The Canadian government got off to a good start when the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic arrived on Canadian soil. We looked to our government for guidance and protection as we watched and listened to disturbing news reports of countless COVID-19 related deaths in Europe, the United States, and other countries around the world.

The first instance of government agenda-driven misinformation happened when Canada’s top health officials claimed that wearing protective face coverings would not prevent coronavirus transmission. Their agenda arose from the realization that they had insufficient reserves of face coverings to meet the needs of hospital staff and emergency care workers. As the pandemic broke, hospitals across Canada gathered their mask supplies, stored them behind locked doors, and rationed them out to staff.

Good quality face coverings reduce the chance of airborne transmission by as much as 85%

In crystal clear English, or French, top health officials told Canadians they didn’t need to wear masks, possibly fearing that if they told the truth, it would spark hoarding and panic buying of masks that Health Canada needed for front-line workers. Those same health officials had a new story to tell as soon as there were enough masks for front-line workers. According to their new story, brand new research shows that masks do help prevent transmission. Of course, they do, by up to 85 percent. And the research was not novel at all.

During the Spanish Flu pandemic more than a century ago, people wore masks. Even that far back in time, people were aware of the dynamics of airborne virus transmission and the usefulness of masks in preventing transmission.

The government made no apologies to Canadians for misleading them about the usefulness of masks at the start of the pandemic. Canadians, on the other hand, took notice.

Throughout the pandemic, the government has acted with a degree of manipulation toward Canadians. Without admitting to error, without accountability, they say one thing one day and then when their agenda changes they say something else.

Their approach to pandemic management has been hierarchical. They speak as if they are the parents, that they know best, and that we are the children who should do as they say without questioning. But, here’s the thing:

The OECD has consistently ranked Canada as the most educated country in the world. You cannot hold the bragging rights of leading an educated country, and in your next breath expect the citizens of that country to be gullible and easily misled. Canadians kept an eye on developments and raised concerns about the comparatively lower efficacy of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson’s adenoviral vector vaccines.

The mRNA vaccines that are currently on the market in Canada are the first of their kind. They may appear to have emerged overnight. However, the nanotechnology used to deliver the code that instructs your body to produce antibodies against COVID-19 has been in development for more than a decade. It is ground-breaking, exciting technology that is expected to change the way certain diseases, including certain cancers, are treated in the future.

Instead of celebrating the arrival of mRNA, the Canadian government began making a peaches to bananas comparison of it to other less effective vaccines.

• Instead of saying mRNA has shown a strong ability to prevent transmission, they switched focus away from preventing transmission and brought it to rest on preventing severe disease and hospitalizations

• This week, Canadian news outlets were buzzing with the news that, despite the government’s messaging to the contrary, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends that if you don’t live in a COVID-19 hotspot and are able to wait, you should delay getting vaccinated until an mRNA vaccine is available.

The very next day, top health care officials took to the airwaves with guns blazing. Instead of admitting that mRNA is a superior vaccine, more effective, and with less risks and side effects than adenoviral vector vaccines, they doubled down on their old agenda-driven messaging.

Apparently still seeing themselves as the parents, and adult Canadians as the children, our health care officials once again failed to acknowledge that mRNA is the better vaccine.

Once again they took to their podiums and tried to convince Canadians to give up their democratic and constitutional right to choose which vaccine is best for them, and instead allow the government to make the choice for them.

Surprisingly, while Canadians are still being pushed to accept AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, the government is sending Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to pharmacies. On the one hand, it appears that the government understands that if it wants Canadians to be vaccinated, it must allow them to choose which vaccine they are comfortable with. On the other hand, the government does not want to validate Canadians by admitting that the approved vaccines are not equal.

What is clear from all of this is that the Canadian government’s agenda-driven messaging has failed to persuade people to trust AstraZeneca.

Canadians are wary of the AstraZeneca vaccine

• A recent poll conducted by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies, revealed that only 53% of Canadians surveyed said they will ‘trust the AstraZeneca vaccine being given to themselves or family members to immunize them against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19².’

• In another survey, this one done by the Angus Reid Institute, ‘54% of Canadians who intend to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are uncomfortable with getting the AstraZeneca vaccine³.’

Considering that none of those polled are anti-vaxxers, it appears that the government’s hierarchal pro-AstraZeneca messaging has done little to deter the majority of Canadians from giving it two thumbs down.

Perhaps it is not for us to ask whether the Canadian government’s messaging has backfired and created more vaccine hesitancy and negative perceptions of AstraZeneca than would have occurred otherwise, but rather this is a question the government should be asking itself.

Another area the government has misled Canadians is about whether children are at risk for moderate to severe disease and death caused by COVID-19.

Children and COVID-19

According to the Canadian government, children were at very little risk. They reopened Canadian schools based on this, only to have to close them all due to COVID-19 outbreaks. As a result of these outbreaks, children brought the virus home and infected other family members. Now that we’re hearing about Canadian children dying from COVID-19, and that young people make up 20 percent of Canada’s cases, we have to wonder if reopening schools was worth it. Meanwhile, the Canadian government continues to refuse to admit fault.

Speak up Canada

Are you concerned about the government’s tendency to prioritize its agenda over the truth, and what the consequences have been for Canadians? We are still a democratic country, even if it hasn’t felt like it in the last year or so. Your voice stills matters. If you want the government to prioritize truth over agenda, send them an email or call them. Express your thoughts.

Telephone: 1 800 O-Canada

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All content on this site is written & edited by:
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Inside my Office © 2021

USEFUL LINKS:

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The Use Of Masks During the Spanish Flu Epidemic, 1918: Rare Historical Photos