Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Support (and backlash) as European governments wrestle with COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Last week, Italy announced compulsory vaccination for those 50 or older, and had already required all teachers and health workers to be vaccinated and all other employees to be jabbed or test negative to enter the workplace. Greece and Austria will soon require vaccines for entire age groups, not just certain professions, such as medics.
But it’s far from certain that other EU countries will push through similar vaccination policies, even if many of them, such as France, are using tight restrictions to make life for the unvaccinated increasingly difficult. Several European cities have been hit with large anti-vaccine protests. Right-wing parties are largely opposed to compulsory vaccination. And enforcement questions abound.
Still, as Eric Reguly reports, the idea of vaccine mandates is no longer taboo, and many government leaders support them, even if some have yet to confront the “refuseniks” head on.
Meanwhile, in Canada:
- Hospital cases rising, as provinces prepare for back to school: Hospital admissions were pushed toward dangerous levels over the weekend in Eastern Canada, as children in the westernmost provinces prepared to return to classrooms today. The vast majority of Omicron cases are reported to be milder than those associated with previous COVID-19 variants, experts say, but the sheer volume of infections is pushing some hospitals beyond their capacity limits. Critics have called upon Ottawa and the provinces to fix cracks in the health care system and improve capacity.
- Canadian provinces divided over the use of N95s: A growing chorus of infectious disease doctors around the continent are saying N95 respirators need to be worn in public indoor spaces, while authorities in different provinces are divided over whether it’s necessary or wise for governments to provide people with N95s.
- Vaccines in Canada: A look at each province and territory’s restrictions and vaccine mandate policies
- Opinion: “The time has come to be frank with the vaccine-hesitant – there are indeed negative side effects that come with the vaccine. I am living proof of that. But these side effects are very rare and most are treatable,” says Adam Goodman.
A man wearing a protective face mask walks past a mural on a street, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India, January 10, 2022.FRANCIS MASCARENHAS/Reuters
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Little progress seen in U.S., Russia talks as concerns over possible Ukraine invasion persist
High-stakes talks between the United States and Russia ended today with Russia reiterating that tensions could continue to escalate as they seek to secure a legally binding guarantee that NATO would stop expanding east into the former Soviet bloc. The U.S. position also restated that no outside country could be allowed to determine who did and didn’t join the NATO alliance.
The Geneva talks were prompted by Russia’s massive military build-up, which began late last year. The leader of the U.S. delegation repeated President Joe Biden’s warning that the U.S. would respond to any Russian military action with tough economic sanctions targeting Russia, as well as increased military support to Ukraine.
Canada’s balancing act: Planning for the impact of climate change
This is the year when Canada gets serious about building resilience to even the worst consequences of climate change. That’s the plan, at least, as Ottawa promises to release, by the end of 2022, Canada’s first ever National Adaptation Strategy, bringing together provinces, communities, the private sector and other partners in common purpose.
Ottawa is trying to produce a road map for transforming emergency services, infrastructure and supply chains, to enable Canada to be more resilient as temperatures keep rising. But the strategy also needs to address immediate risks. Adam Radwanski does the first in a series of deep dives on the government’s difficult balancing act.
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The Djokovic saga
Novak Djokovic was back on the tennis court today, after an Australian judge reinstated his visa, enabling him to stay in the country and play in the Australian Open after his exemption from strict coronavirus vaccine rules was questioned. The government, however, is still threatening to cancel his visa and deport him.
- Cathal Kelly: “Four days in a fleabag motel made him the world’s most famous refugee. Being pulled into court made him its most famous victim of overzealous prosecution.”
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Watchdog asked to probe former China envoy Dominic Barton’s job appointment: The federal Ethics Commissioner has been asked to investigate whether Canada’s former ambassador to Beijing violated ethics rules when he accepted an offer to become chair of global miner Rio Tinto. Critics believe Barton was in breach of the Conflict of Interest Act because he met with executives of Rio Tinto, which does much of its business in China, shortly before the end of his time as a diplomat.
Trump to ask judge throw out suits by lawmakers, police over U.S. Capitol riot: Donald Trump’s lawyers are trying to persuade a federal judge to throw out a series of lawsuits by Democratic lawmakers and two police officers alleging that the former president incited the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.
U.K. republicans seek to douse the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations: Elizabeth, 95, the world’s oldest and longest-reigning monarch, will mark her seventh decade as sovereign next month, but anti-monarchy group Republic said it would begin a “Not Another 70″ campaign to call for an end to the historic institution.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. stocks ended down but well off their lows of the day, with the Nasdaq staging a furious comeback late in the session as some investors appeared to be hunting for bargains even as they worried about rising interest rates. Along with watching rising bond yields, investors are also anxiously awaiting this week’s inflation data and what it will mean for U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy tightening.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 6.03 points to end at 4,671.00 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 11.86 points to 14,947.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 166.65 points to 36,065.01.
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TALKING POINTS
Rapidly escalating workplace absences pose near-term hurdle for economic growth
David Parkinson: “Over the near term, at least, Omicron – a variant of the coronavirus that spreads more quickly and in greater numbers than previous forms – has the potential to give rise to a zombie labour force: Canadian workers who are employed, but are not actually working.”
There may be an answer to the housing crisis – let cities sprawl
John Ibbitson: “Once the need to commute is removed, people feel more comfortable living far from the core, even outside the city itself.”
Putin’s adventures ignore a historical truth: empire comes at a cost
Nina L. Khrushcheva: “The Kremlin’s imperial agenda, especially the annexation of Crimea, has called into question the post-Cold War settlement in Eurasia, from the Baltic to the Bering Sea.” Nina L. Khrushcheva is professor of International Affairs at The New School.
LIVING BETTER
- What is the best way to track my food intake? Food columnist Leslie Beck runs down the pros and cons of all the tools and methods we use to satisfy those New Year’s resolutions to track our food intake. While many of us have committed to improving our diet, often with the goal of losing weight, the question is, how best to do it? Leslie has some options to help you decide what’s right for you.
- For $1,000, Torquil Campbell will turn your life into a pop song. Like so many pivots these days, artists and composers are launching new initiatives to try to stave off pandemic-related uncertainty. Music writer Brad Wheeler shares one about songwriter Torquil Campbell who’s offering to craft a personal song -- just for you. Mr. Campbell, singer of the Canadian indie-pop band Stars, is accepting commissions to write and record songs for individual patrons. For $1,000, he’ll compose a pop ditty or epic that is tailored to your life, concerns and circumstances.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Lori Vrebosch a mom who lost her son to opioids in Lethbridge, Alberta, November 10, 2021.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
After losing her son to opioids, this Alberta mom is on a mission to change how the crisis is handled: Lori Vrebosch doesn’t fit anyone’s image of an agitator. The 50-year-old drives a shiny black SUV, travelling around with her little dog Ike. But on Oct. 2, 2018, she got a call that changed her forever. Her son Mitchell had died of a drug overdose at the age of 25. Vrebosch is among a growing minority of parents who are throwing themselves into activism after the pain of losing a child to an overdose. Her work has turned her into a fierce critic of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s government, which cut off funding for an overdose-prevention site in Lethbridge, citing “gross misuse” of government money. Driven by her loss, she is waging an uphill battle to change the way southern Alberta handles its drug problem.
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