Let’s hope it does not fall on deaf Canadian ears. Dose two should mean freedom.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on May 17, 2021.

To mask or not to mask, that is the question.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States just issued a directive that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask or practise social distancing.

The directive had immediate repercussions in the United States with politicians in the nation’s capital appearing maskless for the first time in more than a year.

Even the president emerged for his first mask-free press conference since the beginning of the pandemic. He vaunted his country’s aggressive vaccination strategy, revealing the country delivered 250 million shots in 114 days. Almost 60 per cent of the American population have already received at least one vaccine.

So, the president was celebrating the chance to be mask-free indoors and outdoors.

The directive has also led to some confusion, as the issue of masking has created a difficult political divide between pro and anti-maskers.

Some of those who have been promoting masking believe the new directive is erring on the side of COVID 19, not caution. But the CDC has backed up their directive with a simple message.

People who are fully vaccinated are safe. And vaccinated people are extremely unlikely to pass the infection along to others.

In Canada, our government is still waffling on what vaccinated Canadians can expect. The government is waiting for advice from Health Canada on the protocol in the post-vaccine world. They could be waiting for a very long time.

In the past 14 months, Canada has refrained from introducing national guidelines on vaccination so the story changes from province to province.

And even though there is absolutely no scientific reason to do so, the government requires fully vaccinated travellers to quarantine for 14 days upon their return to the country.

However, if you refuse to go to a COVID hotel in Ontario or British Columbia you face a fine of $3,000 while in Alberta, there is no fine.

Why? Because Alberta did not adopt the federal act for hotel quarantines. Even though Alberta announced tougher restrictions to fight soaring disease rates last week, that province and Saskatchewan have refused for more than 14 months to sign on to the Contraventions Act.

You can go golfing or play tennis in Quebec. In Ontario you can do neither as the provincial government is moving to extend a full lockdown into the month of June.

In the National Capital Region, an Ontarian is barred from hiking in the Gatineau Park which is about 10 minutes from Parliament since it is on the wrong side of the river. All this notwithstanding the fact that there is not a scintilla of evidence to support outdoor viral transmission.

The outdoors is our friend when it comes to the virus. That is where people can exercise, take in some fresh air, and return to sporting activities that keep them healthy. Sitting inside comes with its own set of health problems, especially for older people who need to keep moving in the fight against arthritis, diabetes, heart issues and many diseases that affect the aged.

Ontario has also decided to suspend all first doses of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, citing paucity of supply and potential health issues related to blood clots. Meanwhile the United Kingdom, vaccinating at the rate of 600,000 a day mostly with Astra Zeneca, announced last Monday there were no COVID deaths in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is talking about a one-dose summer and a two-dose fall, claiming that all Canadians will be able to be fully vaccinated by the end of summer.

The country is moving ahead on accelerating the vaccination rollout, now jumping to the head of the line in vaccinations for all countries in the G7.

But a vaccination system without post-vaccination guidelines leaves people wondering just what is the point of vaccines?

And in the absence of clarity, confusion reigns.

There is still no national decision on the use of a vaccine passport.

Yet it stands to reason that if we want to return to normal life, a vaccine record can help guarantee safety and security of all.

In the workplace, vaccinated employees should be able to throw away their masks, especially in environments like packing plants and food processing companies where masks have been doubly challenging.

No doubt the CDC announcement will resonate around the world. Let’s hope it does not fall on deaf Canadian ears. Dose two should mean freedom.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

As long as a single country is offside, the waiver will not be a slam dunk.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on May 10, 2021.

The Canadian government could have been on the wrong side of the world vaccine issue.

By failing to immediately join the United States president in his call for an end to patent protection for coronavirus vaccines, Canada risked losing its globally positive reputation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already signalled he may replace an initial tepid response with a strong endorsement of the plan by U.S. President Joe Biden to suspend patent rights during the pandemic. He should.

In most cases, governments have already participated financially in the development of these vaccines.

Parliament has already passed a resolution permitting the government to suspend patent rights during a pandemic.

The tools are there to move quickly in support of a World Trade Organization resolution proposed by India and South Africa and now supported by more than 100 countries.

