One small step toward criminal justice reform

Trudeau's Liberals inch toward real change

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In what's being called the current government's first real stab at criminal justice reform, Justice Minister David Lametti yesterday introduced Bill C-22, which nods at promises Trudeau made while campaigning during the last election. Major takeaways from the bill: it eliminates more than a dozen mandatory minimum penalties; it grants police officers a number of options when encountering people carrying illegal drugs, including warnings or referrals to social services; and, if charges are laid for drug possession, it mandates courts to evaluate the severity of these charges in the framework of a health issue , rather than a criminal one. Lametti mentioned the influence of Black Lives Matter and related groups in drafting the legislation.

The federal government updated its COVID vaccination projections yesterday, after receiving confirmation of increased shipments over the next few weeks. The official number now puts 14.5 million Canadians on track to be vaccinated by the end of June. That number only accounts for Moderna and Pfizer vaccines; if Novavax, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson get approved soon, that number could jump to 24.5 million.

Studies have shown that a single dose of the vaccine can be extremely effective in protecting individuals from the virus, leading some medical professionals to call for governments to dole out single doses if they're facing shortages. In response to suggestions that Canada do the same, the deputy chief public health officer, Dr. Howard Njoo, deferred to the provinces: "Everyone can look at the evidence and obviously based on local and the provincial context, they can make their own respective decisions," he said yesterday.

Who's next? In the latest edition of Vaxx Populi, for Maclean's, Patricia Treble looks at who's next in line to receive vaccines, now that shipments should be flowing in steadily. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has readjusted its Phase 2 recommendations, including a major change to include racialized Canadians living in areas susceptible to COVID-19. But, as always, those are only recommendations—ultimately, each province will handle things according to their own priorities.

The feds recently required all incoming visitors and residents to quarantine at a government-approved hotel upon their arrival on Canadian soil. But what about approved refugees? Private sponsors worried about adding a pricey monitored hotel stay to the already steep $13,000 price tag that comes with private sponsorship. Yesterday, the government confirmed they would foot the hotel bill. Cue a sigh of relief for refugee non-profits nationwide.

Multiple vaccine candidates rely on mRNA, which slips into our cells to target SARS-CoV-2 before disappearing from our bodies. For Maclean's, Christina Frangou tells the deep, fascinating history of the technology fuelling the greatest vaccine development challenge of all time:

These fastest vaccines in history have been decades in the making . They’re the product of generations of scientists who built on one idea after another, and kept at it despite failed experiments, rejections, threats of deportation, a lack of funding and skepticism from contemporaries. They were inspired by the discovery of DNA: in 1951, a young English physical chemist named Rosalind Franklin took X-ray photographs that captured DNA’s helical shape; two years later, James Watson and Francis Crick of Cambridge University published the first report describing DNA’s double helix, for which they received the Nobel Prize. (Franklin died of ovarian cancer in 1958; her contributions were largely overlooked in her lifetime.) And they were driven not by a race to halt a raging pathogen or by the chance to patent a multi-billion-dollar drug, but by one big, irresistible question: What makes life?

Reform needed. What should be done with the governor general position, now that Julie Payette has resigned? According to an Angus Reid poll released yesterday, a plurality of Canadians—43 per cent—would like to see the role eliminated entirely. That's not totally surprising, given the monarchy's diminishing role in Canadian life. What's more surprising is the near-unanimous answer to the question of who should choose the next GG: over 90 per cent of respondents said that responsibility should fall to a parliamentary committee, not the PMO unilaterally.

The parliamentary budget office looked at a couple proposals by the federal Liberals to collect new tax revenues, and found some enticing numbers. The first analysis focused on sales tax on foreign imports sold in Canada: currently, Canada charges sales tax on the wholesale cost of imported goods—but not necessarily the final price that consumers end up paying. New legislation would force either the individual seller, or the seller's marketplace (cough Amazon cough cough ), to pay GST on the final price of any sold goods. According to an analysis published by the PBO yesterday, this new rule could bring in over $600 million to Ottawa's coffers over the span of five years, if implemented on July 1. The second report looked at Ottawa's proposal to pump $606 million, also over five years, into the Canada Revenue Agency to crack down on tax evaders who exploit offshore tax havens. But the government could net $800 million over the same amount of time, the PBO finds—not a bad return on investment, if it pans out.

Facebook follies. The social media giant has locked horns with the Australian government this week, after the latter decided to force Facebook to pay publishers for posting news content. In response, Facebook blocked users from viewing or sharing news on its platform in that country. Canada is considering similar measures, and the debacle down south has forced Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault to bluntly condemn Facebook for its "highly irresponsible" actions.

"Popcorngate." Yes, it's a real -gate, and it's currently wrapping up in Quebec. The provincial government announced movie theatres would be allowed to open on Feb. 26—but not sell food or drinks, so patrons wouldn't be tempted to remove their masks. In response, the owner of a popular local cinema chain, called Guzzo Cinemas, said he wouldn't open his theatres, because they would lose too much money without concession-stand profits. Premier François Legault, who wants to make Quebeckers happy by letting them go to the movies movies while otherwise locked-down, conceded to the cinemas yesterday, saying the government would compensate them for lost popcorn revenue . Cue the Twitter memes.

