Preston Manning’s proposal about commission deserves support

By Lethbridge Herald on July 20, 2022.

Editor:

On July 14, Health Canada announced its approval of the Moderna Spikevax for children from the ages of six months to five years old. 

That evening, on the CBC’s “The World at Six”, in a segment starting at minute 8, a pediatrician, Dr. Daniel Flanders, says with regard to convincing vaccine hesitant parents, “When you weigh the risks and benefits of this vaccine it’s really not debatable.” Not debatable? Really? 

In response to the Health Canada decision, the Canadian COVID Care Alliance put up a couple of videos and a pdf on its website that walk you through the evidence. They conclude that kids do not need the shots, that they don’t work, and that they have not been proven safe. Perhaps they are wrong. 

But why does the CBC never put anyone on who actually helps us all grapple with the evidence? All you ever hear is something like “After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, the department has determined that the vaccine is safe and effective at preventing COVID-19.” OK, but then why not explain why the Canadian COVID Care Alliance is wrong?

Government funding for the CBC is well over a billion a year. Is that why they never present arguments that go against government policy? Preston Manning has called for a commission that is independent of government funding to assess the way that the government has managed the COVID crisis. You can find his proposal at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. You may not agree with anything else that Manning stands for, but I say let’s support him on this. What say you? 

Andrew Blair

Lethbridge