Ottawa Observations: Tuesday-Wednesday, January 11-12, 2022

Our compilation of some of the stories of note from the day, reviewing the political developments from the Federal scene for  Tuesday-Wednesdy,  January 11-12, 2022

Canada / China tensions                 

Canada is playing catch-up in global frenzy for lithium, as China's grip on critical clean energy mineral tightens 

Ottawa allows Chinese acquisition of Canada's Neo Lithium to pass with no formal national security review 

Ottawa eyes Indo-Pacific plan to shift trade away from China 

Canada's Spy Agency warns MPs to beware of influence operations from China

The Global Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Quebec tax on unvaccinated faces serious legal hurdles, civil rights advocates say

Macron and Legault play politics with the unvaccinated

Ontario schools to notify families when 30% of staff and students absent

Ottawa drops vaccine mandate for its truckers after pressure from industry

Manitoba moves from COVID containment to mitigation, vaccinations

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe won't bring back restrictions to contain Omicron spread 

Refusing the COVID-19 vaccine comes with a price 

Trudeau says too soon to comment on Quebec's proposed tax on people who refuse COVID-19 vaccinations  

Trudeau not ready to endorse Quebec's plan to tax the unvaccinated 

Federal contracts poised to deliver 100 million vaccine doses annually for years

Ottawa makes last-minute reversal on vaccine mandate for truckers

Frustration mounts in Bearskin Lake with 6 Canadian Rangers helping with COVID-19 relief 

Mayors of Toronto, Halifax on impact of Omicron on their cities

Unvaccinated Quebecers will have to pay a health tax

Pressure mounts on paramedics, ambulance dispatchers as Omicron makes shortfalls worse

Newfoundland health officials expect COVID-19 hospitalizations to spike in coming weeks

Quebec judge suspends unvaccinated man's visitation rights with child

Ontario students to receive 2 rapid tests as school begins, top doctors' comments draw fire

All Manitobans 'highly likely' to be exposed to COVID-19 in coming weeks, health official says

BC's gyms, bars, lounges ordered closed due to COVID-19 can apply for relief grants 

Ottawa scrambling to get more COVID-19 rapid tests with return to school just days away

Quebec plan to tax the unvaccinated met with harsh reviews: 'This really tears at the roots of the Canada Health Act"

The siren song of 'mild' Omicron has seduced us. But the reality is brutal

Quebec's anti-lax tax is political, not medical and should be rejected

Unvaxxed family evicted from Ronald McDonald House in Vancouver

Ontario unveils COVID testing plan for kids in schools

Ontario rejects tax on unvaxxed

Public will likely be OK with Quebec's anti-tax tax

Unvaccinated Quebec dad's visitation rights temporarily suspended: Judge

Half of COVID hospital numbers admitted for other reasons

Strong support for anti-lax tax shows dark side of our psyche

Trudeau's vilification of 'anti-vaxxers' paved the way for Legault's punishment tax

Scientists believed COVID leaked from Wuhan lab but feared further discussion would be harmful: emails

What is Flurona? Everything you need to know about the COVID-flu combo

I have questions about le unvax tax

Six deaths in BC, hospitalizations hit 500 amid new health care outbreaks 

LifeLab closes 11 BC locations, cuts hours at others amid Omicron staffing crunch 

Kelowna General Hospital reports outbreak, implements control measures 

Staff shortage temporarily closed Merritt hospital's emergency department 

Hospitalization number shoots up by 23.5 percent over three days

Vaccine Passport Fraudsters Are Targeting Downtown Eastside Residents 

Canada's Dangerous COVID Delusion

BC's Omicron Wave may be fading

Globe and Mail

Finance Committee to hold hearings on inflation, real estate prices 

Canadian company behind key COVID-19 vaccine tech inks big development deal withPfizer

NATO must call Russia's bluff in Ukraine 

Russia and NATO are on a collision course over Ukraine. A Cold War deal from 1955 offer a way out

Ontario is playing politics with classroom learning, with kids as the collateral damage 

