Is it ethical to frighten people for the 'greater good'?
Long before David Attenborough brought his soothing voice to the explication of animal behaviour for the BBC Life series, the North American television public had been introduced to the majesty and oddities of the natural world through Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. I remember lying on my stomach in my grandparent’s living room watching programs…
A new generation of preachers is following in William Penn's footsteps by defending our constitutional freedoms
For the defiant act of holding church services despite public health orders, Alberta pastors James Coates, Tim Stephens and Art Pawlowski were arrested and jailed. Some, including those within the faith, think the pastors should acquiesce to the government edicts. These people forget that it was similar defiance by devout Quaker William Penn that established…
The role of government in a democracy isn’t to create barriers to free choice
As parts of the world begin to turn the corner with COVID-19, the discussion related to mandatory COVID-19 vaccine passports has started to intensify. A vaccine passport is a document that confirms an individual’s full immunization against COVID-19. It will contain a proper record of the COVID-19 vaccine doses that a person received and may…
As with every aspect of the pandemic-postponed Olympics, the virus will cast a long shadow on how people are fed
The Tokyo Olympic Games are finally upon us. Most of the attention will be given to the athletes, the sports, the empty stands and, of course, COVID-19. But every Olympics brings the gigantic task of feeding an entire village of high-performing humans from all over the world. In Tokyo, that means organizers need to feed…
Decentralization of supply management led to better results
Vaccines are seen as the key to ending the COVID-19 crisis. But creating a vaccine is one thing; having enough of it for the population is another. Here comes the problem of supply management. From the beginning of the crisis, many pharmacy laboratories worldwide tried to develop a vaccine against the virus. Some of them…
All eyes are focused on Saudi Arabia. Will it continue to single-handedly maintain stability in the markets?
Uncertainty has overtaken the crude oil markets again for several reasons. Since March, crude oil markets have mostly been ascending. But prices declined last week by a greater margin than any time in the last four-plus months. And the resurgence of COVID-19 in many parts of the world is clouding the near-term future of oil.…
The plight of global millions fleeing persecution goes unnoticed while our attention is fixed on the pandemic
They are the wretched of the earth (to use Haitian writer Franz Fanon’s phrase), the world’s homeless wanderers. Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, stated recently in his official Twitter account that, during the past year when the pandemic put much of the world on hold, 82.4 million people were forced to flee their…
Vaccination passports will restrict the rights of a minority of people to access services
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed in May that he would establish an agreement on creating a universal vaccine passport system with the G7 countries – including Canada. He told CBC News that nations require “agreements” on “COVID status certification and the rest.” Johnson was referring to how travel and passports will work as the…
Common anti-inflammatory drugs could offer safer treatment than current options to help stop worst outcomes due to hyperinflammation
A University of Alberta pharmacologist is encouraging the trial of common anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin to treat the most harmful outcomes of COVID-19. Most people infected with SARS-CoV-2 recover without serious symptoms, reported Ayman El-Kadi, professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, in a recently published academic paper. However, some patients develop inflammation in the…
Relaxing measures at the border could serve as an indication that vaccination efforts are working
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made no secret about his belief that every Canadian should get vaccinated. “I just want to get back to normal,” he said in May, insisting that the path back to normality was to ensure that everybody, including the “crusty old uncle who resists” or a “friend who’s skeptical,” take a…