It is quite possible that the nascent Biden administration kept allies in the dark regarding any intention to move on this motion.

Canada wasn’t the only country looking as though it was caught by surprise.

The European Union, and many countries there, had similar milquetoast responses to the statement issued last week by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

The statement explained the change of heart because: “This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures … in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for vaccines.”

News reports say that the decision to proceed with the waiver was made on May 4 after weeks of internal debate, and representatives from the Commerce Department were not included in the final meeting.

With the announcement the following day, the usual outreach to like-minded countries did not gather a unanimous wave of support.

Germany came down hard on the proposal, while France offered tepid words of support.

While the American reversal was well-received around the world, the announcement promised discussion but there is no real deadline for completion.

The challenge of getting the exemption through the WTO is no small task because all resolutions are supposed to be determined by consensus.

As long as a single country is offside, the waiver will not be a slam dunk.

In the meantime, the current system will continue, with disproportionate vaccination in developed nations.

The second question not been fully answered is whether the waiver will actually ensure more global access to more vaccines, the reason behind the proposed patent waiver.

Vaccine manufacturers say the real issue is the production blockages and shortage of raw materials. They also claim that the waiver could dilute the safety and security of the vaccination rollout, encouraging fraudulent or inferior production methods.

The European Union has been promoting the idea of a liberalized licensing system with shared know-how and greater oversight.

Chances are this WTO patent waiver will take a least a year to implement, if ever.

Meanwhile the Biden administration has scored big with developing nations while Canada appears to be the fat cat sitting on the sidelines.

With the images of death and dying emanating from India, there is a huge humanitarian reason to be on the waiver side of this issue.

That, coupled with the number of expatriate Indo-Canadians fearing for their families’ lives, should be reason enough for the cabinet to come out strongly in support of the Biden initiative.

New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh has already accused the prime minister of putting drug company profits ahead of the pandemic.

He knows that Canadians will not take kindly to a leader who waffles on the issue of global access to vaccines.

The irony is that the United States has already used its own manufacturing capacity to secure vaccines for all its citizens before pivoting on the waiver issue.

The president knew that raising the ire of vaccine manufacturers would probably slow down his national rollout.

On the Canadian side, we currently have no international manufacturers. The only Canadian company that had begun the development process, Providence Therapeutics from Calgary, last week blamed lack of government support for a decision to leave the country.

Last month, Ontario and federal governments announced a vaccine package of 925 million with Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical giant. The plan envisions a new vaccine production facility in Toronto to open in 2027. The federal government contributed 415 million and Ontario added 55 million to the project.

Those jobs will likely be threatened by an open vaccine regime.

But the prime minister’s own job may be at risk if Canada flaunts the global consensus.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Voters are always happier in the spring and the economic fallout won’t yet be felt.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on February 8, 2021.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has to keep saying that he does not want an election. Forcing the country into a vote in the middle of a pandemic may be seen as an impolitic move.

However, the three provinces that have gone to the polls during this pandemic have all been rewarded with majority governments.

So those who say the calling of a COVID election would cost votes are wrong. Sure, there would be a couple of days of grumbling at the beginning of the campaign. But very quickly, pundits and politicians would start debating the big issues facing Canadians at the moment.

Economic and health uncertainty are the obvious themes that need to be addressed.

Thus far, these are both issues where the opposition parties have not been able to secure much traction.

The Conservatives have been hitting hard at pandemic mismanagement. With Pfizer delaying their promised deliveries, and provinces adding their criticism to the rollout, the government has suffered some political damage. However, that will be forgotten as soon as the rollout returns at the end of February.

These hiccups are happening around the world, and Canadians are not alone in the challenge of securing and delivering vaccines to needy citizens.

But most Canadians will not hold that against the government once the election is called. Instead, they may attack the opposition for being offside in a world pandemic situation.

Last week Green Party Leader Annamie Paul tried to carve out her own COVID space, accusing the government of being a bad global citizen because it tapped into a previously contracted number of vaccines from Covax. Paul said the Canadian government should not have access to a vaccine that was developed primarily to assist poorer countries.

