Health, health care system, pharmacare
Since 2005, we have led the annual State of the Inner City research project, which has collaborated with Winnipeg over forty community-based organizations (CBOs) working in the inner city. The project researches issues that matter to CBOs and the communities they serve. It connects the personal struggles of the people who live in the inner city with the ‘big picture’-the structural and political realities that affect their lives.
In the absence of a domestic supply of COVID-19 vaccine, Canada finds itself a begger in a global marketplace in which a handful of multi-national companies hold all the cards. Canada was forced into a frantic shopping spree, tossing money onto a roulette wheel of contracts with fingers crossed.
While it is a running joke that we have been living in the month of March for the past year, Premier Scott Moe’s comments on the upcoming budget seemed almost determined to transport us back there.
On March 10th, 2021 in the Manitoba Legislature Question Period, Premier Pallister cited a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and claimed it found that “we (Manitoba) are second only to one other provincial government in supports for people during COVI
This letter was sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 10, 2021.
Dear Prime Minister,
OTTAWA – As governments around the world prepare for World Trade Organization (WTO) meetings on intellectual property rights March 10-11, civil society groups are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to support a landmark waiver that would help boost global access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and PPE.
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press March 9, 2021
Vulnerability to COVID-19 is not shared equally. The past year has shown that those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 are those who live in poverty, in overcrowded housing, or in poorly regulated privately-owned and operated personal care homes. As Damian Barr said about the pandemic last year, “We are not all in the same boat. We are all in the same storm. Some of us are on super-yachts. Some have just the one oar.”
"More than an infectious pathogen," writes Michal Rozworski in his feature analysis for this issue, "the novel coronavirus is a very harsh mirror held up to pre-pandemic reality... It is exposing the true cost of hollowed-out public services, debilitated trade unions, and cross-cutting economic and racial inequality."
One year into Canada's battle with COVID-19, this issue of the Monitor explores how the pandemic's arrival has reshaped life and what policy interventions are needed to build a sustainable road to recovery.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Trade Justice Network host a conversation with global experts on the Indian and South African governments' proposal at the WTO for a waiver from certain intellectual property rights in the TRIPS agreement so that countries can confidently and affordably respond to the COVID-19 emergency. Special attention is paid to Canada's opposition to the TRIPS waiver, shared by the U.S., EU and other rich countries, which is debunked by webinar participants.
Speakers include: