VANCOUVER – Yesterday, NDP MP Don Davies sent a letter (see below) to Prime Minister Trudeau calling on the federal government to ban third parties from collecting fees for assistance with Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) applications.
Davies' request comes in response to a scam that has targeted at least 77 seniors in Vancouver, along with reports that tax consultants are charging clients for help with CERB application
MP Don Davies calls for federal ban on CERB fees
Feds’ proposal for national testing framework may invite pushback from provinces, but experts say standards ‘essential’ as economy reopens
Still, NDP health critic Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, B.C.) said he did not see the shift in tone from Mr. Trudeau as “a change of heart,” rather “a recognition of an abdication of duty and failure of the federal government, that they finally have corrected.”
Mr. Davies, who also sits on the House Health Committee, said experts have been reiterating the importance of testing “to get a handle on COVID-19, and begin to manage the restoration of an open economy and society” for months now. He said there is a need for a “comprehensive and extensive testing program, but we have anything but that in Canada, and I can’t find out why.”
At least 77 Vancouver seniors targeted in CERB application scheme
“To me that is fraud. It is counselling someone to commit a fraud and I believe that this is illegal and the police should be involved in this,” said Davies.
Elmore says the Vancouver Police Department is aware of the situation, and is looking into it.
Davies is planning to take the matter to Ottawa to try make it illegal to charge people fees to obtain COVID-19 benefits like the CERB.
"Because if there isn't a clear prohibition against charging people to access this benefit, there ought to be. And I think we should call for that immediately."
CERB scam targeting seniors
“At best this is immoral, at worst illegal. We need to put an immediate stop to this scam that takes advantage of seniors,” Davies says.
This week, the federal government announced there will be subsequent measures made to identify fraud cases.
For Canadians who shouldn’t have received money, but did, a new repayment option on the Canada Revenue Agency website is now available to repay it back.
Pressure mounts on federal government to help fix, build long-term care homes as pandemic takes deadly toll
NDP health critic Don Davies said the federal government has a responsibility to address the "disgraceful" state of long term care in Canada.
"Too many governments have ignored this important area of care for too long. We need to work at all levels to comprehensively address the deficiencies," he said.
Davies said the federal government could help fund nursing homes by creating a dedicated federal transfer to the provinces and territories, while requiring that the funds be used for long-term care.
Canadian MPs’ effort to summon WHO adviser comes under fire in China
NDP health critic Don Davies, a member of the committee, said his interest in Dr. Aylward testifying has nothing to do with China or geopolitical issues. “From the outset, the Canadian government and public health agency relied explicitly on WHO guidance and information. They continue to do so. I would like to explore the basis of these,” he said.
“Second, the WHO also has members who are at different stages of this pandemic, in some cases, nations who are further along than Canada. As the global co-ordinating body, I would like to probe the experiences of these nations to help guide our actions.
Kelly McParland: The WHO, and Dr. Aylward, owe Canadians honest answers
This being Canada, the members of the committee seeking to pose questions to Aylward have been both polite and patient. He was supposed to testify early in April but cancelled on short notice. Members of the committee then sent off a second invitation, only to be told by a lawyer for the WHO that he wouldn’t show. Committee members were told they could submit written questions, which the organization would, presumably, answer as it saw fit. That was a bit much even for courteous Canadians, so, last week, in a third try, the committee took the rare step of voting to issue a summons for Aylward to appear, if and when he steps foot on Canadian soil. The vote was unanimous.
“Canada is a member of the WHO and I think the WHO ought to operate with accountability and transparency to its members,” said New Democratic Party health critic Don Davies, reasonably enough.
Demands grow for national, universal long-term care in response to pandemic
NDP health critic Don Davies called the current situation in Canada "appalling and unacceptable." He said the country must move to bring long-term care under the Canada Health Act.
"When seniors are in hospital, they are cared for in our public system. When they are transferred to long-term care, there is no reason this should change," he told CBC.
"I think bringing long-term care under our public health system is key to addressing the deplorable conditions our seniors in care face. It would also result in more effective and efficient care."
‘Silent good’: PHAC appropriate body for pandemic response, but needs reliable resources and more power, say experts
“The problem isn’t a structural one. The problem is governments have ignored repeated, clear directions, and frankly, that’s scandalous,” Mr. Davies said, pointing to the federal auditor general’s 2010 report that found that public health officials were not maintaining a proper accounting of the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile. (The stockpile is a system of 11 warehouses for medical equipment and supplies.) “It’s not quite clear what role PHAC did or didn’t play in this. They operate with [federal] resources and at the direction of government.”
Public Health Agency of Canada needs more funding, resources, power
As NDP MP Don Davies told The Hill Times, governments over the years have been warned about the country’s “lack of emergency preparation,” and they’ve done nothing. Pointing to the federal auditor general’s 2010 report that found that public health officials were not maintaining a proper accounting of the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile, and other warnings following SARS, he described that as “scandalous."