Ottawa Observations: Thursday, February 18, 2021

Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Federal scene for  Thursday, February 18, 2021

Canadians held in China / China tensions

Human Rights adviser presses Trudeau to call out China's actions in Xinjiang as genocide

Parliament to vote on recognizing China's persecution of Uyghurs as genocide

Conservatives urge Commons to declare Chinese Human rights abuses a genocide

Canadian MPs consider motion calling Beijing's treatment of Uighurs 'genocide'

US election makes 'moot' argument to release Meng: attorney general

The Uyghur genocide is a genocide, let's call it one

Where lies Liberal loyalty: Canada or China?

Trumps election loss nullifies Meng Wanzhou's argument for release: attorney general

Conservatives call for House to declare China's persecution of Uighurs a genocide

'Despicable': China slams Canada for declaration against arbitrary detention

Crown says ex-president Trump no longer a factor in Meng Wanzhou extradition

Canada says alleged Trump interference in extradition case of Huawei's Meng 'moot' since Trump is out of office

The Global Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Domestic vaccine production was never a possibility for 2021, federal task force co-chair says

Western countries are lagging Russia, China and India in 'vaccine diplomacy'

Health experts studying evidence suggesting one dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is as good as two

With vaccinations about to ramp up, this is the wrong time for provinces to reopen

COVID-19 vaccine deliveries back on track following weeks of delay, says Public Health Agency

Prices for private COVID-19 tests can range from $160 to $1,200 with little oversight of the industry

How do Canada's vaccines stack up against the COVID-19's variants? Here's what we know

Deals with foreign companies were the fastest way to get COVID-19 vaccines to Canadians, MPs told

Toronto sees spike in COVID-infected flights from India

Ottawa bringing 'racial' issues into COVID vaccine rollout isn't helping anyone

BC adds another 617 COVID-19 cases and 4 deaths

Anxiety builds as details of BC's mass vaccination plan for people over 80 delayed

Vancouver police confirm 5 COVID cases, say 27 others isolating

New cases jump over 600 mark

Why the Vaccine's success rests with Us

Globe and Mail

As Canada's overdose deaths soar, the safe supply debate enters a new and urgent phase

Ottawa to relax penalties for drug offences, encouraged to treat possession as a health issue

Judge awards Doug Ford $130,000 in legal costs

Sorry, Snowbirds, there is little sympathy for your plight back home

Ottawa needs an aggressive immigration plan

Canada condemns Facebook's 'highly irresponsible' Australian news ban

Liberals pledge to collect GST from goods sitting in Amazon warehouses could net over $600 million: PBO

CBC
  

Liberals introduce new veto to relax penalties for drug offences

Canada vows to be next country to make Facebook pay for news

Canada, Britain slap sanctions on Myanmar officials for abuses in military coup

Air passengers fined for submitting 'false or misleading' COVID tests after Mexico trip

How some Canadians plan to circumvent Ottawa's new hotel quarantine requirement

Toronto Star

   

Ottawa tables bill to tackle overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous people in the justice system

'Oppressive' York school board policies are dividing the community over renaming of Vaughn school, town hall hears

Ontario mulls easing COVID-19 restrictions as Toronto and Peel ask for them to remain unchanged

This migrant worker got fired after raising COVID-19 concerns. Now he's stranded in Mexico amid travel restriction 'chaos'

Ontario confirms Indigenous jail inmates are a priority for Phase 1 of vaccine rollout

'Highly irresponsible' : Ottawa blasts Facebook's ban on the sharing of news in Australia

Lawsuit claims a Hamilton city manager and a bylaw officer conspired with mobster  Pat Musitano in soil dumping scam

To promote democracy abroad, we need to practise it at home

Liberal MP apologizes to voters after his office emails their information to Conservatives

Government to deduct taxes from Phoenix damages payments, civil service union says

Doug Ford skips question period amid criticisms of 'blatantly sexist' comment

Toronto Sun

Toronto's top doc keeps the city locked down with fearful rhetoric 

Spring election could still be in Trudeau's cards

Angry Esplanade area residents get few answers about new COVID hotel shelter

DND team behind drunken VIP junket lacked proper oversight, audit says

Airsoft industry up in arms over new gun bill

Trudeau reduces sentence for serious gun crimes

10 ways for the Conservatives to capitalize on Trudeau's failings 

Spring Election on the Horizon? Why O'Toole needs to step up while PM flounders

Freeland must rein in federal spending

National Post

Federal COVID vaccine task force defends secrecy as necessary to do its work

Liberal table bill to scale back low-level  drug prosecutions, scrap some mandatory minimum sentences

Trudeau's gun control fizzle

A challenger to Doug Ford's crown as Canada's king of COVID caution

Plunging revenues and sky high deficits could turn catastrophic for Canadian governments, report bans

Support for monarchy, role of Governor General falling among Canadians, poll finds

Why Liberal gun control plan could be a boon for black market arms dealers

Laurentian University's financial implosion a symptom of waste in Ontario's post-secondary system

Maclean's

Researchers looking for mRNA were ridiculed by colleagues. Luckily, that didn't stop them

Global

Liberal MLA Ellis Ross first to announce plans to seek BC Liberal leadership

Audit finds 94% drop in street checks by Vancouver police, critics renew call for ban

Vancouver police confirm 5 COVID-19 cases, say 27 others isolating

Horgan 'deeply' troubled by 717% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in Vancouver

Sex workers warned after woman sexually assaulted in Surrey Park

Canadian government modifies North Atlantic right whale protection measures for 2021

Canada slaps sanctions on Myanmar military officials after coup

Pressure on Trudeau grows as Canada's world ranking on vaccines slips further

How colonial systems have left some First Nations without drinking water

Miscellaneous

BC's First supportive housing project for trans and gender diverse people launches in Vancouver

Anti-Asian hate crimes in Vancouver skyrocketed by over 700 percent in 2020

BC to allow emailing of documents in landlord-renter disputes

Are we burning out the K-12 workforce?

As anti-maskers plan 'freedom rally', ICBC reveals that just five percent of provincial COVID-19 fines have been paid