But the Green Party leader won’t get much support on that one. If she had read the fine print of the Canadian Covax funding announcement last fall, she would know that one-half of the $440-million invested in the Covax vaccine was intended for Canadian vaccine use.

And when Canadian lives are at risk, it seems strange for a Canadian politician to deny the vaccine to her own country.

Similar criticism was reflected in some international media reports, which accused Canada of being greedy as one of the few developed countries tapping into the Covax vaccine.

While the world needs a global strategy, all politics is still local. And Paul will not get a lot of support for attacking the Liberals’ desire to protect Canadians.

The government is also facing a long-term economic meltdown as province by province, businesses are forced to shutter, and citizens are required to stay home in lockdown.

Liberals delivered a death blow to the airline industry by asking them to shut down flights to the Caribbean and Mexico in a popular, but misguided effort to stop the spread of the virus.

By all accounts, air travel was responsible for little more than one per cent of the COVID transmission, but that did not stop the government from introducing a punitive hotel quarantine for any citizen returning from abroad after next week. This requirement has zero pandemic value, as it supplements a COVID PCR test before anyone gets on a plane and after they get off. It also requires those who have been vaccinated to quarantine.

And even though the viral mutations came from the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa, none of these destinations have been shut down.

The move was largely intended to keep people from travelling during spring break and it worked. But the airlines have also laid off thousands and Air Canada shut down Rouge last week. Professor Fred Lazar, of the Schulich School of Business at York University, said travel is being unfairly targeted in the pandemic fight. “They are doing it to cater to the vast majority of Canadians that have a holier than thou attitude toward travel.” Full disclosure, I am one of those shameful snowbirds who left Canada for southern climes, despite the best advice of my government.

But even if the move did not make health sense, it was very popular, and managed to distract attention from vaccine rollout problems.

Some Canadian routes, cancelled during COVID, will never return, exacerbating regional isolation.

Meanwhile, once the vaccine gets rolling, there will be a collective sigh of relief. That is the moment to trigger an election. Voters are always happier in the spring and the economic fallout won’t yet be felt.

Most Canadians will reward the Liberals for taming the COVID beast.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

By procuring almost one-quarter million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the government will be able to start distribution immediately so that frontline workers and the vulnerable elderly will get protection. And once the procurement deal was announced, Health Canada moved quickly to approve the vaccine.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on December 14, 2020.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pulled a huge rabbit out of his hat last week.

By procuring almost one-quarter million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the government will be able to start distribution immediately so that frontline workers and the vulnerable elderly will get protection.

And once the procurement deal was announced, Health Canada moved quickly to approve the vaccine.

By doing so, Canada joined the United Kingdom, and Bahrain, becoming just the third country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Four thousand people will be receiving the vaccine next week with priority given to frontline health-care workers.

It also gave Trudeau some much-needed good news in advance of last week’s first ministers’ meeting on health that was not going to be an easy ride.

The federal government has been the major contributor to funding during the COVID crisis. According to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, the national government has been responsible for 80 per cent of the extraordinary costs associated with the pandemic.

And last week’s first ministers’ meeting gave the prime minister a chance to outline some of those successes, including funding for personal protective equipment and direct support for those who lost their jobs because of the virus.

But Trudeau is also under pressure to increase the federal financial share of provincial health funding, as the provinces were seeking an increase from 22 per cent to 35 per cent. That increase would represent additional funding of $28-billion annually, up from the current $42-billion yearly transfer.

Trudeau will not be able to meet their full demands, which some premiers have privately acknowledged as unrealistic. But any increase in ongoing funding will also be tied to the introduction of common standards into health-care delivery, while the provinces want to spend the money in their own jurisdiction with no strings attached.

In normal times, the federal involvement in provincial health matters is a no-go zone. There is simply too much jurisprudence that the matter falls under provincial authority.

More than two decades ago, BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis offered to develop a chip for health care that would record and retain health records for every single Canadian from cradle to grave.

That technology could have been critical in reducing duplication and overlap when patient records are often lost in transfer between hospitals or provinces, when people move.

The senior official involved in the offer, then heading up online initiatives for the government, shut the conversation down in five minutes. She said a single health information system would never happen because the federal government would not impinge on provincial jurisdiction.

