus, a different genus of mosasaur in storage at Fort Hays State University's Sternberg Museum of Natural History, when he recognized something odd about one specimen.

“It wasn’t a platecarpus. The frontal bone above the eye socket was much longer. The bones of Platecarpus should have had a broader triangle,” he said. “That was one telltale sign.”

Konishi suspected the specimen was a type of ectenosaur, only one species of which had been identified. But the teeth seemed all wrong. The now-empty sockets that would have contained the mosasaur’s sharp, curved teeth in the unidentified specimen would have extended around the front of its mouth, unlike other recognized species that has a toothless rostrum, the bony protuberance at the front of the mouth.

For years, the fossils puzzled him.

“Some things just stick in your mind and they’re hard to let go,” he said.

But the mystery would have to wait because Konishi was busy finishing his doctoral degree and launching an academic career that would bring him to UC’s College of Arts and Sciences.

The first mosasaur fossils were found in the Netherlands a half-century before anyone used the term “dinosaur.” Mosasaurs began to capture the nation’s attention after the Civil War when the nation’s premier paleontologists, Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, began to study Cretaceous limestone in Kansas in a partnership that became a bitter public feud. Since then, Kansas has become world-renowned for mosasaur research.

Generations of experts have come to Kansas to study its specimens, which are on display at museums around the world.

“It’s a famous place for mosasaur research. It’s quite well known,” Konishi said. “So I thought I don’t have to be the guy to place a stake. I’m sure someone will catch it. But nobody did.”

Ectenosaur is unusual for how few specimens have been found in the genus compared to other mosasaurs, Konishi said.

“In western Kansas we have over 1,500 mosasaur specimens. Out of those we can only find one specimen each representing these two species of ectenosaur,” Konishi said. “That’s sort of crazy.”

When Konishi confirmed with the Sternberg Museum that no other researchers were studying the specimen, he asked them to ship the fossils to UC. When he opened the carefully bubble-wrapped contents, his initial impressions were confirmed.

“By then I had looked at all the other known Platecarpus specimens under the sun, as it were. And this specimen was distinct from the others,” he said. “To me it was so obvious.”

At the same time, Konishi’s student Willman inquired about working on a research project. He received a UC Undergraduate STEM Experience grant to help with the taxonomic identification.

“I was beyond excited to be part of the discovery,” Willman said.

The third author on the study, Michael Caldwell, is a professor of biology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton.

Willman illustrated the fossils in painstaking detail to help scientists understand the morphological differences that make the mosasaur unique.

“I was very happy with how he brought these broken bones to life,” Konishi said. “It helped make our case very convincing to anyone that this is something new that warrants the establishment of a new taxon.”

The researchers dedicated the project to the late Dale Russell, whose work has had a profound impact in North American mosasaur paleontology, Konishi said. But they named the mosasaur for the Everharts, a Kansas couple who have spent more than 30 years sharing their fossils with museums and leading research field trips in the fossil-rich Smoky Hill Chalk.

“We’re still in a little bit of shock at the news. It’s very exciting,” Pamela Everhart said.

“It’s a great honor,” said Mike Everhart, author of “Oceans of Kansas” about mosasaurs and other prehistoric life that inhabited the Western Interior Seaway during the Cretaceous Period.

Mosasaurs are very special to him, he said.

“The oceans would not have been a safe place for swimming in the Cretaceous,” he said. “Mosasaurs were the top predator in the ocean during those times.”

###

---

JOURNAL

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences

DOI

10.1139/cjes-2020-0175 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

A new species of Ectenosaurus (Mosasauridae: Plioplatecarpinae) from western Kansas, USA, reveals a novel suite of osteological characters for the genus

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Aug-2021

'The UCP has abandoned Albertans to the fourth wave': NDP rips COVID-19 comments by UCP caucus chair

Stephen Hunt

CTVNewsCalgary.ca Digital Producer
Friday, August 27, 2021 

UCP Caucus Chair Nathan Neudorf spoke on a Lethbridge-based newscast Friday about the province's expectation that the COVID-19 count will follow the pattern of the fourth wave in the UK and decline quickly.

CALGARY -- Alberta NDP health critic David Shepherd ripped UCP caucus chair Nathan Neudorf (Lethbridge-East) Friday evening, after Neudorf appeared on a Lethbridge-based newscast to discuss the province's approach to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases during the fourth wave.

Neudorf explained that the province was basing its actions on the pattern the Delta variant took in the United Kingdom, where the fourth wave struck before it got to Alberta.

"In the UK, we also saw a rapid rise of case numbers," Neudorf said. "But then of equally rapid decline as it finished going through the unvaccinated population, it didn't have anywhere to go."

"I'm very hopeful that we will see the same kind of trend (in Alberta)," he said. "Maybe a bit of an accelerated case (count), but then a very quick decline as well, allowing us to safely keep businesses open, so we don't have to add further restrictions."

Then, addressing the upcoming return to school, he added, "We will keep what we've got in place right now, allow the opening of school to see what happens there, but will continue to watch those numbers and monitor safely – but we want to keep the economy going as best we can as well."

SHEPHERD RESPONDS

Shepherd, who has been calling on the province to release its COVID-19 modelling, was critical of that approach.

