And the Rest of It

Why would anyone trust China anymore? Is the slave labour really worth it?:

The facts regarding Taiwan’s email to alert WHO to possible danger of #COVID19#email內容 #TaiwanCanHelp #TaiwanIsHelping @WHO

英文新聞稿：https://t.co/AvyHulhrlU pic.twitter.com/nYvmY4R2ao

— MOHW of Taiwan (@MOHW_Taiwan) April 11, 2020

 

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While Canadian health professionals continue to struggle with a shortage of vital medical supplies in the face of the pandemic, it has come to light that several pro-Beijing groups in Canada shipped large amounts of masks and other personal protective equipment to China in late January and throughout February following calls to do so by the Chinese regime.

According to an article on the website of state-owned China News Service, China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry not only directed the Chinese diaspora in Canada to buy up all available protective equipment and send it back to China, it also convinced some officials from the three levels of government to assist.

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Canada’s health minister gave the approval to donating personal protective equipment from the national emergency stockpile that was on the verge of expiry to China, a newly released email shows.

A Jan. 31 email written by Public Health Agency of Canada chief of staff Marnie Johnstone indicates Health Minister Patty Hajdu had offered “notional agreement” to donate supplies that were due to expire in February and March.

(Sidebar: who is the bigger weasel? Discuss.) 

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Poilievre seemed astonished at the Trudeau Liberal's initial response to the outbreak, particularly by how they continued to allow people from affected regions enter Canada. 

"When somebody comes to this country and they have a legitimate reason to enter, they have to be tested immediately. We can't let people come into this country from abroad, without being tested, and then go out and spread the disease far and wide," said Poillievre. 

"That was the mistake the government of Canada made in the first place when they allowed 2,000 people from the Hubei province to come to Canada after January 22; after they had been briefed by military intelligence that the outbreak was dangerous and massive." 

Despite the military warning the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, "he let 2,000 people come in, added Poillievre. "Of those 2,000 people, 60 were given a brochure. That was it!" 

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Trying to cover up the coronavirus pandemic marks China‘s “Chernobyl moment,” according to a new open letter.

More than 100 international politicians and international policy experts have signed on to the letter, including former Canadian justice minister and human rights advocate Irwin Cotler.

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China rejected criticism about the alleged mistreatment of Africans by authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou, a dispute that could set back Beijing’s diplomatic outreach to help the continent cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Unless China collapses because of the coronavirus it spread, I doubt that North Korea will completely fall apart no matter how many die:

The regime handled potential infections the way they treat people who are accused of political crimes or impure thought: with quarantine and removal from the rest of society to prevent the infection from spreading. North Koreans who were tainted by watching South Korean dramas or listening to foreign radio broadcasts would be sent to one of its gulags where torture, rape, forced labor, and death are common. Signaling the lengths the Kim regime was willing to go to keep out potentially impure elements, Chinese officials warned their citizens to stay away from the border with North Korea or risk being shot by North Korean guards. In other words, North Korea was using the threat of violence as a deterrent. And like the unfortunate North Koreans who are secretly shuttled into the gulags, we will never learn about those who die silently from the coronavirus.

Also - if he wins, it will be really embarrassing for Kim:

For decades, Thae Yong Ho served the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, rising to become Pyongyang’s deputy ambassador to London before defecting.

Now he is standing for election in South Korea’s multiparty democracy.

If he wins his constituency in Gangnam, the wealthy Seoul district made famous by rapper Psy, Thae will become the first former Northern official ever to be directly elected to South Korea’s parliament.

And he believes it would send an unmistakable message to the upper echelons of which he was once part — that abandoning Kim Jong Un’s regime could open up a different path for the country.

“I want to tell them that there is a new way for their future,” Thae said.

As of this writing, there have been 898 deaths in Canada due to the coronavirus that China spread.

Is it time now to kill off the rest of our elderly and ration drugs that were already in short supply before the lockdown?




Oh, yes, stop the flow of alcohol. That would help:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments seem to agree: they have classified the sale of alcohol as an essential service. Liquor stores remain open across much of the North, along with grocery stores, despite the forced closure of, or restrictions on, most other businesses. 

Easy access to alcohol is convenient and may be comforting, but is it really the best idea during this public health crisis?

The stakes for getting alcohol policy right in northern Canada have always been high. Alcohol use in the territories has already imposed a higher cost per person for health care and law enforcement services than in the rest of Canada.

Some jurisdictions, like Greenland and the municipality of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, have introduced alcohol bans in the interest of public safety.

(Sidebar: it's called self-control.)

If you actually wanted to Canadians to riot over something, that would do it.




A judge has allowed a lawsuit over the previously disqualified Jim Karahalios:

An Ontario court says a lawsuit launched by a would-be Conservative leadership candidate who is seeking to get into the race can go ahead.

Jim Karahalios was disqualified from the contest in March, over allegations he made about a rival campaign.

He filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn that decision, and the party tried to get it dismissed.

In a decision released Monday, the judge said the matter can be litigated and will be heard May 15.