That was long before this global pandemic infected the world and exposed gaping holes in provincial delivery of Canadian health care.

Our collective treatment of seniors living in long-term care facilities has been disgraceful. It was so bad that premiers actually called in the Canadian military to save patients. In the financial update, Freeland announced $1-billion to be spent in long-term care facilities on the condition that provinces and the federal government work together to devise national standards.

The provinces are resisting but the population is not impressed after what they have witnessed in filthy nursing homes across the country.

Seniors and single young people are probably those who have suffered most during this world crisis.

Isolation from family and friends is most difficult for those who live on their own, or who are in continuing care facilities where visits have been limited for almost a year.

The vaccine has finally given people hope that there is a light at the end of this tunnel.

The first person in the world to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was a 90-year-old British woman who pleaded with everyone to follow her example.

Her message to anti-vaxxers was that if she could take it, anyone could. She said the vaccine would finally allow her to reunite with her family, from whom she had to isolate because of the virus.

Her message was meant to encourage those who might have doubts about the test. According to the American Food and Drug Administration, only 61 per cent of Americans are likely to get the vaccine. Many vaccine opponents see their refusal as an anti-government political statement. The vaccine is supposed to be taken by at least 70 per cent of citizens for the best chance to achieve herd immunity.

The vast majority of Canadians will likely be lining up eagerly for a vaccine. Their annus horribilus is finally coming to an end.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Putting Canadian jobs first would also ensure that when it comes to vaccines, we are not at the back of the line.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on November 30, 2020.

Now that several vaccines are on the horizon, there is hope in sight for an end to this global pandemic.

But Canadians are now learning that we might have to wait longer than other countries to be vaccinated since there is no domestic manufacturer.

The government was quick off the mark to sign agreements securing multiple potential vaccines as soon as international universities and companies began researching vaccines. Canada has already stockpiled enough syringes to vaccinate every single citizen.

But the material used to go into the syringe is not so easy to obtain.

Without a made-in-Canada vaccine, we are being forced to line up behind other countries that understandably want to protect their own citizens first.

Outgoing president Donald Trump launched Operation Warp Speed with the intention of securing enough vaccines as quickly as possible, strictly for American citizens.

Early on in the pandemic, he made it very clear that any personal protective equipment manufactured in the United States would be staying there. At one point, he even made it illegal to export 3M protective masks to Canada, even though Canadian pulp was imported to form the basis of the masks he was refusing to share.

In the end, the Canadian government partnered to open a 3M factory in Canada, the only way to guarantee security of supply of the medical-grade masks.

So why hasn’t the government done the same thing for vaccines?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the country does not have the capacity to produce vaccines. Its strategy, instead, was to sign as many vaccine deals as possible so that Canada would be in a position to secure vaccines from multiple sources.

That strategy does not explain why the government did not secure domestic licensing agreements during the advance purchase negotiations.

Many other countries have those licensing agreements and are already beginning production in anticipation of an approval by the American Food and Drug Administration or the European certifying authority. Unlike many countries, Canada does not accept health certifications from other jurisdictions, and carries out its own analysis.

That gives most of us a sense of security that we are not simply mimicking approvals from elsewhere.

But to those familiar with the system, Health Canada approval delays are actually restricting the development of a robust domestic pharmaceutical industry.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am currently working to assist a number of Canadian companies selling PPE and/or developing tests to help in the global pandemic fight.

One such company in the Toronto area, BTNX, has been making Health Canada-approved test kits for drug testing, strep throat testing, pregnancy and others for more than 20 years.

In the early stages of the COVID outbreak, it started working on the development rapid antigen and antibody tests.

The tests were approved in Europe last spring, and are currently sold in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain. Brazil, Peru, and with a partner in the United States.

But its test kits in Canada are still awaiting approval. Not only can the test kits not be sold in our country, according to Health Canada regulations, kits cannot even be exported for sale in countries that have already approved it.

So, the Canadian company, located in the riding of the minister for small business, was forced to set up its COVID manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom. That country has already approached the company, offering financial assistance to move the balance of its operations there.

