So long as government issues flip-flopping travel policies, people will make plans despite the pandemic
Most travel chatter focuses on the ‘new norm.’ Whether it is proof of vaccination, masking requirements, travel restrictions or negative PCR tests, are we actually seeing a new norm in terms of travel? Based on the number of airline passengers passing through Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Edmonton International Airport (YEG), it appears air travel…
The pandemic clearly taught us that Canada’s health-care system needs to reform
Indigenous communities across Canada should learn from an Alberta First Nation that’s establishing a private health clinic to provide services that will reduce the pressure on the public system. The Alberta government recently approved a plan by the Enoch Cree Nation, close to Edmonton, to build a private clinic specializing in hip and knee surgeries.…
How we decide to proceed will reveal much about our national character
While our series is fictional, the principle objective is non-fictional – to explore the likelihood that sooner or later, Canadians will demand a full-scale investigation into the management of the COVID crisis by our federal government. This is the final commentary in our series. When the new parliament met early in September 2023, the Speech…
Canadians need a comprehensive, fair inquiry into the federal government’s COVID-19 response
Over the last two years, Canadians have been told to “trust the science” without raising a question. Despite reasonable concerns, the evidence from Pfizer’s and Moderna’s randomized controlled trials (RCT) showed that for every 103 deaths in the vaccinated group there were 100 deaths in the unvaccinated group. The claim that the vaccine is 95…
Researchers who used AI to analyze keywords on Twitter say people were more resilient than anticipated
Researchers who analyzed language related to depression on social media during the pandemic say the data suggest people learned to cope as the waves wore on. University of Alberta researcher Alona Fyshe and her collaborators at the University of Western Ontario hypothesized that depression-related language would spike during each wave of COVID-19. But their study shows…
Climate change, a pandemic, war and nationalistic hoarding are all contributing factors
Events unfolding around the world are creating the perfect playbook for a global food security crisis: climate change, a pandemic, war and nationalistic hoarding are all factors. Climate has been affecting agriculture for a very long time. And the unpredictable nature of severe weather patterns is making the lives of our farmers more difficult. Growing…
The federal government strongly condemned for its actions
While our series is fictional, the principle objective is non-fictional – to explore the likelihood that sooner or later, Canadians will demand a full-scale investigation into the management of the COVID crisis by our federal government. The final, two-volume Report of the COVID Commission was completed in early June of 2023. Time and space limitations…
His fictional story may have the best ideas anyone has had about assessing COVID impacts
A hallmark of Albert Einstein’s career was his use of thought experiments or “Gedankenexperiment” as a fundamental tool for understanding physical issues and elucidating his scientific concepts. These thought experiments employed his incredible imagination and took diverse forms. As a boy, Einstein mentally chased beams of light. For special relativity, he conceived moving trains and…
One of the greatest peacetime policy failures in Canada’s history
COVID-19 just ain’t what it used to be. The SARS-CoV-2 virus was never as deadly as feared in its early days and has evolved to be even less so today. The vaccines rushed to production in response weren’t the answer that some hoped and they’ve proved less effective as the virus evolves. It’s high time…
Imagining what a thorough investigation of the Trudeau government’s mismanagement of the COVID crisis might reveal
By way of introduction, I come from a Canadian political family with 55 years experience in the political and public policy arenas; 33 of those in association with the legislature and government of the Province of Alberta and 22 in association with the Parliament of Canada. My father spent 13 years in the Canadian Senate,…
Most travel chatter focuses on the ‘new norm.’ Whether it is proof of vaccination, masking requirements, travel restrictions or negative PCR tests, are we actually seeing a new norm in terms of travel? Based on the number of airline passengers passing through Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Edmonton International Airport (YEG), it appears air travel…
