CBC Radio's The House: Fighting coronavirus variants
CBC Radio | Posted: January 16, 2021 9:00 AM | Last Updated: January 16, 2021
Here's what's on this week's episode of The House
Tackling COVID-19 in British Columbia
This week, British Columbia announced the province is looking into the possibility of an inter-provincial travel ban as COVID-19 cases soar in parts of the country.
Premier John Horgan said he's reviewing legal advice on restricting non-essential travel into the province and plans to say more early next week.
Cases of two variants of the novel coronavirus have now appeared in B.C. On Thursday, the province announced its first case of the coronavirus variant first seen in South Africa, while several cases of the variant linked to the U.K. have also been identified.
What is the province doing to keep new forms of the virus at bay? And could we see a pandemic bubble emerge on Canada's West Coast? B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix joins the program to discuss.
Variant presence marks scariest moment since start of pandemic, doctor says
COVID-19 cases are already on the rise in much of the country — especially in Ontario, where new restrictions were put in place this week.
The situation in that province could deteriorate further if the virus is not brought under control, warns Dr. Peter Jüni, who leads Ontario's scientific advisory table. The emergence in Ontario of cases of a coronavirus variant that first appeared in the U.K. could also be the "tip of the iceberg," Jüni told The House, adding that it may only be a matter of time before it spreads more widely.
The emergence of the variant strain is "the single most scary thing I've seen as an epidemiologist since the beginning of the pandemic," he told host Chris Hall.
A new presidency amid a political crisis
The weeks leading up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration have been marred by disinformation and distrust sowed by outgoing President Donald Trump, and by a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol driven by his false claims of electoral fraud.
Trump is now the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice — the second time through a vote that saw a record number of House Republicans break ranks.
As America splits apart, what could it all mean for the incoming Biden administration? And what can we expect from an inauguration beset by security concerns and a public health crisis? CBC White House correspondent Paul Hunter joins The House from Washington to discuss.
Responding to far-right extremism north of the border
As Canadians watched rioters with far-right ties storm the U.S. Capitol last week, questions were raised about the spread of extremism here at home.
Should more groups be added to Canada's list of terrorist organizations? What are the biggest threats north of the border? And how should the Canadian government respond?
Host Chris Hall checks in with Ghayda Hassan — a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Quebec in Montreal and the founder and director of the Canada Practitioners Network for the Prevention of Radicalization and Extremist Violence — for her take.