“Albertans deserve a government that is focused on protecting their health, their families and their communities from the threat of COVID-19," Shepherd said, in a release issued Friday evening. "While we have not heard a word from the premier or health minister, the UCP caucus chair says the plan is clear: let ‘er rip."



"This government will let the Delta variant sweep through our unvaccinated population, causing more serious illness and death. No thought for the impacts on families who will suffer, on health care workers who are still trying to recover from the last wave, on businesses trying to get back on their feet or students returning to school in just a few days."

The health critic said he was in “disbelief” and that the UCP need to explain the recent surge in cases to Albertans while offering a plan to move ahead safely.

"The UCP has abandoned Albertans to the fourth wave," he said. “I demand (Alberta health minister) Tyler Shandro stand up and explain: is this really the plan? Because if not, Albertans deserve to know what it is.”

Shandro has not spoken in public since the end of July. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has not appeared in public since Aug. 9.

Alberta Health Services announced 1,168 new cases Friday, the third consecutive day of more than 1,000 cases reported.

  

Absence of Alberta's premier, chief medical officer during COVID spike sparks public criticism

Premier Jason Kenney and Dr. Deena Hinshaw haven't spoken publicly in weeks

Sarah Moore · CBC News · Posted: Aug 27, 2021 

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney last appeared publicly at a news conference on Aug. 9, 2021, at the Labatt brewing plant in Edmonton. (Janet French/CBC)

Alberta's leaders are coming under increasing fire from the public and politicians for not speaking publicly as COVID-19 case counts soar in late August.

On this day last year, the province recorded 157 new cases of COVID-19. Both Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw appeared in regularly scheduled updates several times that week, providing guidance to Albertans.

Today, 1,168 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded — a nationwide high. It's almost 400 more cases than Ontario reported today, a province with three times more people than Alberta.

It's the third day in a row that the count in Alberta has surpassed 1,000. Hospitalizations are also spiking. And the premier and chief medical officer have been silent for weeks.

The last time Kenney addressed Albertans was on Aug. 9 at a press conference to announce the expansion of an Edmonton brewery that promised to create 25 jobs.

Where has the premier been since?

His office said in a statement on Thursday that Kenney is on vacation for two weeks, but he is "still able to fully communicate with his cabinet and senior officials as required" and has "participated in numerous briefings on important subjects — including on COVID-19."

The statement did not say where Kenney is, only that he will be back at work next week — an absence that some politicians are criticizing.

"The alarm bells are ringing, yet the lights are off in the premier's office," said NDP health critic David Shepherd in a statement on Monday.

Some on social media have their own sarcastic theories on where the premier has disappeared to: he's on an all-expenses-paid tour of the Jameson's distillery in County Cork for doubling sales in Alberta; he flew to New Zealand to study their pandemic response first hand; he's on a space vacation with Elon Musk.

Hinshaw, meanwhile, hasn't spoken publicly since Aug. 13, when she delayed the province's plans to lift testing, tracing and isolation measures until at least Sept. 27.

In B.C. and Manitoba, broad mask mandates and restrictions are once again being implemented. But Alberta remains "open for summer" — with little guidance from the province's leaders.

Businesses and school boards have been left to their own devices, as have municipalities that are grappling with whether to reinstate mask mandates.

The lack of leadership from the province is worrying, said some experts.

"We need to have some leadership around the big policy options … vaccine cards, mandates and masks," said Timothy Caulfield, a Canada research chair in health, law and policy at the University of Alberta. "Also, we need to figure out as a community how we can get more people vaccinated."

Vaccination rates in Alberta have slowed to a crawl.

Without action, Alberta could be headed down a dangerous path. Modelling from the B.C. COVID-19 Modelling Group puts the doubling rate of cases and hospitalization numbers in Alberta at 8½ days.

Still no timeline for Alberta Health to release data used in COVID-19 decision making
DATAHere are the latest COVID-19 statistics for Alberta — and what they mean

That growth rate is concerning with the dominance of the delta variant among positive cases, said Ali Mokdad, a professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

"Delta is a game changer, more infectious and of course when you put down your guard and you allow this virus to circulate, it is waiting for all of us, unfortunately," said Mokdad.

With files from Erin Collins and Elissa Carpenter.

Letter linked to UCP MLA asks government to stop Alberta employers from mandating vaccines

Timm Bruch

CTV News Calgary Video Journalist
Friday, August 27, 2021 

CALGARY -- As more and more Canadian companies and municipalities announce stringent vaccination policies, one Alberta MLA appears to be asking the province to go in the opposite direction.

A letter obtained by CTV News recommends the UCP government ban employers from enacting mandatory immunization in their own businesses.

The letter has an email signature from Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt.

It asks the party put forth "legislation that prohibits discrimination based on private, personal health records," citing the potential "segregation of our society."

The letter refers to "deeply divisive" decisions to implement vaccination requirements for staff members in the Town of Banff and at Calgary Flames hockey games.

CTV News has attempted to verify the legitimacy of the letter through multiple phone calls, emails and visits to Pitt's Airdrie office.

The UCP caucus was also contacted to either confirm or deny that the letter was sent by Pitt.

A staffer at Pitt's office was repeatedly asked the same question.

Neither party would comment.

"It is troubling that we continue to have members of the government caucus that are going against the science and against the public health recommendations," said NDP MLA David Shepherd.

"I certainly support folks that are looking to create a safe workplace for their employees, and we know that vaccination is the safest and most effective way."

