Policy and Rights January 8 2021

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole faced questions Thursday about his most recent calls urging the government to "accommodate" those who choose not to get the COVID-19 vaccine, amid a surge of Omicron cases that is overloading health-care workers. He said while incidence rates in ICU admissions are higher for the unvaccinated, due to Omicron, they are seeing some fully vaccinated and it shows why the government needs to get more protective tools to help stop the spread. Adrian Dix, Minister of Health; Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education; and Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC’s provincial health officer, for an update on COVID-19.On Parliament Hill, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discusses the federal government’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of the Omicron variant. He is joined by federal ministers Jean-Yves Duclos (health) and Chrystia Freeland (finance), as well as Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, and Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer. The federal government will be delivering 140 million rapid tests to provinces and territories in the month of January. The prime minister also faces questions about the country's vaccination campaign, health-care spending, and a maskless party that took place on a recent Sunwing charter flight from Montreal to Mexico.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.