Canada's vaccine shortage and the oppositions response.

I've said it before but Michelle Rempel-Garner is a vacuous gas bag who really shouldn't be in any important government position. And I certainly don't see how she stands any chance of winning over voters who don't already support her and her party.

Before vaccines started rolling out she was vocal about how the government was behind and that the government wasn't giving the assurances on numbers and timelines that our allies like the US and the UK were giving.

And then... the US timeline slipped. And the projections dropped. And all of a sudden... silence. I haven't heard the opposition open their mouths on the topic again until now.

Basically, Trump oversold their ability to deliver whereas Canada's promises at the Federal level actually reflected reality. The projections were actually reasonable and timelines didn't need to be adjusted because they weren't based on hopes or a desire to win voters. And while I'm not Trudeau fan either, I really must commend the government for NOT caving to pressure to provide numbers or timelines which weren't achievable.

And now Pfizer has cut shipments while they ramp up production, while at the same time offering more aggressive timelines to EU companies.

And the Conservatives (if you believe the spectacle) are losing their shit over this.

Yes, the current position we're in sucks. But, realistically speaking... there is absolutely nothing that the government can do about it beyond perhaps investigating if they breached their contract and if we can perhaps recoup some funding. Nothing. I repeat nothing, is going to get those vaccines rolling back into Canada any faster.

There is absolutely NOTHING a Conservative government could do to compel Pfizer to do so. 

This is absolutely ludicrous political pandering to their base.

The pandemic should NOT be a partisan issue. Pull your head out of your own ass for a second and be a meaningful part of the solution. There is a reason why Jason Kenney has one of the lowest approval ratings, even compared to other Provinces which have fared poorly in the latest wave of infections. He is being a giant ass-hat trying to politicize the ever loving shit out of every second of this thing.

The only difference between Garner and Kenney is that Garner's party currently has no direct power on the matter. But, I doubt the impact is any different in the eyes of voters.

I had hoped that when Scheer left the party that maybe the Conservatives would actually address the reason they lost the election and shift their policies. But, they haven't. They've simple chosen the leader who is the most like Scheer but who puts his foot in his mouth slightly less often and Garner is like right hand ass hole.

Let me explain this simply. Pfizer is based in the EU. Various EU countries have put huge political pressure on Pfizer to reduce the impacts to them. Pfizer is NOT a Canadian company. They do not manufacture here. Even if we wanted to strong arm Pfizer we WOULD. NOT. SUCCEED. Period.

That being said, yes, this sucks. But, the impact isn't drastic as some government officials want you to believe. Production volumes to Canada are still at a trickle. Right now, each week we receive a paltry number of doses compared to the overall population and compared to the volumes we will be expecting in the coming months. So, as much as this sucks, it is much better to run into this now rather than later. If this happened in, say, May the overall effects to the vaccine roll-out plan would be much worse.

Could the government withhold payments? Or perhaps impact Pfizer's business in Canada somehow? Probably. But, outside possible contract breaches that wouldn't make any sense. Keep in mind, this is German based company. If we try to mess with their business, they can take it elsewhere. COVID-19 is VERY lucrative to vaccine companies. Especially for Pfizer who has one of the few broadly certified for use. Other countries would likely make it worth their while to simply abandon Canada and give them our allotment should we choose to rock the boat too hard.

 I suppose you could choose to be angry that we don't have vaccine production in Canada. But, that is only marginally less insane. Having production in Canada doesn't ensure it would be production of an approved vaccine. Nor is it likely that any other administration would have been in a place to deliver on such solution. In fact, both the Liberal and prior Conservative government played their parts in either eviscerating our capacity or being complacent in not re-invigorating the investments in that field. 

I'm just going to end this on circling back to my earlier statement; handling the pandemic shouldn't be a partisan issue. Anyone casting doubts on the government handling of the current situation without useful, constructive criticism deserves to be ejected from their respective parties and shamed out of politics indefinitely.

The Conservatives seem hell bent on a US style failed coup by trying to incite a vocal minority and sowing doubt and mistrust over the handling of the pandemic which will only result in a worsened impact.