The letter comes the same week as a lengthy Twitter thread from Health Minister Tyler Shandro, which reminded constituents that the "government has not and will not mandate a so-called ‘vaccine passport’ for domestic use."

The Alberta Government website says those private vaccine decisions made by businesses and municipalities "may be subject to legal challenges by individual Albertans."

Pitt previously made headlines for speaking out against her government's pandemic health restrictions.

In April, she urged Albertans to do their own research before receiving the vaccine. Pitt later said she would get vaccinated.

RELATED IMAGES


Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt (Facebook/MLA Angela Pitt)

Vaccine Mandates Reach Oil Industry

By Charles Kennedy - Aug 23, 2021, 12:30 PM CDT

U.S. oil and gas supermajor Chevron has started to require thousands of its employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations. Chevron is also considering whether it will make vaccines mandatory for its broader workforce, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of the plans.

Employees who travel internationally, employees on U.S.-flagged ships, and expatriate employees are now required to receive vaccinations, Chevron’s spokesman Braden Reddall told the Journal.

In addition, Chevron will also require offshore workers in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, as well as some support staff onshore, to have vaccinations by November 1, Reddall said.

“Chevron is committed to protecting the health of our people, and vaccinations are the strongest safeguard against this virus,” the company’s spokesman told the Journal.

Chevron is also evaluating whether vaccine mandates can be implemented throughout all business units, depending on the availability of vaccines in the countries where the company operates and the risk of infections at the various business units, according to the Journal’s sources.

Chevron, which has around 47,000 employees, saw the latest wave of COVID-19 infections delay its plans to return employees to offices in California and Texas.

Chevron is one of the first companies in the oil and gas industry to require vaccinations as the sector has been grappling with work and rotation delays on offshore platforms due to COVID outbreaks since the start of the pandemic.

But Chevron is not the only one. Hess Corporation and Valero Energy also have some vaccination requirements: Hess for offshore workers in the Gulf of Mexico to be vaccinated by November 1 and Valero for new hires, according to the Journal.

Refiner Phillips 66 does not require vaccinations, although it strongly encourages employees to get a vaccine, CEO Greg Garland told the WSJ.

In the UK, the offshore industry body OGUK said in June that it encourages all members of the workforce to take the vaccine when offered.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

REPUBLICAN WANNABES

UCP Alberta government steadfast in opposition to vaccine passports

Author of the article: Jason Herring
Publishing date: Aug 26, 2021 •

Alberta reaffirmed its opposition to any sort of vaccine passport on Thursday. 

PHOTO BY DADO RUVIC /Reuters file


Alberta will not follow the lead of other Canadian provinces by introducing a vaccine passport, Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Thursday.


In a Twitter thread, Shandro said Alberta will not budge on its opposition to policies that would require Albertans to provide proof of immunization against COVID-19 to access government or private services.


“To be clear, the Alberta government has not and will not mandate a so-called ‘vaccine passport’ for domestic use,” Shandro said.

Though Alberta continues to resist a vaccine mandate, the province is advising people they may access their proof of vaccination records online if required for other reasons, such as international travel.

The records are accessible through MyHealth Records

(myhealth.alberta.ca/myhealthrecords). 

There, Albertans can view their COVID-19 immunization records as well as other immunizations they have had. They can print a copy of their vaccine record or take a screenshot of it.

Shandro said Albertans will also soon be able to print a smaller paper proof-of-vaccination card. He said more than 800,000 Albertans currently have accounts with MyHealth Records, with registrations surging, including 2,000 logged Wednesday. Immunization records provided by pharmacies, doctors or AHS at the time Albertans got their shot can also be used as proof.

Several Canadian provinces have announced they will require proof of immunization to access a range of non-essential services such as dining out or going to the gym, with British Columbia most recently unveiling its vaccine cards earlier this week.

Within Alberta, numerous private businesses have announced similar mandates, including the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp., which will require all fans and staff at Flames, Hitmen and Stampeders games to be fully immunized. Even municipalities, including the Town of Banff, have introduced mandatory vaccine policies for employees.

The United Conservative government has remained steadfast in its opposition to such policies, however, with the province even moving this spring to repeal legislation that gives the government power to make vaccines mandatory.

In a frequently-asked-questions page about proof of immunization posted Wednesday, the province said vaccine mandates imposed by private businesses or municipalities are not the government’s decision — and these policies “may be subject to legal challenges by individual Albertans.”

In other Canadian jurisdictions that have imposed vaccine mandates, data shows the policies have helped bolster immunization rates, according to Dr. Craig Jenne with the University of Calgary. In B.C., for example, vaccine registrations shot up more than 200 per cent the day after the passport was announced.

“Providing not only the requirement for vaccines for some elective activities in the community — not essential services — and then providing a government-supported proof of vaccine did in fact increase vaccine rates,” said Jenne, an infectious disease expert. He added any vaccine mandate must consider those who are medically unable to get the shot.

Alberta currently has the lowest immunization rates among all provinces for both first and second doses. In total, 66 per cent of Albertans have had at least one shot, and 58.8 per cent are fully immunized. For those age 12 and over who are eligible for the shot, 77.6 per cent are at least partially immunized, and 69.2 per cent have received both necessary doses.

The surging fourth wave of COVID-19 cases in Alberta indicates current vaccine coverage is insufficient to combat the extra-contagious Delta variant, Jenne said.