#TedFled. After Texas endured a crippling cold storm that led to dozens of deaths and millions of residents struggling without heat, electricity or running water, Senator Ted Cruz flew down to Cancun on Wednesday night, allegedly to accompany his daughters on a vacation. Over the subsequent hours, numerous candid photos of the GOP lawmaker popped up on social media, including one that this newsletter correspondent wrote about for Maclean's Image of the WeekIn what's being called the current government's first real stab at criminal justice reform, Justice Minister David Lametti yesterday introduced Bill C-22, which nods at promises Trudeau made while campaigning during the last election. Major takeaways from the bill: it eliminates more than a dozen mandatory minimum penalties; it grants police officers a number of options when encountering people carrying illegal drugs, including warnings or referrals to social services; and, if charges are laid for drug possession, it mandates courts to evaluate the severity of these charges in the framework of a health issue, rather than a criminal one. Lametti mentioned the influence of Black Lives Matter and related groups in drafting the legislation.

The federal government updated its COVID vaccination projections yesterday, after receiving confirmation of increased shipments over the next few weeks. The official number now puts 14.5 million Canadians on track to be vaccinated by the end of June. That number only accounts for Moderna and Pfizer vaccines; if Novavax, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson get approved soon, that number could jump to 24.5 million.

Studies have shown that a single dose of the vaccine can be extremely effective in protecting individuals from the virus, leading some medical professionals to call for governments to dole out single doses if they're facing shortages. In response to suggestions that Canada do the same, the deputy chief public health officer, Dr. Howard Njoo, deferred to the provinces: "Everyone can look at the evidence and obviously based on local and the provincial context, they can make their own respective decisions," he said yesterday.

Who's next? In the latest edition of Vaxx Populi, for Maclean's, Patricia Treble looks at who's next in line to receive vaccines, now that shipments should be flowing in steadily. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has readjusted its Phase 2 recommendations, including a major change to include racialized Canadians living in areas susceptible to COVID-19. But, as always, those are only recommendations—ultimately, each province will handle things according to their own priorities.

The feds recently required all incoming visitors and residents to quarantine at a government-approved hotel upon their arrival on Canadian soil. But what about approved refugees? Private sponsors worried about adding a pricey monitored hotel stay to the already steep $13,000 price tag that comes with private sponsorship. Yesterday, the government confirmed they would foot the hotel bill. Cue a sigh of relief for refugee non-profits nationwide.

Multiple vaccine candidates rely on mRNA, which slips into our cells to target SARS-CoV-2 before disappearing from our bodies. For Maclean's, Christina Frangou tells the deep, fascinating history of the technology fuelling the greatest vaccine development challenge of all time:

These fastest vaccines in history have been decades in the making . They’re the product of generations of scientists who built on one idea after another, and kept at it despite failed experiments, rejections, threats of deportation, a lack of funding and skepticism from contemporaries. They were inspired by the discovery of DNA: in 1951, a young English physical chemist named Rosalind Franklin took X-ray photographs that captured DNA’s helical shape; two years later, James Watson and Francis Crick of Cambridge University published the first report describing DNA’s double helix, for which they received the Nobel Prize. (Franklin died of ovarian cancer in 1958; her contributions were largely overlooked in her lifetime.) And they were driven not by a race to halt a raging pathogen or by the chance to patent a multi-billion-dollar drug, but by one big, irresistible question: What makes life?

Reform needed. What should be done with the governor general position, now that Julie Payette has resigned? According to an Angus Reid poll released yesterday, a plurality of Canadians—43 per cent—would like to see the role eliminated entirely. That's not totally surprising, given the monarchy's diminishing role in Canadian life. What's more surprising is the near-unanimous answer to the question of who should choose the next GG: over 90 per cent of respondents said that responsibility should fall to a parliamentary committee, not the PMO unilaterally.

The parliamentary budget office looked at a couple proposals by the federal Liberals to collect new tax revenues, and found some enticing numbers. The first analysis focused on sales tax on foreign imports sold in Canada: currently, Canada charges sales tax on the wholesale cost of imported goods—but not necessarily the final price that consumers end up paying. New legislation would force either the individual seller, or the seller's marketplace (cough Amazon cough cough ), to pay GST on the final price of any sold goods. According to an analysis published by the PBO yesterday, this new rule could bring in over $600 million to Ottawa's coffers over the span of five years, if implemented on July 1. The second report looked at Ottawa's proposal to pump $606 million, also over five years, into the Canada Revenue Agency to crack down on tax evaders who exploit offshore tax havens. But the government could net $800 million over the same amount of time, the PBO finds—not a bad return on investment, if it pans out.

Facebook follies. The social media giant has locked horns with the Australian government this week, after the latter decided to force Facebook to pay publishers for posting news content. In response, Facebook blocked users from viewing or sharing news on its platform in that country. Canada is considering similar measures, and the debacle down south has forced Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault to bluntly condemn Facebook for its "highly irresponsible" actions.

"Popcorngate." Yes, it's a real -gate, and it's currently wrapping up in Quebec. The provincial government announced movie theatres would be allowed to open on Feb. 26—but not sell food or drinks, so patrons wouldn't be tempted to remove their masks. In response, the owner of a popular local cinema chain, called Guzzo Cinemas, said he wouldn't open his theatres, because they would lose too much money without concession-stand profits. Premier François Legault, who wants to make Quebeckers happy by letting them go to the movies movies while otherwise locked-down, conceded to the cinemas yesterday, saying the government would compensate them for lost popcorn revenue . Cue the Twitter memes.

#TedFled. After Texas endured a crippling cold storm that led to dozens of deaths and millions of residents struggling without heat, electricity or running water, Senator Ted Cruz flew down to Cancun on Wednesday night, allegedly to accompany his daughters on a vacation. Over the subsequent hours, numerous candid photos of the GOP lawmaker popped up on social media, including one that this newsletter correspondent wrote about for Maclean's Image of the Week.

—Michael Fraiman

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