Too bad we won't see any results until the end of the year Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. Yesterday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a major deal with vaccine maker Novavax to begin manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines domestically. The feds will pump $125 million into a Montreal facility owned by the National Research Council, a federal agency overseen by the ministry of innovation, to create the Novavax-developed vaccine. (That means François-Philippe Champagne, who was slotted into the innovation profile last month after getting shuffled out of foreign affairs, will play a major role—this might explain what seemed, at the time, like a demotion for the popular minister.) The facility in Montreal should be ready to produce vaccines by the summer, but certification of the plant will take longer. Champagne told reporters that Canada likely won't be able to manufacture its own vaccines before the end of the year. So make no mistake: this is good news, but won't help an internationally dependant Canada reach its goal of getting every willing Canadian vaccinated by September. The government has come under heavy fire after the manufacturers of the country's only two approved vaccines—Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech—both announced significant delays in shipments this month. In the meantime, to squeeze a little more out of every vial of the Pfizer vaccine, the government has "proactively" ordered 64 million special syringes that can administer six doses instead of five. Health Canada hasn't yet approved that shift, but likely will soon. And the health agency is also on track to approve the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine in a matter of days—in her latest edition of Vaxx Populi in Maclean's, Patricia Treble outlines what we know (and don't know) about this new vaccine , including its efficacy rate, dosage requirements and how well it prevents transmission. The feds are investing $64 million to combat vaccine hesitancy and hasten the vaccine rollout. The government's press release is a little vague as to the exact expenditures, however; $30.25 million has been earmarked for "community-led projects" to educate Canadians using "tailored, targeted tools and educational resources," while $32.5 million will help provinces and territories upgrade their electronic vaccination registries. Dr. Theresa Tam cautioned once again against relaxing public safety measures, as another province flies in the face of her recommendations: Quebec will be easing its restrictions on Feb. 8, following Alberta's own announcement of similar measures. Quebec Premier François Legault revealed yesterday that businesses, museums and hair salons will reopen, although gyms and movie theatres will remain closed and the province's 8 p.m. curfew will stay in place. Former chief of defense staff Jonathan Vance is being accused of inappropriate behaviour with two female subordinates, according to a Global News investigation. Vance admitted to dating one of the women back in 2001, but denied anything sexual occurred between them. The second allegation focuses on an email from a much younger junior soldier in 2012, to which Vance allegedly suggested she accompany him to a clothing-optional destination. Vance denied sending the email, but said if he did, he was probably joking. After the resignation of Julie Payette, anyone with an opinion about Canadian politics began engaging in the national discussion of who should be the next governor general. Several prominent Indigenous Canadians, including former senator Murray Sinclair and Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde, argued the role should be filled by an Indigenous person. Associate law professor John Packer wrote a piece for the Ottawa Citizen arguing it should be Sinclair himself, while over at the Globe and Mail , columnist Tanya Talaga argues such a gesture would in fact "mean nothing". Canada cracked down on international travel earlier this week, announcing bans on Canadian flights to the Caribbean and Mexico, new testing at airports and, starting tomorrow, three days of mandatory quarantining at a specific hotel chosen by the government for anyone entering Canada from abroad. Léger and the Association for Canadian Studies teamed up to survey 1,559 Canadians about their thoughts on these new measures, and found 86 per cent agreed with them, while 87 per cent believed the feds should go even further, banning international travel outright until daily case numbers decrease. More than a million asylum seekers arrived in Germany between 2014 and 2016. Critics worried the country wouldn't be able to handle the influx, or the migrants wouldn't be able to assimilate. Years on, those fears have largely proven unfounded. In Maclean's, Sadiya Ansari writes about what Canada can learn from Germany's model policies: The German case of mass unplanned migration confirmed what research already showed—a strong economy, language and integration courses, and classic settlement counselling help newcomers find education or work opportunities. These factors are already taken into account by most immigrant-receiving countries, including Canada. What happened in Germany also confirmed what is known to not work well in many countries—lack of recognition of qualifications and experience, a gender gap in labour market participation and uncertainty in residence status acting as a barrier to entering the labour market. If you ever wondered just how scripted are questions in the House of Commons' Question Period—specifically, when questions are asked by, and to, Liberal MPs—the answer is "painfully". At least 10 government staffers helped polish a "friendly" question to Health Minister Patty Hajdu last spring, according to one of the 30,000 COVID-related government documents that were recently released. This practice is not unique among Liberals, leaving some MPs questioning whether the House should do away with speaking notes altogether, forcing politicians to, you know, speak for themselves. With an election on the horizon in Newfoundland and Labrador, parties are vying to win votes virtually. One way to do so: make a genuinely funny video that goes a little viral. Such is the tactic of PC Party Leader Ches Crosbie, who leaned into how boring politics are in this cute ad starring his family —Michael Fraiman | 
