Tonight at 7:30 pm I'll be joined by Debbie Fields, from Coalition for Healthy School Food and Food Secure Canada. We'll talk about the challenges and possibilities of pandemic food security and what a resilient local food system could look like in a post-COVID world.

Please like my Facebook Page to get a notification when I go live or visit the page at 7:30pm. You do not need to have a Facebook account to watch the conversation as the video link is public. You can also email me any questions in advance.

This Friday, February 12th, is the Lunar New Year and the zodiac animal is the Ox. If you were born in this year (2021, 2009, 1997, 1985, 1973, 1961 and so on) you are an Ox. The personality traits of Ox are honest and earnest. They are low key and never look for praise or to be the centre of attention. This often hides their talent, but they'll gain recognition through their hard work. Gung Hei Fat Choi to all who are celebrating!

If you are looking to celebrate locally, we have a excellent food options in East Chinatown. The Ralph Thornton Centre will be virtually celebrating today at 4:30pm and you can register here. There will be something for young and old.

On a sadder note, I will thinking of Valerie Mah this Lunar New Year, as she has always done so much for the East Chinatown community. She passed this weekend and a huge void will be felt in the community.

Yesterday, our government reversed the clawback of CERB from people who accessed the program based on their gross rather than net self-employment income, so long as they meet the other eligibility criteria. If you have already repaid the benefit but would otherwise qualify, there will be a process to have it returned. You can read about these changes here.

I know that this is an issue that has touched many people in our community, and I have been actively seeking solutions over the past months. If you had previously reached out to me about the CERB repayment, please let me know if you have any questions about this announcement. My office will continue to be available to assist our community's residents on all federal emergency benefits.

There has been a great deal of concern around the deployment of vaccines across our country. The pandemic continues to take a toll on individuals and local businesses, and I share with you the anticipation for the day that we achieve enough herd immunity to move beyond our current lockdowns and restrictions.

The recent interruptions of our vaccine supply have been disappointing, but this week, Minister Anand indicated that from February 15th onwards there will be a steep increase in our shipments. The Prime Minister reiterated this positive development last night. 

We remain on track to reach our vaccine delivery targets for the first quarter. In addition, Health Canada is in the end-stages of reviewing vaccine candidates from Novavax, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Minister Anand has been in touch with both AstraZeneca and J&J representatives to ensure immediate delivery of those vaccines, as soon as there is regulatory approval.

When this pandemic was first declared, Canada was at a disadvantage due to the decades-long trend of biomanufacturing disinvestment by successive governments. Twelve days into the pandemic, our government announced funding and support for strategic investments in domestic manufacturing companies (including Medicago which is in stage 3 of its clinical trials, Variation Biotechnologies, and Precision Nanosystems). Our government also requested seven of the firms providing vaccines to Canada to consider manufacturing domestically; however, they deemed our facilities under-equipped for such a venture.

In that context, Canada was the first country in the world to sign a contract with Moderna and the fourth to sign a contract with Pfizer. Risks in supply chains, unpredictability, and increased demand for production were to be anticipated, but that doesn't lessen our disappointment in the delays we have seen.

Last week we announced a partnership with Novavax to pursue domestic production of their COVID-19 vaccine at the National Research Council's Biologics Manufacturing Centre, in which we had already invested in upgrades of over $100M. We also committed to purchasing 52 million doses of the Novavax candidate COVID-19 vaccine, with an option for an additional 24 million doses. COVID-19 and its variants will not be the last time we are forced to create vaccines, so an investment of $46M has also been made in the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, which will eventually be able to produce 40 million doses annually.

Toronto students will be returning to school after the Family Day weekend. The federal government had provided funds to the provinces and territories for the safe re-opening of schools, and the provincial government announced that it will be applying $381M of these funds towards Ontario's school reopening. This additional funding is earmarked for health and safety in schools including targeted testing, the development of summer and online learning materials, mental health supports, and the hiring of additional staff.

The listing of terrorist entities is an important legal tool in the fight against terrorism and sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate such acts of violence. Terrorist designations are not political exercises. Last week, we announced the inclusion of an additional thirteen groups to the list of terrorist entities, including four white supremacist groups including the Base, Attomwaffen Division, Proud Boys and Russian Imperial Movement to Canada's list of terrorist entities.

This update sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate ideologically, religiously or politically motivated acts of violence.