Canada, Western governments face calls to impose sanctions on Kazakh human-rights abusers 

A government that misses Step One in transparency sparks a tizzy about 'surveillance' 

By pandering to the unvaccinated, Erin O'Toole remains offside with most Canadians 

CBC                                             

Hundreds more Afghan refugees arrive in Canada, including human rights defenders 

Top Mountie violated her legal obligations by being too slow to respond to complaints, judge rules

Former Governor General Julie Payette won't lose her Order of Canada, advisory council says 

O'Toole says Canada-US relations have never been worse

As talks with Russia stall, NATO chief warns of a new war in Europe 

Canada, US officials to meet in bid to resolve PEI potato dispute 

Trudeau, Ukrainians president talk sanctions, extending training mission to deter Russian military  

Here's why you can't vote online in the 2021 election

I watched the opioid crisis from the front lines. I'm glad I'm leaving

Toronto/Vancouver Star

Sea-to-Sky at highest risk of avalanches as storms hit Southern BC

University of BC acquires rare book of Shakespeare's first collection of plays

Man faces charge of mischief after vandalism of Komagata Maru memorial in Vancouver

Tougher parole rules for some murderers are 'fair and appropriate' Ottawa will argue at Supreme Court 

Doug Ford is sending kids back to the classroom as Omicron may peak. Has he learned nothing about making schools safe?

Two BC schools move to 'functional closure' after holiday break, say ministry

Alaskan commercial fishery 'plundering' threatened BC salmon

Senators taking extra week off, extend adjournment to February 8

Trudeau warns of more Russia sanctions amid Moscow military buildup near Ukraine 

Doug Ford has made a lot of decisions. Reopening schools isn't one of them

With one astonishing claim, Erin O'Toole let us all down

When it comes to vaccination incentives, Quebec bets on sticks instead of carrots

Toronto Sun

Feminism and gender equality, they seem so simple

Trudeau's trucker vaccine rule is pure politics 

Strong support for anti-lax tax shows dark side of our psyche

Charitable giving on the wane in Canada

Lorrie Goldstein isn't happy Trudeau is blaming the unvaxxed

Another new tax won't stop COVID

Compulsory vaccines are a game for Trudeau  

National Post

Why is price fixing a crime for bread, but not for dairy?

Ontario's school reopening finally looks something like an actual plan 

Trudeau warns Russia could face more sanctions over military buildup near Ukraine

Trudeau shows Liberal principles have left the Liberal Party

Provinces 'right to look at new anti-lax measures, Trudeau says

What Putin wants, (It's not just about Ukraine)

Macleans                           

It's time to switch to an N95 mask in the battle against Omicron 

The Indigenous grandmothers who stopped a pipeline

Global 

Kelowna cop in disturbing wellness-check video intends to plead not guilty 

BC paramedics, dispatchers responded to record-setting 35,525 overdose calls in 2021

'Damage of a different order': Seawall's future unclear post-storm, says Vancouver official 

Truckers cry foul over new regulations at Port of Vancouver banning older vehicles 

BC gyms, bars ordered to close due to COVID can now apply for financial relief 

Province ordered compensate some Sechelt homeowners displaced by sinkholes 

UBC acquires rare collection of 1st edition Shakespeare plays 

Plans for two downtown Kelowna towers submitted to city staff 

UBC pushes return to in person learning for most students to February  

'Losses are enormous' says plaintiff in class action lawsuit filed over BC flood damage

BC extends State of Emergency; cites potential flooding, ongoing highway damage 

More must be done to convince BC's unvaccinated to roll up their sleeves 

Miscellaneous            

BCREA reports 2022 starting with 'lowest level of listing on record' following 2021 record year of home sales

Horse barn to be converted into a home in East Vancouver heritage property redevelopment 

At the University of British Columbia, we are committed to doing our part to address the climate crisis 

Delgamuukw: the Man and the Momentous Ruling 

A Unique population of Fin Whales has rebounded in Northern BC

A way through these difficult times

'Don't Look Up' isn't subtle, and that's good