How Would You Prevent a Pandemic? - A quick quiz on Bill C-293
Share with your Canadian Senate members - If they don't know the answers, they can't be voting for the thing!!! SEE ALSO 2 CRUCIAL READINGS
Still to be added… a PDF version to download, print and share…
Here’s a challenge to all who DID NOT LIKE how our governments, employers, grocery stores, medical clinics, daycares, nursing homes, choir directors, soccer coaches, etc. rolled out COVID-19 measures…. Like it or not, it’s time to think about the next pandemic… and the next… and the next…
How many of these questions about Bill C-293 can you answer correctly?
What is Bill C-293?
a) Something our provincial government is working on.
b) A proposal for a new law going through the House of Commons.
c) A bill that was approved in the House of Commons and that is now in the Senate.
Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the Pandemic Prevention and Preparation Bill (C-293)?
a) It was introduced as a private member’s bill by a Liberal MP.
b) It has already passed through the Senate.
c) It is heavily based on the World Health Organizations’s One Health policies.
“Governments are progressively implementing policies that take away their ability to set their own approaches to certain issues and are replacing these with policies and priorities set by the United Nations and its subsidiary organizations like the World Health Organization.”
a) This statement is true in Canada when it comes to Bill C-293.
b) This statement is a conspiracy theory.
c) This might be happening in other countries but not in Canada.
“If Bill C-293 is implemented Canada will move from a free-market economy to a command-economy, where government directs what kind of businesses can and can’t exist in the country.”
a) This statement is totally irrelevant to the discussion on health care matters.
b) This statement could apply once the Pandemic Prevention and Preparation Bill is declared, as the government would have the authority to close down anything it deems a “pandemic risk” including agricultural, fishing and forestry operations.
c) This statement might apply in communist countries but has no application in Canada.
Which of the following statements is TRUE about Bill C-293?
a) The Bill respects the provincial/territorial jurisdiction over health, providing the necessary funds by allowing provincial/territorial health ministries to implement pandemic responses on a local/regional level.
b) The Bill specifies exactly which decisions on pandemic response are to be made at the provincial/territorial level and which decisions need to be handled at the federal level.
c) The Bill states that there should be some kind of national coordinator designated by someone in the Public Health Agency of Canada, but it provides no details about the budget and the scope of authority to be given this unspecified coordinator.
The original draft of Bill C-293 had a section about “Comprehensive Review of the COVID-19 Response” which included the requirement that the government ‘analyze the health, economic and social factors relevant to the impact of the pandemic’ and to assess ‘the effectiveness of the exercise of powers under any applicable federal laws before, during and after the pandemic and of the coordination of measures taken under those laws.’
But as the bill moved to the Standing Committee on Health for further study…
a) This entire section was taken out so that there is now NO requirement for anyone to review what the government did and didn’t do with regards to the COVID-19 crisis.
b) Some NDP members of the committee proposed an even more thorough review.
c) The Liberal members of the committee proposed that the findings of the independently run National Citizens Inquiry be used to shape pandemic policy instead of setting up a new inquiry.
Which of the following statements about Bill C-293 is CORRECT?
a) It includes reference to evidence-based ways of improving population health as a buffer against illness.
b) In addition to strengthening the approval process for safety testing of potential vaccine candidates, it includes provisions for non-vaccine preventative and treatment anti-viral and other medications.
c) Instead of referring to process to be followed for prevention and treatment of illness, the focus of Bill C-293 is on promoting the production of alternative proteins while phasing out commercial agricultural operations, live animal markets and commercial wildlife trade both in Canada and abroad, which can contribute to pandemic risk.
Which of the following statements is FALSE?
a) The World Health Organization (WHO) ensures that pharmaceutical companies are NOT involved in the development and use of Global Benchmarking Tools used to improve the drug regulatory system in member states.
b) Because Canada is a member of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Canadian taxpayer funds are going to a partnership that helps vaccine manufacturers identify opportunities, strengthen their value-chain, hire more women scientists and set up production facilities for mRNA vaccines, including for COVID-19.
c) In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that they did not support vaccine mandates for COVID-19. In their view it is better to proceed with information campaigns.Furthermore, according to the WHO, when safety data are lacking or when the risks of the vaccination outweigh the harm without the vaccine, mandates would not be ethically justified.
