By Don Davies, MP and NDP Health Critic
Canadians cannot fight COVID-19 in the dark. Experience has demonstrated that an effective pandemic response requires clear, transparent, and open communication from governments at all levels. This is essential for maintaining public confidence in recovery plans and the legitimacy of the institutions implementing them.
Unfortunately, the Trudeau government has demonstrated a disturbing tendency to operate with secrecy, manipulation, and hyper control.
The war on drugs is a failure. We need medically-regulated safe supply to stop the flow of toxic street drugs supplied by criminals. We need better treatment options. It’s time to treat addiction as a health issue, not a criminal one
That the RCMP hasn’t said more about any costs borne by the gala is concerning, said Don Davies, a Vancouver MP who is also the NDP’s deputy public safety critic.
“There has to be a transparent and comprehensive investigation into what went on here. We need to assess whether or not there were ethical questions,” he said.
“The public has a right to know and we as parliamentarians ought to be demanding full accountability and transparency in what went on here."
VANCOUVER – NDP Health Critic Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway) is calling on the federal government to enforce the Canada Health Act and stand up to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's plan to privatize orthopedic surgeries.
“Jason Kenney's privatization agenda will create a two-tiered health care system that violates our most basic principles of equal access and will hurt the quality of care," said Davies. "We are calling on federal Health Minister Hadju to make it clear that this will not be tolerated."
And at the federal level, Vancouver Kingsway NDP MP Don Davies has been awarding scholarships out of his own pocket to students in his riding since 2009. He always designates one of those scholarships to a student with diverse needs.
There are three high schools in Vancouver Kingsway.
In addition, Davies runs a "Create Your Canada" contest. In this initiative, Davies has been bringing two students from Vancouver Kingsway to Ottawa every year since 2009 for a three-day tour.
New Democrat MP Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway) has been a vocal critic of the Justin Trudeau Liberals for not ordering airlines to follow physical distancing rules. He is calling for a federal relief package to ensure carriers are not filling middle seats for economic reasons.
“Is it possible to practise physical distancing on aircraft? … The answer is yes. So the airlines are violating direct concrete, consistent advice being given by public health officials,” Davies told the Star. “They’re effectively subordinating public safety to the economics.”
VANCOUVER - The Federal Liberal government made significant cuts and reduced the international monitoring function of the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN) just months before the COVID-19 outbreak, leaving Canada vulnerable and preventative action slow to roll out.
“This was an incredibly irresponsible decision,” said NDP Health Critic Don Davies. “For decades, this early warning system proved its worth and flagged threats before contagions got out of control. There is no question that it would have detected the SARS-CoV-2 virus earlier. Yet the Liberals decided that this was unnecessary.
Testing and contract tracing are critical to controlling the spread of COVID-19. The federal government must move to enact a proactive contract tracing plan for all airline passengers.
NDP health critic Don Davies says the federal government should provide the airline industry with a relief package to reduce the risk of carrying passengers infected with COVID-19 and to ensure profits are not coming before people during the pandemic.
“As pressure increases to open the border with the U.S., the Canadian government needs to be clear with their U.S. counterparts that the number one priority must be the health and safety of Canadians,” said in a statement Don Davies, New Democratic Party’s health critic.
“The news coming out of the U.S. is troubling. There are COVID-19 flare-ups all over the country and, in many states, the number of cases is growing at an alarming rate.”
This makes it dangerous and unwise to re-open the border at this time, Davies said.
“Canadians have made a lot of progress flattening the curve by listening to public health advice over the past months,” Davies said. “Re-opening the border prematurely will jeopardize all that we have gained to date.”