“Clearly, there’s not enough protection in the community to stop the spread of the virus,” he said. “There is much room for improvement, and we need to explore all options that will get that vaccine rate up to generate some level of community protection.”

A recent Angus Reid poll found a majority of Canadians support vaccine passports, with two-thirds agreeing immunization should be mandatory for large public events. That support was lowest in Alberta, but 52 per cent of Albertans polled were still in favour of a mandate.

jherring@postmedia.com
Twitter: @jasonfherring

Price of no passport: Alberta could lose big time without a vaccine passport, says TD Bank


Chris Epp

CTV News Calgary Anchor Weekend News at 6 & 11:30 | Video Journalist
Friday, August 27, 2021

Debate raging around vaccine passports

NOW PLAYING
Quebec, B.C. and maybe soon Ontario are adapting some version of a vaccine passport. Being a holdout may have economic consequences.


CALGARY -- Provinces that do not require proof of vaccination to access non-essential services may feel a financial pinch as a result, says one major Canadian bank.

Officials with Toronto-Dominion Bank told BNN Bloomberg that regions that don't require the passports could see a sharper increase in COVID-19 cases than those that do – and that could lead to slowdowns in the business sector and a possible return to health restrictions and mandated closures.

"Provinces who are more proactive in putting in measures that increase confidence in going to restaurants and concerts might do better than provinces who aren’t putting these measures in," said Beata Caranci, the bank's chief economist, during a phone interview this week.

The idea of a return to pandemic-related business closures doesn't sit well with a number of small businesses in Calgary.

Lariah Kirby manages Higher Ground cafe in northwest Calgary.

She says her business is finally picking up after grinding to a halt during the early days of the pandemic.

When it comes to the idea of passports in Alberta, Kirby says she'll leave the rules and regulations to politicians.

But she is sure of one thing – she doesn't want to be forced to shut down again.

"It was a bit rough there for a while," she said. "There was lots of anxiety for a few of my co-workers – what's going to happen, will they still have jobs."

ALBERTA INTRODUCES IMMUNIZATION CARD

So far, the Alberta government has been against vaccine passports for residents, but it does say it will be taking steps to make it easier for Albertans to prove they've had two doses of vaccine.

On Thursday, officials revealed it would create a "conveniently-sized paper card" that possess an individual's COVID-19 immunization record.

Those cards will be available for download by mid-September but provincial officials are adamant that they are not 'passports.'

"We understand how important it is for Albertans to have appropriate access to their immunization records right now," said Chris Bourdeau, spokesperson for Alberta Health, in an email to CTV News.

He encouraged Albertans to review the policies of businesses when it comes to vaccination proof prior to visiting them, but adds the cards will help smooth things over if necessary.

"It is recommended that Albertans use the paper immunizations record they received at the time of their immunization as a back-up."

ONTARIO FALLS IN LINE

So far, only two provinces have revealed their commitment to a vaccine passport.

Quebec will implement a system starting Sept. 1 while British Columbia will require patrons of certain social and recreational activities to show proof of vaccination starting Sept. 13.

According to the latest news from Ontario, the Ford government will release details of a vaccine passport system sometime next week.

The introduction of a vaccine certificate system would mark a significant reversal for Ford, who previously rejected the idea, saying he doesn't want to create a "split society."

(With files from BNN Bloomberg, CTV Edmonton and CTV Toronto)
RELATED IMAGES



A type of vaccine passport using a QR code is seen in this file image. (Shutterstock)

THEY HAVE NO DATA AND NO PLAN

Still no timeline for Alberta Health to release data used in COVID-19 decision making

Evidence used to justify changes in pandemic response coming 'in the near future'

Wallis Snowdon · CBC News · Posted: Aug 27, 2021 

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, apologized last week for failing to release internal health data used to shape the current public health orders for COVID-19. Alberta Health said Friday there is still no timeline for when the data will be released. (Government of Alberta)

There is still no timeline for when public health data used to justify changes in Alberta's COVID-19 regulations will be made public, a week after the province's chief medical officer of health again apologized for failing to release the information.

No date has been set for the release of data that Dr. Deena Hinshaw promised to deliver, a spokesperson for Alberta Health said in a statement to CBC News.
'Committed to transparency'

"Dr. Hinshaw has committed to releasing modelling data, and this will be completed in the near future," Alberta Health spokesperson Lisa Glover said in the statement Thursday.

"We are committed to transparency and have provided Albertans as much data and information as possible throughout COVID-19."

Alberta Health did not answer questions about what had caused the continued delay but said Hinshaw's team continues to work to provide "more information."

Hinshaw apologizes for delay in release of COVID-19 data used in decision making

Health-care workers and critics of Alberta's pandemic response have been asking that the information be made public since the province announced it would claw back public health restrictions about a month ago.

Since then, cases have surged. Alberta is leading the country in daily new cases while active cases and hospitalization rates continue to grow.
Delay undermines public confidence: doctor

The delay is unacceptable, said Dr. Shazma Mithani, an emergency room physician who works at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital and the Stollery Children's Hospital.

The lack of transparency undermines public confidence in Alberta's pandemic response, Mithani said Friday.

"If the data was enough for Hinshaw to take some pretty extraordinary measures … I would expect that data would be pretty compelling," she said. "It certainly makes me wonder what the strength of the evidence was."