But even though its test was included in the Regeneron drug protocol given to Trump, it is still awaiting Canadian approval.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government last week announced the purchase of 20 million similar test kits from a foreign competitor, despite the fact that the Canadian test kit was better ranked by the World Health Organization.

Purchase orders from major Canadian airlines remain unfilled while those airlines secure test kits from foreign companies.

Another Canadian company, again with deep roots in the testing area, has developed a saliva test that it expects to be approved in Europe and the United States in January. When asked about expected Health Canada approval dates, the company sarcastically suggested it might come in 2031.

But if the vaccine delay shows us anything, our country must have a made-in-Canada pandemic strategy.

A good start would involve prioritizing domestic pharmaceutical companies in testing and purchase of COVID-fighting tools.

Putting Canadian jobs first would also ensure that when it comes to vaccines, we are not at the back of the line.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Notwithstanding government advice, I have travelled south and am currently coviding in 30-degree temperatures on the sunny beaches of Mexico. To be clear, we left home two weeks before the government issued an anti-travel advisory to all seniors last week.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on November 23, 2020.

I am a snowbird sinner.

Notwithstanding government advice, I have travelled south and am currently coviding in 30-degree temperatures on the sunny beaches of Mexico.

To be clear, we left home two weeks before the government issued an anti-travel advisory to all seniors last week.

The government advice did not mince words: “avoid all non-essential travel outside Canada and to avoid all cruise ship travel until further notice…. If you are an older traveller, you may be immunocompromised or have chronic medical conditions such as obesity…. By choosing to stay at home…you can help protect yourself, your family and those at risk of more severe disease.”

Judging by the absence of northern vacationers in Mexico, most people are heeding that advice.

In what is usually the beginning of the high season, in our condo there is literally only one other Canadian couple from Calgary that has made the trek south.

Rules require us to quarantine in our unit for two weeks before accessing the pool or any other common facilities.

And we are extremely diligent in self-distancing and masking whenever we venture into any public spaces.

The good news is that most of the activities in Mexico take place outdoors. We walk on the beach daily and can easily eat outdoors at home or elsewhere.

We did not make the decision to travel lightly and even had several discussions with family members who are front-line medical workers.

But the bottom line: it is much easier to survive the social isolation in warmer weather.

The notion of simply staying in our Ottawa apartment would likely prompt risky indoor social gatherings.

The announcement of a potential vaccine has lifted the spirits of all, but it is definitely going to take up to a year to cover the country.

Already, disputes are erupting between levels of government on how many vaccines will be available by province and when they can be accessed.

Health Canada has yet to approve the vaccines.

There will be tremendous pressure on the federal government to fast-track treatments as American neighbours start receiving emergency injections before year’s end.

There are several vaccines on the verge of approval, two of which have announced results up to 95 per cent efficiency. U.S. President Donald Trump can take credit for that news, as he launched Operation Warp Speed to propel the race for a safe vaccine.

That has buoyed health-care workers in the United States, where at press time, almost every state in the union was on a negative COVID trajectory.

Canada’s numbers are also continuing to trend in the wrong direction. The premier of Ontario is expected to announce deeper lockdowns in Peel, York, and the city of Toronto because of the prevalence of COVID in the GTA.

As the numbers rise, there is confusion about the best way to flatten the curve.

Just as the Canadian government is telling snowbirds to stay home, the Ottawa medical officer of health is tearing up on television publicly discussing thousands of mortality statistics that aren’t covered in COVID death counts.

Dr. Vera Etches cited spikes in suicide and cancer deaths caused by delayed treatment as two examples of an indirect death toll wrought by the world pandemic.

One of my friends confessed recently that her aging mother is musing about assisted death because she can no longer tolerate the isolation of an assisted living environment where, for months at a time, not a single family member had been allowed to visit.

Further lockdowns prompted by the second wave have beaten down an already exhausted population, and some are simply ignoring restrictions on indoor gatherings.

That takes me back to my decision to pre-empt the travel advisory ban issued by the federal government.

Facing minus 20-degree weather locked inside in an apartment in Ottawa would make it far more likely that my attendance at risky indoor social gatherings would increase.