Which of the following does Bill C-293 NOT include?
a) A reference to the availability of personal protective equipment, along with equipment and human resources needed for testing and contact tracing.
b) A reference to border-related measures that would be implemented to reduce any risk in the case of a pandemic.
c) A definition of the term “pandemic”. This makes it unclear whether whether by “pandemic” the authors of the bill are referring to the new definition that the WHO started using just before SARS-CoV-2 was announced (“worldwide spread of a new disease … occurring when a new influenza virus emerges and spreads around the world, and most people do not have immunity”) or the WHO’s long-standing definition (pandemics occur when there is a new virus appearing “against which the human population has no immunity, resulting in several, simultaneous epidemics worldwide with enormous numbers of deaths and illness”) or for example the definition cited by the National Library of Medicine (“large-scale outbreaks of infectious disease that can greatly increase morbidity and mortality over a wide geographic area and cause significant economic, social, and political disruption”)
What is meant by “risk”?
a) “Spark risk”, i.e. where a pandemic is likely to arise.
b) “Spread risk”, i.e. how likely it is to diffuse broadly through human populations.
c) No one knows, because that term is not defined in Bill C-293.
What is the most cost-effective means of increasing pandemic preparedness?
a) Strengthening core public health infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems.
b) Halting and reversing global deforestation.
c) Leveraging international expertise by using internationally developed metrics for pandemic prevention and preparedness.
Why are critics of Bill C-293 concerned about the potential for transfer of power?
a) There is a lack of transparency around the existence, purpose and role of satellite offices of the WHO and the associated lack of independence of Health Canada and the provincial/territorial Ministries of Health to set policy that reflect best practices and evidence-based prevention and treatment protocols.
b) The bill calls for consultation and collaboration with other foreign governments as well as United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organization, the UN Environment Programme, and the UN’s World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. These organizations are calling for a move away from the current paradigm of international health governance towards global health governance which is set to include roles for non-state actors such as multinational corporation, the global mass media and the global capital market.
c) Both A and B.
SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS…
Answers only - quick look
1. C 2. B 3. A 4.B 5.C 6.A 7. C 8. A 9. C 10. C 11.A 12. C
Answers & References - long with links to reference material:
What is Bill C-293? (C)
a) Something our provincial government is working on.
b) A proposal for a new law going through the House of Commons.
c) A bill that was approved in the House of Commons and that is now in the Senate.
Here one can see which Bills are under considering where https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/legislation-at-a-glance
Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the Pandemic Prevention and Preparation Bill (c-293)? (B)
a) It was introduced as a private member’s bill by a Liberal MP.
b) It has already passed through the Senate.
c) It is heavily based on the World Health Organizations’s One Health policies.
Here one can trace the progress of Bill C-293 https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-293
“Governments are progressively implementing policies that take away their ability to set their own approaches to certain issues and are replacing these with policies and priorities set by the United Nations and its subsidiary organizations like the World Health Organization.” (A)
a) This statement is true in Canada when it comes to Bill C-293.
b) This statement is a conspiracy theory.
c) This might be happening in other countries but not in Canada.
LINKS COMING
“If Bill C-293 is implemented Canada will move from a free-market economy to a command-economy, where government directs what kind of businesses can and can’t exist in the country.” (B)
a) This statement is totally irrelevant to the discussion on health care matters.
b) This statement could apply once the Pandemic Prevention and Preparation Bill is declared, as the government would have the authority to close down anything it deems a “pandemic risk” including agricultural, fishing and forestry operations.
c) This statement might apply in communist countries but has no application in Canada.
This concern arises out of the wording of Section (2)(k) as well as out of publications about the WHO’s One Health approach. https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-293/third-reading
Which of the following statements is TRUE about Bill C-293? (C)
a) The Bill respects the provincial/territorial jurisdiction over health, providing the necessary funds by allowing provincial/territorial health ministries to implement pandemic responses on a local/regional level.
b) The Bill specifies exactly which decisions on pandemic response are to be made at the provincial/territorial level and which decisions need to be handled at the federal level.
c) The Bill states that there should be some kind of national coordinator designated by someone in the Public Health Agency of Canada, but it provides no details about the budget and the scope of authority to be given this unspecified coordinator.