Alberta reports 1,112 new cases of COVID-19 as hospitalizations top 300
THE LATESTEverything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Friday, Aug. 27

Hinshaw was due to release the figures last Thursday during a forum with frontline health-care workers. She said her team needed more time to "finish synthesizing" the evidence.

"I'm sorry that it's not available," she said during the online session where she faced criticism from her peers for a lack of transparency.

"Unfortunately, this is not something I can do by myself, and it's also something we can't release without moving through all of the processes that are necessary in government."

Hinshaw said she had no interest in releasing the data "in piecemeal." She said the information would be released in a "narrative" style report that would make the data easily understood.

WATCH | Alberta doctor on gaps in province's COVID-19 measures:


Alberta doctor disappointed province not reimposing mask mandate
7:05Alberta Medical Association's Dr. Michelle Bailey tells, Power & Politics, the delta variant and the lack of more pandemic measures contributed to an increase in cases in the province. 7:05

Province stalled plan to lift some measures

On Aug. 13, as infection rates began to surge, the province stalled plans to lift a slate of public health measures that had been set to expire Aug. 16 — including mandatory isolation, public testing and mandatory masking on transit.

While some of the protocol changes were delayed by six weeks, many pandemic restrictions had already been dropped. Quarantine for close contacts is no longer mandatory, but recommended. Contact tracers no longer notify close contacts. Asymptomatic testing is no longer recommended.

Mithani says the province has been tepid in its response to the fourth wave driven by the delta variant — a situation she believes has been made worse by the recent change in COVID-19 protocols.

"There's essentially radio silence," she said. "People were concerned that delta was on the rise, and that ICUs and hospitalizations were on the rise, and that's what happened."

Alberta, Saskatchewan not planning to follow B.C. and Manitoba on broad mask mandates

Alberta announced its highest new case number in months Thursday as 1,112 new cases were reported.

There were 308 people in hospital for COVID-19 as of Thursday, including 64 in intensive care. There are now 9,066 active cases in the province. Four more deaths were reported Thursday.

This is not the first time Alberta has failed to release data related to the pandemic that it had promised to make public.

On Jan. 20, Hinshaw indicated that sector-specific transmission data would be released to the public. Alberta Health did not respond to questions about their failure to release this modelling as promised.

STEALING OUR TAX DOLLARS AGAIN

Alberta tops list of provinces with the most COVID-19 money not budgeted for specific projects, according to new report

Author of the article:Ashley Joannou
Publishing date:Aug 25, 2021 • 

Premier Jason Kenney announced the COVID-19 Business Benefit for small and medium-sized businesses in February 2021. The largest provincially initiated business support programs were the relaunch grants for small- and medium-sized businesses, worth $575 million, and investments in carbon capture, utilization and storage, worth $323 million.

 PHOTO BY CHRIS SCHWARTZ /Government of Alberta file

The author of a new report on COVID-19 spending is raising concerns about budget transparency after the Alberta government more than doubled its unallocated COVID-19-related funds in the 2021 budget, giving the province the most money in the country not earmarked for specific plans.

According to the report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released late Wednesday, the province substantially increased its unallocated COVID-19 funds for the 2021-22 fiscal year, from the $750 million it had expected to use to almost $1.8 billion after the 2021 budget was released.

While that isn’t the largest amount per capita — that title belongs to Manitoba — it’s now the largest in absolute terms, the report says.

Overall, unallocated money makes up more of the budget than the $1.1 billon in COVID-19 related spending that is budgeted for specific projects.

The unallocated money includes a $1.25 billion contingency fund on top of a separate “recovery plan” contingency fund worth $500 million. Another $18 million in the Department of Jobs, Economy and Innovation hasn’t yet been designated to a particular program.

The report’s author, CCPA senior economist David Macdonald, said while all provinces have unallocated money, large unallocated funds make it difficult to examine what the money will be spent on until after it has been spent or announced through individual press releases, making it harder to scrutinize government spending.

“In other provinces, and at the federal level, there has been an attempt to estimate what programs they want to implement in the next year and how much those programs would cost,” he said.

“Now, that’s not to say that those estimates might not change over time … but to have really substantial funds, like the one that’s in play in Alberta, I think speaks to budget transparency.”

Macdonald said unallocated money could disappear off the budget sheet if it is not spent, and result in a lower deficit.

“The other possibility is that you incorporate these unallocated funds in your public relations as to how much you’ve spent upfront, and then at the end of the year, they remain unspent, and the deficit goes down,” he explained.

“And so you can have it both ways, you can have both the appearance of higher commitments to resolving the impacts of COVID-19 and a smaller deficit. I’m not sure if that’s what’s going to happen in the case of Alberta, but it’s certainly one of the possibilities.”

Vast majority of allocated COVID-19 money coming from Ottawa

Of the money Alberta has earmarked for specific projects, the vast majority of the cash is coming from the federal government.

At $12,350 a person, Alberta had the highest level of allocated COVID-19 support of any province. About 92 per cent of that money is coming from Ottawa and only eight per cent from the province, the report says.

Commitments to Alberta businesses are, on a per capita basis, the largest of any province, Macdonald said.

The largest provincially initiated business support programs were the relaunch grants for small- and medium-sized businesses, worth $575 million, and investments in carbon capture, utilization and storage, worth $323 million, the report says.

