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Health Canada has approved Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, adding another tool to efforts to combat the pandemic virus.
The vaccine is the fourth approved in Canada, and the first and only one Canada has purchased that requires just a single dose.
“After a thorough, independent review of the evidence, the Department has determined that the vaccine meets Canada’s stringent safety, efficacy and quality requirements,” Health Canada said in a statement.
Canada has prepurchased 10 million doses, with options to buy another 28 million. However, doses are not expected in Canada until April.
Also today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference that Canada will have received eight million vaccine doses by the end of March, an increase from six million expected.
Earlier this week, Mr. Trudeau raised the possibility of a shift forward in the September target for all Canadians who want COVID-19 vaccinations getting their shots. “We are very optimistic that we’re going to be able to accelerate some of these timelines,” Mr. Trudeau said on Wednesday.
In remarks to the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said, on vaccines, that the opposition had pushed the government to do better on vaccine policy. “Let me clear, I want the government to succeed on vaccines. In fact, Canadians need them to succeed.”
The Novavax vaccine is the only other vaccine now under review, but a decision is not expected for several weeks or months, Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser at Health Canada, told a briefing held to detail the approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s top staffer told a senior adviser inside the Prime Minister’s Office three years ago that the minister was troubled by information about former chief of defence staff Jonathan Vance, shortly after the minister met with a military watchdog.
From reporters Kristy Kirkup and Janice Dickson: “This is a significant development because Mr. Sajjan told the House of Commons national defence committee that he was shocked to learn about allegations of sexual misconduct against the now-retired general when it was first reported last month. The PMO also previously said that Mr. Trudeau learned details of allegations faced by Mr. Vance through media reports.”
Internal e-mails show the Prime Minister’s Office was scrambling last summer to contain the fallout over the silencing of Canada’s pandemic early-warning system after learning it was curtailed less than a year before COVID-19 struck.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan is calling Michigan’s order to shut down the Enbridge pipeline Line 5, a major petroleum conduit for Central Canada, a threat to this country’s energy security, and says the continued operation of the pipeline is “non-negotiable” for this country.
Canada’s premiers are presenting a united front ahead of the next federal budget, asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to act on their long-standing demand for Ottawa to increase its share of health-care funding and provide provinces and territories with an extra $28-billion a year.
From reporter Bill Curry: “Reading between the lines of the federal government’s response to the premiers’ funding request, it seems very unlikely that a permanent increase to the federal health transfer will be announced in the federal budget. The pressure from the premiers will continue though, as the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s research clearly shows that provinces face much more challenging financial pressures than Ottawa over the longer term.”
Social-conservative activists are seeking to dominate this month’s Conservative policy convention by electing large numbers of anti-abortion delegates, which could undermine the leadership of Erin O’Toole.
Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson tells The National Observer he is reluctant to ask the public service to come up with a plan to achieve an emissions target in 2025, setting up a possible clash with opposition parties over the government’s climate bill.
PRIME MINISTER’S ITINERARY:
Includes a news conference on COVID-19, and discussions with Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti. The Prime Minister also participates in a panel discussion on “The Global Perspective of Equality: Leading for All” streamed as part of the SHE Conference – a global gathering on gender and diversity – with the prime ministers of Norway and Iceland and the mayor of London.
LEADERS’ ITINERARIES:
Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole delivers remarks to an event held by the Chamber of Commerce in Oakville, Ont., and takes questions.
Green Party Leader Annamie Paul hosts a virtual roundtable with students across Canada on a “climate-centric and social policy centric” federal budget.
OPINION
Globe and Mail Editorial Board on Canada’s long-standing failure to bring clean water to every reserve: “The goal is clear enough: Ensure that every First Nations reserve has clean water. If you turn on a tap, you can drink the water. But the achievement of something that is straightforward elsewhere in the country has eluded Ottawa for decades. The promises and failures stretch back to the current Prime Minister’s father.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on a minister who ducked when an allegation came his way: “For women in the Canadian Forces, there is no way to look up the ranks, past top military brass, to find the person who is accountable when there are allegations of sexual misconduct against high-ranking officers. There is no one. Not Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is supposed to be responsible, but who can’t give the country a straight answer after he is reported to have ducked when an allegation about Canada’s most senior officer was brought directly to him.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on campaign finance law: “There is a tension at the heart of campaign finance law that never goes away. The rules are designed to limit the influence of money in politics. But the rules are set by politicians. Who are always ravenous for money. We are seeing this dynamic play out once again in Ontario. No sooner had the outgoing Liberal government, after a series of “cash for access” scandals, tightened the rules on political contributions than the incoming Conservative government began to loosen them.”
Mitchell Davidson (Policy Options) on a green path for federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole : “If Erin O’Toole is truly going to rebrand the Conservatives, he will have to avoid the mistakes of the past leader. That means putting forward initiatives that are more than just for the environment. They need ideas that are clearly against climate change and carbon emissions, specifically. In doing so, O’Toole and his party will have to overcome the ideological barrier that conservatives cannot be pro-environment and pro-economy at the same time. Both can be true.”
Shachi Kurl (The Ottawa Citizen) on evolving COVID expertise : “We are now about to enter our 13th month of an unexpected, unwanted medical and social experiment. Many of us are tired and strung out (in that same upcoming ARI data set, more than one-in-five describe their mental health as “poor”). In general, we don’t react well when what we are initially told and internalize doesn’t consistently match up with what turns out to be the case.”
Gary Mason (The Globe and Mail) on threats to the Wet’suwet’en accord: “More than a year after it was agreed upon, a tentative deal between Ottawa, the B.C. government and the hereditary leadership of the Wet’suwet’en Nation appears to have incited an ugly imbroglio many were predicting.”
Duane Bratt (The Calgary Herald) on grading the response of the Alberta and federal government to COVID-19: “Evaluating a response to an unprecedented health pandemic is tough. Especially since it is not over yet. However, a year-long frame of reference combined with an outcomes-based approach in the health and economic areas and their accompanying metrics, shows that Canada and Alberta look relatively good from a national, international and North American comparison. Where things diverge is politically. Trudeau has been rewarded with a sustained boost in popularity that would lead to a future election victory, but Kenney has been punished with a drop in popularity that could lead to a future election defeat.”
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