The proposed Amendment to the Department of Health Act showing in Section 5 of Bill C-293 is very vague. https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-293/third-reading
The original draft of Bill C-293 had a section about “Comprehensive Review of the COVID-19 Response” which included the requirement that the government ‘analyze the health, economic and social factors relevant to the impact of the pandemic’ and to assess ‘the effectiveness of the exercise of powers under any applicable federal laws before, during and after the pandemic and of the coordination of measures taken under those laws.’
But as the bill moved to the Standing Committee on Health for further study… (A)
a) This entire section was taken out so that there is now NO requirement for anyone to review what the government did and didn’t do with regards to the COVID-19 crisis.
b) Some NDP members of the committee proposed an even more thorough review.
c) The Liberal members of the committee proposed that the findings of the independently run National Citizens Inquiry be used to shape pandemic policy instead of setting up a new inquiry.
The difference in the wording of the First Reading and Third Reading text of the bill can be seen here: https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-293/third-reading Multiple reference to the NDP’s proposed amendment to expand the scope of the review of the government’s response to COVID-19 can be found by searching for “Don Davies amendment C-293” here: https://openparliament.ca/committees/health/ Interested persons can follow the various discussions on this bill at the Standing Committee on Health (HESA) here:
April 6, 2023 (is not listed as being specific to Bill C-293, but has the committee members set priorities for upcoming meetings, including future meetings related to COVID-19 related topics. https://openparliament.ca/committees/health/44-1/16/don-davies-4/?page=2
April 20, 2023 (in camera, i.e. behind closed doors, no evidence of discussions held, expect that the initiator of the bill MP Erskine-Smith was present) https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/HESA/meeting-62/minutes
October 18, 2023 https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/HESA/meeting-83/minutes
October 23, 2023 (at this meeting the amendment by MP Davies is discussed) https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/HESA/meeting-82/minutes (see also https://openparliament.ca/committees/health/44-1/83/don-davies-4/?page=1)
October 25, 2023 (this meeting turned into a discussion of the opioid crisis) https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/HESA/meeting-84/evidence
Which of the following statements about Bill C-293 is CORRECT? (C)
a) It includes reference to evidence-based ways of improving population health as a buffer against illness.
b) In addition to strengthening the approval process for safety testing of potential vaccine candidates, it includes provisions for non-vaccine preventative and treatment anti-viral and other medications.
c) Instead of referring to process to be followed for prevention and treatment of illness, the focus of Bill C-293 is on promoting the production of alternative proteins while phasing out commercial agricultural operations, live animal markets and commercial wildlife trade both in Canada and abroad, which can contribute to pandemic risk.
Section (2)(l)(iii) https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-293/third-reading
Which of the following statements is FALSE? (A)
a) The WHO ensures that pharmaceutical companies are NOT involved in the development and use of Global Benchmarking Tools used to improve the drug regulatory system in member states.
b) Because Canada is a member of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Canadian taxpayer funds are going to a partnership that helps vaccine manufacturers identify opportunities, strengthen their value-chain, hire more women scientists and set up production facilities for mRNA vaccines, including for COVID-19.
c) In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that they did not support vaccine mandates for COVID-19. In their view it is better to proceed with information campaigns.Furthermore, according to the WHO, when safety data are lacking or when the risks of the vaccination outweigh the harm without the vaccine, mandates would not be ethically justified.