Individual supports including the CERB, providing $8.8 billion, the CRB, worth $3.5 billion, and EI enhancements, providing $1.3 billion, is almost all federal money, as is most health-related spending.

“Although Alberta, as well as several of the western provinces, are quick to complain about the federal government not providing them the support they are due, in this case Alberta received by far the most federal support of any province,” he said.

Ontario placed second to Alberta with the equivalent of $11,470 per person in allocated money to combat COVID-19.

Macdonald said he is concerned that provinces will say that COVID-19 expenses have meant large expenditures and cutbacks are necessary to balance the books.

“And so my hope is that many provinces like Alberta would be careful about claims that COVID-19 programs meant that they have to cut back in the future when most of that money was federal money,” he said.

In a statement Friday, Jerrica Goodwin, acting spokeswoman for the Alberta Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance, called contingency funds “a prudent budgetary measure to deal with rapidly changing and unknown circumstances as a result of COVID-19.”

“Albertans have a full understanding of where the money is going, both at the time contingency allocations are made through public announcements and when quarterly updates are produced,” she said.

The first quarter update is expected to be announced Aug. 31.

:

Why some First Nations people hope Cancel Canada Day boosts Indigenous turnout in 2021 federal election

Movement to highlight the colonialism in governments could inspire Indigenous voters, some say


Sam Samson · CBC News · Posted: Aug 27, 2021 

Normally Winnipeg is a sea of red and white on Canada Day. This year, Winnipeggers took to the streets in droves clad in orange to remember the children who died while attending residential schools. (Andrew Friesen/CBC)

For Tara Martinez, this is the most important federal election in her lifetime — especially for First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in Canada.

"You can't ignore us anymore. We're here. And when we vote, we can swing the vote," she said.

Martinez, from Little Saskatchewan First Nation, says the momentum behind Cancel Canada Day events is fuelling that feeling of urgency.

On July 1, thousands of people across the country walked in city streets to protest Canada Day. Instead of celebrating confederation, the crowds were calling attention to the unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools.

On Canada Day, thousands of Manitobans honour residential school survivors, those who died

Martinez was at the march in Winnipeg and helped organize some of the participants. She said she was trafficked years ago as a teenager. As a result of her experience, she says she dedicates her time to grassroots work preventing children from being abused and raising awareness around missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Though Cancel Canada Day called out governments and their colonial pasts, Martinez said voting can be a way for Indigenous peoples to make major changes, especially in the way the federal government acknowledges what happened at residential schools.

"I think that Cancel Canada Day got a lot of coverage on issues that have been ignored for a really long time," she said.

"A lot of us are realizing the importance of voting and who we vote for."

Tara Martinez helped organize participants of the Cancel Canada Day march in Winnipeg on July 1. Crowds across the country protested against Canada's colonial past and urged action on unmarked graves at residential school sites. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)

Voting 'a very reflective process'

It's a topic Réal Carrière has had several times with his students — and himself.

"The choice to vote can be a very reflective process for many Indigenous peoples," said Carrière, who's from Cumberland House Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and is a political science professor at the University of Manitoba, specializing in Indigenous politics and governance.

"Does it mean I am surrendering my self-determination and participating in a colonial state that's been actively eliminating my peoples? Or does it mean ... despite that act of ongoing genocide, I want to participate to give the candidates a message?"

Carrière cast his first election ballot during Stephen Harper's time as prime minister in the mid-2000s. Years later, several movements led by Indigenous people gained momentum in 2015 to vote Harper out of office.

VIDEO  Indigenous Rock the Vote organizers celebrate victory at polls

"I come from Treaty 5 and the underlying philosophy of the treaty is it's possible to share," he said.

"That has made me think, well, it's possible to participate in a Canadian election, one that isn't mine, because I have that shared voting participation."

Réal Carrière, pictured on his canoe on the Red River, is a political science professor at the University of Manitoba, specializing in Indigenous knowledge and governance. 

(Sam Samson/CBC)

Right to vote a recent one for Indigenous people

Under the Indian Act in 1876, First Nations people were only allowed to vote in federal elections if they gave up their Indian status. It wasn't until 1960 that First Nations people were allowed to vote while keeping their identities.

Métis people had the same voting rights in legislation as other Canadians, but Inuit were specifically excluded from voting in 1934. That changed in 1950 when they received the right to vote in federal elections.

In 2015, Indigenous voters helped put Justin Trudeau and the Liberals into power with a record turnout — 61.5 per cent of people living on First Nation reserves cast ballots. The turnout wasn't as high in 2019.

Carrière said he's curious as to how Cancel Canada Day will affect this year's voter turnout among all Indigenous communities.

"There's more people on the front lines — activists voicing their concerns and not backing down," he said, citing the Wet'suwet'en demonstrations as one example.

"That is a form of political participation. Whether those people vote or not, we see Indigenous peoples growing more and more active in politics."
'If we don't vote, then we don't choose'

Mary Burton is hoping people in her riding will vote, just like she has in every election she's been eligible to. That's why she's hosting a candidate forum in Winnipeg North next week — a Manitoba riding with historically low voter turnout.

Voter turnout drops under 50 per cent in Manitoba's northernmost riding

"Indigenous people weren't even considered people for a very long time," said Burton, a co-founder of Fearless R2W, an education and advocacy group in Winnipeg that focuses on child welfare, housing and poverty.

