Ottawa Observations: Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Federal scene for   Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Canadians held in China / China tensions

Trudeau asks ministers to ensure visa application system secure

Chinese state-owned fund among backers of company handling Canadian visa applications

Canadian spy chief calls China strategic threat

Spy chief says China is bent on stealing Canadian secrets, silencing critics

Federal government urged to end contract with visa application centre in Beijing

State actors have done 'significant harm' to Canadian companies, says head of spay agency

Canadian embassy in China apologizes for 'Wuhan" T-shirt worn by staff

Trudeau needs to stand up to the bully that is China

The Global Coronavirus (COVID-19)

WHO investigators say COVID-19 virus unlikely to have leaked from Chines lab

Health Canada approves Pfizer vaccine label change, recognizing six doses per vial

Sure, Canada's vaccination plan could have been better. But hindsight is always 20/20

A rare guess inside Calgary's COVID-19 isolation hotel, as travellers share concerns

Negative COVID-19 test will soon be required at land border: Trudeau

Health Canada says Pfizer's vaccine coals can be stretched to 6 doses

Canada can now get an extra dose from each vial of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine  - if it has the right syringes

Ontario's COVID cases are plummeting

Feds, provinces need to work together on vaccines

When it only takes 'seconds' to become infected with COVID variants, how do you protect yourself?

'Reason to celebrate': Early evidence suggests vaccines halting COVID outbreaks in nursing homes

Canada agrees to reliable Pfizer vaccine to say each vial contains six doses, rather than five

Can two people who've been vaccinated hug each other?

BC records 45 new COVID-19 cases, four deaths

BC provincial health authority CEO steps down following review into allegations of misspending

BC to start clinical trials for previously rejected COVID-19 treatment

Coronavirus variants are spreading throughout Canada. Is it still safe to reopen?

Wrestling gym and Whistler bus exposure events, group home outbreak

Globe and Mail

Alberta. First Nation reach land preservation deal in heart of oil sands country

Self-employed Canadians caught in CERB confusion won't have to repay, Trudeau says

Parliamentary committee votes to investigate allegations against ex-defence chief

Training 4,000 new personal support workers to cost $38.5 million over two years: PBO

Too many Canadians are going to work sick. Why? Because they have no other choice

Conservatives need to wake up: Public Health is not a matter of personal freedom, it's the government's job

CBC
  

Secret recording suggests Iranian official concedes truth about downing of Flight PS752 may never be revealed

Conservatives to shuffle citric roles with Poilievre leaving Finance: sources

Ottawa to assist Olympic athletes, staff with costs of pandemic travel restrictions

Defence committee launches parliamentary probe into Vance misconduct allegations

Some self-employed Canadians caught up in CERB confusion won't have to repay: PM

Vaccine wars: Nations race to win friends and influence through vaccine distribution

Supreme Court of Canada to decide whether to hear Mike Duffy's Senate lawsuit case

Rich countries will suffer too if poor ones don't get enough vaccines, OECD warns

Reinstating the Alberta coal policy does not mean the end of coal mining

If we're serious about building a health post-pandemic society, we can't do it without addressing poverty

Toronto Star

   

Canada could be paying to fight COVID-19 for years to come, minister warns

Government cancels CERB clawbacks for self-employed recipients

She was a refugee mother living in a shelter with two kids. Then Ottawa told her she had to repay $18,000

'It absolutely infuriates me': Doug Ford angry about allegedly stolen COVID-19 cash

Judge rejects request for injunction to pause new federal firearms prohibitions

CEO of health authority leaves organization after report into alleged misspending

Canada's spies are working under outdated laws, CSIS director says

BC Health officer seeks injunction against churches violating ban on services

'Im in Charge of this file': When it comes to tracking down COVID-19 vaccines, Anita Anand will not be underestimated

Donald Trump only promised to bring manufacturing jobs back from overseas. Can Erin O'Toole actually deliver?

Erin O'Toole rejects national standards for long-term care

Toronto Sun

Ford Government to delay March break

Feds to require negative COVID-19 test at land borders

Canadians should reject Trudeau-style carbon taxes

Prepare now for the new normal created by COVID-19

Five possible solutions to Canada's pandemic problem

National Post

Hotel quarantine plan is a test of Ottawa's seriousness. It has failed every other one

Ottawa retirement home manager suspended after claims his wife received COVID vaccine instead of front line worker

Alaska lashes out after Canada extends cruise ban until 2022

Smug Liberal government is too incompetent to get vaccination right

Canadians deserve a COVID election, because this crisis isn't going away soon

Canada's vaccine woes are too predictable to be angry at the Liberals about - for now

Suicides are down during COVID - and there's a good reason for that

BC courts asking for correct pronouns - is state mandated identity politics

Maclean's

The Black Conservatives hoping to bring people of colour into the 'Tory tent

Erin O'Tooles goal: To blandly reassuring

Global

Great Canadian Gaming tried to tap Chinese capital fleeing Xi Jinping's corruption probe, inquiry hears

Destination Canada report says BC has moved into intra-provincial travel phase

$6K in fines, host ordered to appear in court after Surrey RCMP bust after-hours illegal nightclub

BC's top doctor agrees to give more COVID-19 case information to First Nations

Pacific Coliseum shelter? Why Vancouver's arenas likely won't house homeless during COVID-19

2 of Alberta premier's caucus members join coalition fighting COVID-19 restrictions

In unanimous vote, defence committee agrees to hold study on Vance allegations

Most Canadians, including most Albertans, appear to be ready to give up on Keystone XL pipeline: poll

Miscellaneous

Illegal nightclub operator busted in Surrey, with 21 attendees fined almost $6,000 in total

City Councillor Melissa De Genova seeks options for affordable home ownership

Vancouver's TSN 1040 goes off the air after 20 years amid Bell Media cuts

Here's what Vancouver's School Board and Police have promised to do about racism

Alberta's Coal Mining Reversal: A Dozen Tyee pieces tell the tale

A 'family' of artists of the Downtown Eastside