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Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cftktv.com/news/14/991966
Parties gird for swine flu surge during campaign
By: Steve Rennie, THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - The New Democrats have asked Canada's top election official if the country is prepared to go to the polls during a swine flu outbreak.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis, the NDP's health critic, has written to Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand asking how ready Elections Canada is for a possible resurgence of the H1N1 flu virus this fall.
"As you are no doubt aware, experts expect a strong resurgence in H1N1 infections in the coming months, with high incidences in some communities, including remote aboriginal communities," Wasylycia-Leis wrote.
"An election poses significant potential public health risks. Large public events, canvassing and other typical campaign activities, not to mention polling booths and long line-ups to vote on election day, all result in a great deal of contact between members of the public."
She asked Mayrand what measures Elections Canada has to "safeguard public health and to ensure Canadians who contract the virus are not disenfranchised."
"There's such a possibility for a major outbreak . . . if it really does happen, should we even be in an election?" Wasylycia-Leis said in an interview.
"How can we be in an election when Parliament should be on the watch, at work, 24 hours a day, every day of the week, making decisions to save peoples'lives and protect peoples' health? How can we justify an election in that context?"
Mayrand has not yet replied to Wasylycia-Leis's letter. He was not immediately available to comment.
Some experts anticipate a second wave of the H1N1 virus to hit early this autumn, peaking in mid-October - a few weeks before Canada has a flu vaccine ready for distribution in early November, and smack in the middle of a possible election.
Canada's November timetable trails the United States, which is aiming to start inoculations in mid-October and Europe, which expects vaccinations to start later this month.
Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, has said vaccinations could begin sooner if the virus surges before the flu shots are ready and health officials are convinced the vaccine is safe.
Swine flu could become an issue during the campaign if the virus becomes more virulent and Stephen Harper's Conservative government is accused of mismanaging the outbreak and dragging its feet on a vaccine.
The attacks appear to have already begun. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff on Friday accused the Conservatives of leaving Canadians vulnerable to a possible H1N1 pandemic this fall. He brandished a newspaper article on a U.S. study that predicted an earlier-than-expected flu outbreak.
But political operatives are also making more practical plans for H1N1 on the hustings.
Senator David Smith, the Liberals'campaign co-chairman, said the party's election planners have held preliminary talks about what to do if another bout of swine flu hits during a campaign.
"Not specific plans, but we certainly have discussed it," he said.
"The gist of it is, it's kind of difficult to deal with hypothetical situations until you know the facts. What we've basically concluded was, 'well, if something along these lines happens, we'll do exactly what the doctors say."'
That includes stocking the Liberal buses and campaign plane with antiseptic wipes and hand sanitizer, Smith said.
But those precautions may not be enough to stop the spread of the virus.
Lumping politicos in close quarters with journalists for weeks on end as they criss-cross the country shaking hands and kissing babies is a petri dish for swine flu, at least one doctor says.
"All it takes is one sick person," said Dr. Gerald Evans, president of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada.
"Whether it's a sick reporter, whether it's a politician, or whether it's one of the hangers-on around the politician who becomes sick, in that kind of environment . . . all of a sudden you've now got lots and lots and lots of people sick.
"So not only that, you're actually facilitating transmission if it occurs in one part of the country and taking it to another part of the country."
Parties gird for swine flu surge during campaign
By: Steve Rennie, THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - The New Democrats have asked Canada's top election official if the country is prepared to go to the polls during a swine flu outbreak.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis, the NDP's health critic, has written to Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand asking how ready Elections Canada is for a possible resurgence of the H1N1 flu virus this fall.
"As you are no doubt aware, experts expect a strong resurgence in H1N1 infections in the coming months, with high incidences in some communities, including remote aboriginal communities," Wasylycia-Leis wrote.
"An election poses significant potential public health risks. Large public events, canvassing and other typical campaign activities, not to mention polling booths and long line-ups to vote on election day, all result in a great deal of contact between members of the public."
She asked Mayrand what measures Elections Canada has to "safeguard public health and to ensure Canadians who contract the virus are not disenfranchised."
"There's such a possibility for a major outbreak . . . if it really does happen, should we even be in an election?" Wasylycia-Leis said in an interview.
"How can we be in an election when Parliament should be on the watch, at work, 24 hours a day, every day of the week, making decisions to save peoples'lives and protect peoples' health? How can we justify an election in that context?"
Mayrand has not yet replied to Wasylycia-Leis's letter. He was not immediately available to comment.
Some experts anticipate a second wave of the H1N1 virus to hit early this autumn, peaking in mid-October - a few weeks before Canada has a flu vaccine ready for distribution in early November, and smack in the middle of a possible election.
Canada's November timetable trails the United States, which is aiming to start inoculations in mid-October and Europe, which expects vaccinations to start later this month.
Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, has said vaccinations could begin sooner if the virus surges before the flu shots are ready and health officials are convinced the vaccine is safe.
Swine flu could become an issue during the campaign if the virus becomes more virulent and Stephen Harper's Conservative government is accused of mismanaging the outbreak and dragging its feet on a vaccine.
The attacks appear to have already begun. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff on Friday accused the Conservatives of leaving Canadians vulnerable to a possible H1N1 pandemic this fall. He brandished a newspaper article on a U.S. study that predicted an earlier-than-expected flu outbreak.
But political operatives are also making more practical plans for H1N1 on the hustings.
Senator David Smith, the Liberals'campaign co-chairman, said the party's election planners have held preliminary talks about what to do if another bout of swine flu hits during a campaign.
"Not specific plans, but we certainly have discussed it," he said.
"The gist of it is, it's kind of difficult to deal with hypothetical situations until you know the facts. What we've basically concluded was, 'well, if something along these lines happens, we'll do exactly what the doctors say."'
That includes stocking the Liberal buses and campaign plane with antiseptic wipes and hand sanitizer, Smith said.
But those precautions may not be enough to stop the spread of the virus.
Lumping politicos in close quarters with journalists for weeks on end as they criss-cross the country shaking hands and kissing babies is a petri dish for swine flu, at least one doctor says.
"All it takes is one sick person," said Dr. Gerald Evans, president of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada.
"Whether it's a sick reporter, whether it's a politician, or whether it's one of the hangers-on around the politician who becomes sick, in that kind of environment . . . all of a sudden you've now got lots and lots and lots of people sick.
"So not only that, you're actually facilitating transmission if it occurs in one part of the country and taking it to another part of the country."