"We should be voting because they fought long and hard for that. I think it's a right that we should not just throw away."

Burton is from Norway House Cree Nation and said she hopes Cancel Canada Day will boost Indigenous voter turnout across the country.

Mary Burton, co-founder of Fearless R2W, says she hopes Cancel Canada Day boosts voter turnout in Indigenous communities. (John Einarson/CBC)

"It's a very colonial system, but it's the only system we have right now," she said.

"Our Indigenous systems, we're trying to bring those back, but they're not there yet. And I think this is the best way to actually fight and get what we want."

Burton encourages all her relations to vote if they can. And if they don't know who to vote for, spoil the ballot, she said.

"The message I'm trying to send is I'm not comfortable with who's running this country, but I still want to have a right to say that I voted," she said.

"I can say you're not doing right by me. You're not doing right by my community. Fix it now."


First Nations people hope Cancel Canada Day boosts Indigenous vote
Cancel Canada Day events this summer called out the colonial past of this country's governments. Now, some First Nations voters hope the movement's momentum will keep going, all the way to election day. 

  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sam Samson
Journalist
Sam Samson is a multimedia journalist who has worked for CBC in Manitoba and Ontario as a reporter and associate producer. Before working for CBC, she studied journalism and communications in Winnipeg. You can get in touch on Twitter @CBCSamSamson or email samantha.samson@cbc.ca.

 

Olymel's employee union rejects Quebec labour minister's call for arbitration

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Union says negotiations should continue because agreement is near

CBC News · Posted: Aug 26, 2021 

The labour dispute at the Olymel slaughterhouse and pork processing plant has been dragging on for nearly four months. (Sebastien Vachon/RadioCanada)

The union representing workers at the Olymel slaughterhouse and pork processing plant

has said no to arbitration.

On Wednesday, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet took to social media and said he's called a meeting between representatives of both the employer and the union in hopes of finding a resolution.

The strike at the Olymel plant, located in the Beauce region, is nearing its fourth month. Boulet proposed the two sides enter arbitration.

On Thursday morning, the employer agreed, but by the end of the day, the union had refused.

In a news release, the union said negotiations should continue because it believes an agreement in principle is not far away.

Olymel has threatened to cut 500 jobs if no agreement is reached by Sunday.

Singh seen as most likeable leader in election as Trudeau’s popularity craters: poll

By Sean Boynton Global News
Posted August 27, 2021 2:00 am
Updated August 27, 2021 6:27 pm


NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has emerged as the most likable of the federal party leaders as Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s popularity sinks amid the election campaign, a new poll suggests.

The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found Singh was the only party leader who was viewed more positively than negatively, with 45 per cent approval versus 39 per cent disapproval among those surveyed.

Trudeau, by contrast, had the highest unfavourability rating of any leader at 53 per cent, while 41 per cent said they viewed him favourably.

“(Singh) represents the most serious challenge to Justin Trudeau and his leadership,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs.

“Those (progressive) voters, which is the largest group of voters that we have in the Canadian electorate, they’re now dividing their loyalties between the two of them. And that’s not a situation Justin Trudeau has faced since 2015.”

READ MORE: Liberals, Conservatives in dead heat as Trudeau’s popularity dips: election poll

The poll, which surveyed 1,500 Canadians online last weekend, suggests Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole and Green Party Leader Annamie Paul are struggling to connect with voters — even within their own parties.

Only 28 per cent of respondents said they viewed O’Toole favourably while 48 per cent viewed him unfavourably, though 24 per cent said they don’t know the new party leader well enough to have an opinion.

Yet only 69 per cent of likely Conservative voters were favourable about O’Toole, compared to 93 per cent of Liberal voters saying the same about Trudeau and 92 per cent of NDP voters supporting Singh.

“One of the things that’s really uncommon in an election campaign is to see a political leader who’s offside with his party,” Bricker said. “So he’s in a difficult position with both his party and with the Canadian electorate.

“But the dissatisfaction level with the prime minister at the moment is making the possibility of Erin O’Toole improving those numbers very realistic.”

The poll results show Paul is in an even worse position. Although she had the highest number of respondents say they didn’t know her well enough, at 42 per cent, just 15 per cent said they viewed her favourably versus 43 per cent unfavourably. And only 54 per cent of Green voters had a positive opinion, with 22 per cent negative and 24 per cent unsure.

Bricker says Paul, who is still trying to get a seat in the House of Commons, is struggling to replicate the appeal and awareness that former leader Elizabeth May had. That, coupled with recent infighting within the party, has put more pressure on her than most of the other leaders to perform well at the upcoming debates.

“If she does a good job, you’ll probably see some of these numbers start to turn around,” Bricker said. “But right now, she’s not the asset to the party that Elizabeth May was, it’s very clear.”

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet was the only leader to see equal numbers viewing him both favourably and unfavourably, at 39 per cent of those surveyed in Quebec, while 89 per cent of likely Bloc voters saw him in a positive light.

Maxime Bernier, who leads the People’s Party of Canada, had the widest gulf between favourability and unfavourability. Just 14 per cent viewed him positively versus 52 per cent negatively.

Trudeau in trouble

Just a week ago, Trudeau was seen as the best choice for prime minister among those surveyed by Ipsos, even though a plurality of voters found him untrustworthy.