By travelling south, and exercising caution in masking, distancing, and social isolation, I fully expect to endure the winter with less risk of receiving or transmitting the COVID virus than would have happened in Ottawa.

The only issue we were truly concerned about was the trip to our destination, as we travelled through three different airports.

But the measures taken before we got on board, including temperature taking and masking on flights, led to a safe arrival.

Our commitment to good COVID avoidance practices will not waver. But it is much easier to stay safe in the sand than the snow.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

But the full return of Parliament will also focus more attention on Liberal mistakes, as the opposition parties will do their best to change the channel away from COVID solidarity.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on July 6, 2020.

OTTAWA—The COVID-19 political bump has bounced the Liberals back into majority government territory.

That is quite a comeback from a time when the party literally limped into power following a gaffe-filled election campaign last fall.

The prime minister and all provincial premiers appear to be benefiting from a rise in public support attributed to their handling of the pandemic.

Daily communications have softened and strengthened images of each leader. That may seem like an anachronism, but most Canadians expect their leaders to be strong and approachable.

Leaders have also benefited from the absence of pandemic critics.

In a world outbreak, people expect political parties to work together, so it is very difficult to attack the life-saving measures being taken across the board.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, who was out early and often in heated attacks at the beginning of the lockdown, suffered criticism from within his own party for missing the mark.

The country expects leaders to work together in time of crisis, and they have been doing so.

For a brief period, even Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has set aside his Ottawa-bashing in an attempt to find common ground.

But the danger of this bump is that it is directly linked to a sense of danger.

If Canadians believe the third phase of COVID containment is going well, they will focus on issues other than the country’s stand in the fight against the coronavirus.

News reports say there are several vaccines which will be undergoing massive human test trials starting at the end of this month.

If any are successful, the path to a vaccination may be marked by months, not years.

The Canadian government has already stockpiled enough syringes to vaccinate the whole population. That could mean an end to the social distancing and bubble-making that have become a way of life for all of us.

Canada Day in the nation’s capital was a shadow of its usual self.

Virtual fireworks and concerts just don’t cut it.

So, a vaccine would liberate us from the spell that the lockdown has cast over the whole country.

But that also brings its own political risks.

With no national danger in sight, political leaders in regions across the country will fall into their old habits of blaming other provinces or the federal government for their challenges.

Kenney dropped the corporate tax rate last week because he said he wanted to make Alberta stand out as a magnet for business.

The financial markets responded to the stimulus plan, which included $10-billion in infrastructure spending this fiscal year, by cutting the province’s credit rating.

American-based Fitch announced a downgrade from Double A to Double A minus, citing the province’s heavy borrowing to fight the economic crisis.

Alberta is also facing the ongoing, worldwide crash in oil prices, which has been exacerbated by the COVID economic slowdown.

An international move away from fossil fuels is not likely to change anytime soon so Alberta will be facing continuing jobs pressure.

And with the safety of a vaccine, the spectre of COVID prompting interprovincial cooperation will dissipate quickly.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also faces the challenge of election timing.

The current numbers point to an early vote, but if the government moves too quickly, it will likely be accused of opportunism, sacrificing any residual goodwill from the crisis.

The full return of Parliament will also focus more attention on Liberal mistakes, as the opposition parties will do their best to change the channel away from COVID solidarity.

Racial and Indigenous inequities, post-COVID changes to the health-care system, and economic recovery will dominate the parliamentary agenda.

There will be criticism of government deficits, given the unprecedented payouts to millions of Canadians who were affected financially by the pandemic.

Canadians will also expect government action on migrant workers’ abhorrent conditions, and the patchwork of regulations governing long-term care facilities across the country.

There is plenty of fodder for parliamentary debate that will quickly overshadow the question of pandemic management.

If the economy rebounds well, the government will be rewarded in the next election.

Canada has been relatively successful in navigating the crisis, largely because governments spoke with a single voice, and citizens were vigilant in following instruction on lockdowns, distancing, masking and bubbles.

Canadians have not been subject to the same mess of mixed messaging and anti-mask libertarianism that has afflicted the United States.

And our return to normalcy will be more secure because of our sacrifices.

Thankfully the worst Canada Day in history is behind us.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.