As members of the Coalition of Interested Parties, pharmaceutical corporations and other non-state actors can be involved in establishing a coordinated system of regulation for medical products (medicines, vaccines, blood and blood products and medical devices, including diagnostics). This includes the development and use of Global Benchmarking Tools. https://www.who.int/initiatives/coalition-of-interested-parties https://www.who.int/tools/global-benchmarking-tools
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Policy-brief-Mandatory-vaccination-2022.1
Which of the following does Bill C-293 NOT include? (C)
a) A reference to the availability of personal protective equipment, along with equipment and human resources needed for testing and contact tracing.
b) A reference to border-related measures that would be implemented to reduce any risk in the case of a pandemic.
c) A definition of the term “pandemic”. This makes it unclear whether whether by “pandemic” the authors of the bill are referring to the new definition that the WHO started using just before SARS-CoV-2 was announced (“worldwide spread of a new disease … occurring when a new influenza virus emerges and spreads around the world, and most people do not have immunity”) or the WHO’s long-standing definition (pandemics occur when there is a new virus appearing “against which the human population has no immunity, resulting in several, simultaneous epidemics worldwide with enormous numbers of deaths and illness”) or for example the definition cited by the National Library of Medicine (“large-scale outbreaks of infectious disease that can greatly increase morbidity and mortality over a wide geographic area and cause significant economic, social, and political disruption”)
Web archives point to a previous WHO definition of PANDEMIC https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/11/02/who-changed-definition-influenza-pandemic; Even in 2024, the term “pandemic” is still not agreed upon internationally: https://www.ft.com/content/cbfe34be-2b76-4bf5-82cd-396e8695569d. For the definition as it appears in a publication by the National Library of Medicine see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525302/
10. What is meant by “risk”? (C) a) “Spark risk”, i.e. where a pandemic is likely to arise b) “Spread risk”, i.e. how likely it is to diffuse broadly through human populations c) No one knows, because that term is not defined in Bill C-293. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525302/
What is the most cost-effective means of increasing pandemic preparedness? (A)
a) Strengthening core public health infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems
b) Halting and reversing global deforestation
c) Leveraging international expertise by using internationally developed metrics for pandemic prevention and preparedness
Why are critics of Bill C-293 concerned about the potential for transfer of power? (C)
a) There is a lack of transparency around the existence, purpose and role of satellite offices of the WHO and the associated lack of independence of Health Canada and the provincial/territorial Ministries of Health to set policy that reflect best practices and evidence-based prevention and treatment protocols.
b) The bill calls for consultation and collaboration with other foreign governments as well as United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organization, the UN Environment Programme, and the UN’s World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. These organizations are calling for a move away from the current paradigm of international health governance towards global health governance which is set to include roles for non-state actors such as multinational corporation, the global mass media and the global capital market.
c) Both A and B.
Background Reading #1
In 2002, authors of this paper entitled ‘Global Health Governance - A Conceptual Review’ stated:
“There is a widespread belief that the current system of international health governance (IHG) does not sufficiently meet these needs and, indeed, has a number of limitations and gaps. In light of these perceived shortcomings, the concept of global health governance (GHG) has become a subject of interest and debate in the field of international health.”
The paper was written as part of a project entitled ‘Key Issues in Global Health Governance’ which was funded by the Department of Health and Development, World Health Organization.
This paper was intended as the first of 5 discussion papers on the topic, which are MANDATORY READING for anyone working in the field of Health Policy these days.
The authors explained that following the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, there was a marked increase in cross border health initiatives:
‘Notably, these initiatives enjoyed the support of political and economic elites across European societies who believed that the crossborder spread of disease would hamper industrialisation and the expansion of international trade.’
A total of 18 “sanitary conferences” took place between 1851 and 1931 on a range of cross border health matters including opium and “the Liquor trade in Africa.” (p. 10)
This conceptual review of Global Health Governance provides useful charts such as the following:
Even though today, we might rearrange and recategorize some of the contents of this chart, it helps us see different approaches to Global Health Governance over the decades. And we now have a potential frame of reference and a vocabulary to use when discussing the extreme swing away from a “transformationalist and participatory” type of global health governance directed by “States, peoples, international organization, corporations and social movements” towards a “top down” “global neoliberal” one in which the key actors are the “transnational capitalist class, elites [working] through states, International organization and civil society” (p. 17).