But new polling this week has shown the Liberals have lost their advantage over the Conservatives, with the two parties statistically tied in the popular vote. The NDP, meanwhile, is gaining ground and has the potential to win back at least some of the seats it lost in 2019.

The most recent survey shows Singh is outperforming Trudeau among voters aged 18 to 34 — 53 per cent of whom viewed the NDP leader favourably, versus 44 per cent for Trudeau — and those aged 35 to 54 (42 per cent versus 37 per cent). Both demographics are key to the Liberals’ success.

Bricker says that, combined with the ground gained by the Conservatives in just a week of campaigning, spells trouble for Trudeau.

“What we’re seeing at the moment is that the Liberal Party is struggling with fighting on two fronts, and it hasn’t had to really do that to the same extent as it did back in, say, 2011, as they are right now,” he said.

“Something has to be done (by the Liberals) not just to slow down Mr. O’Toole, but in particular for Justin Trudeau — given the importance of his leadership to the Liberal Party — something also has to be done to reduce the level of appeal for Mr. Singh. And what that is, is not obvious.”
2:18Canada election: The concerns of undecided voters in B.C.Canada election: The concerns of undecided voters in B.C.

O’Toole, meanwhile, will face a challenge from Blanchet in seat-rich Quebec, given Blanchet’s popularity compared to the Conservative leader. That will be particularly apparent during the French language debates, Bricker says.

“O’Toole has made some commitments about what he’s going to do for the province of Quebec,” he said. “And nobody can challenge him like a hometown hero like Mr. Blanchet. So it’ll be interesting to see how he deals with that.”

As for Singh, Bricker says he now has plenty of momentum — particularly given that early polling at the start of the election found the NDP was a clear second choice among many undecided voters.

“He’s a credible alternative right now to Justin Trudeau,” he said. “So he’s absolutely an asset to the NDP ticket.”

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between August 20 and 23, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of n = 1,500 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online, via the Ipsos I-Say panel and non-panel sources. Respondents earn a nominal incentive for their participation. Quotas and weighting were employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos polls which include non-probability sampling is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. Ipsos abides by the disclosure standards established by the CRIC, found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/

Singh says he could make good on NDP's $10B universal pharmacare pledge by late 2022


The Canadian Press Staff
 Friday, August 27, 2021

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh responds to a question surrounded by health care workers during a news conference in Thunder Bay, Ont. on Friday, August 27, 2021.

 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson


THUNDER BAY, ONT. -- Universal pharmacare would start as early as next year under a New Democrat government, leader Jagmeet Singh said Friday, though the path to achieving that goal remains murky.

At a campaign stop in Thunder Bay, Ont., the New Democrat leader said millions of Canadians can't afford the medication they need, and that his single-payer public plan would save an average family $550 per year while costing Ottawa billions.

Singh said he would negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies and work with the provinces to make prescription drugs free, saving provincial health systems money and costing employers who provide benefits less.



Go to election.ctvnews.ca for all our federal election updates


"People won't get sick because they couldn't get medication they needed. People won't get even worse because they couldn't maintain their health," he said.

The plan, which Singh would aim to implement by late 2022, would cost the federal government $10.7 billion annually but ultimately save provinces $4.2 billion in prescription drug spending, the NDP said.

It would also require provinces to leverage their collective negotiating power and haggle for lower prices, he said, a complex undertaking.

"I know it's going to be hard work but it's going to save families money, it's going to be good for our health-care system," Singh said, speaking from the city represented by Health Minister Patty Hajdu.

"When we started with universal health care, which is now one of our national treasures -- something that everyone believes in -- initially every province didn't agree. Once a province agreed, we signed an agreement," he said. "We would like that as well."

Universal pharmacare folds into a sweeping NDP pledge to create national plans for dental and mental health care, and seeks to distinguish New Democrats from a Liberal party that has stressed similar issues and included pharmacare in its platform as far back as 1997. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole has also made mental health care one of the "five pillars" of the Tory platform.

Singh has pointed to NDP moves in the House of Commons that were opposed by Liberal and Conservative MPs over the past year, including a private member's bill to usher in universal drug coverage and a motion to abolish for-profit long-term care.

"The Liberals have this strategy: 'Why deliver something when we can just promise it?"' said Singh, making his pitch ahead of the Sept. 20 election.

In 2019, an advisory council appointed by Justin Trudeau's Liberal government recommended a $15 billion-per-year, single-payer pharmacare system. Dr. Eric Hoskins, who chaired the council, acknowledged "significant incremental costs" to crafting universal coverage, but said in the now-shelved report that Canadians already pick up that tab.

The scheme, which he said should take five years to reach comprehensive coverage, proposed $2 co-payment for common drugs and $5 for rarer medications. The fee would be waived for low-income patients.

The Conservatives' platform says they will negotiate constructively with the industry to cut drug prices while the Liberal budget in April repeated the government's 2019 pledge of $500 million for a program covering high-cost drugs for rare diseases.

The NDP plan would cover a "very broad formulary," rather than the 125 drugs covered under the initial stage of a plan proposed by the Ontario NDP in 2017, Singh said.

New Democrats would "absolutely" include medical use of cannabis under their single-payer system, he added.

Singh also reiterated his pledge to revive domestic production of vaccines and "critical" prescription drugs by establishing publicly owned manufacturing facilities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2021.