Writing 22 years ago, the authors already hinted at the potential for transnational elites such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the mass media as having influence and prominence. However, they may not have foreseen quite how, a mere 22 years later, these elites and the entities they have formed were to totally capture the public institutions and derail any global health governance initiatives away from the initial aim, which was to “achieve a more pluralist, yet cohesive, system of global health governance.” They wrote:
“In this complex arena of actors, the issue of leadership and authority is a difficult one. As well as setting the normative framework for global health cooperation, leadership can provide the basis for generating public awareness, mobilising resources, using resources rationally through coordinated action, setting priorities, and bestowing or withdrawing legitimacy from groups and causes. The willingness of states to ‘pool’ their sovereignty and act collectively through mechanisms of GHG is one historically significant hurdle. The absence of a single institution, with the authority and capacity to act decisively, to address health issues of global concern is another. The panoply of vested interests that characterise global politics represents another clear difficulty. After the Second World War, the agreement to establish the World Health Organization was prompted by a strong collective recognition of the need to improve health worldwide. The global nature of many emerging health issues, including the threat of major threats to humankind (e.g. emerging diseases, antimicrobial resistance) may prompt similar consensus.” (p. 22)
“Lastly, there is the task of defining more clearly the potential role of nonstate actors within a system of GHG. Relationships, patterns of influence and agreed roles among state and nonstate actors within an emerging system of GHG are still emerging. This myriad of different actors, each with individual spheres of activity, types of expertise, resources, interests and aspirations, cannot yet be described as a "global society". As defined by Fidler (1998b), a global society is "made of individuals and non-state entities all over the world that conceive of themselves as part of a single community and work nationally and transnationally to advance their common interests and values." The ad hoc nature of GHG so far, however, suggests that a more concerted effort to define and describe existing and potential roles would contribute to policy debates on possible future directions. The potential role of civil society in GHG is the subject of Discussion Paper No. 4, and the potential role of the private sector is examined in Discussion Paper No. 5.” (p. 23-24)
Background Reading #2
This paper entitled “Preliminary Opinion 8/2020 on the European Health Data Space” opens as follows:
“On 19 February 2020, the European Commission presented its Communication on “A European strategy for data”. This communication envisages the creation of a common space in the area of health, namely the European Health Data Space (‘EHDS’), presented as an essential tool for the prevention, detection and cure of diseases as well as for the taking of evidence- based decisions and to enhance effectiveness, accessibility and sustainability of the healthcare systems.”
It includes 59 recommendations on data privacy and data portability — but (not stated in the paper) there is a huge concern among opponents to Bill C-293 that “health governance” might simply become an entry point for the commercialization of human DATA under the guise of promoting actual physical and mental health and wellbeing. A companion read would be this recently paper entitled: “Pioneering the EU’s sector-specific data spaces: The European Health Data Space - How interoperable open data and restricted health data can improve the delivery of health services across the EU”.
By extending the field of “health” via the WHO “OneHealth initiative” to potentially cover data on all manner of plants, animals, insects, as well as the benefits of natural processes such as pollination and photosynthesis (which are currently being monetized by those seeking to raise the debt ceiling in the United States (see here), we are opening the door to an immense field of corporate activity and profit for data/tech/financial corporations and losing sight of what HEALTH actually means. NONE of these issues around Global Health Governance and the DATA-fying of Health are under discussion or even touched upon in Bill C-293.
Canadians are becoming aware of how Bill C-293 is NOT delivering what was promised - a codifying into law TRUE, EVIDENCE BASED MEANS OF PREPARING FOR AND PREVENTING PANDEMICS. This SHOULD be done both by strengthening the HEALTH of the population, and its resistance to pathogens through strengthened natural immunity and by enforcing the global ban on the premier source of pandemic viruses - bioweapons research.
Instead, Bill-C293 is poised to be a tool of our current cast of global neoliberal “transnational capitalist class, elites [working] through states, International organization and civil society” to establish yet another area of fiscal activity - data mining instead of health promotion - and to put themselves at the top of not only global health governance but global governance AS A WHOLE.
Manufactured pandemics and chaotic responses based on ‘scientism’ while ignoring the ongoing insights and developments in peer reviewed scientific research, are simply creating yet more societal chaos - the perfect way to capture control of the whole of society.
and here: https://www.canadaexitwho.org/control-grid-news .