Question Period Notes
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In accordance with the Access to Information Act, the government proactively publishes the package of question period notes that were prepared by a government institution for the minister and that were in use on the last sitting day in June and December.
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The Quebec Coroner’s Office issued a report in October 2019 relating to the death in 2017 of a former public servant, Linda Deschâtelets. The report made two recommendations for the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS):
1. that each federal institution apply the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace; and
2. that TBS work with unions to ensure employees’ pay-related issues are quickly resolved to improve workplace wellbeing and eliminate psychological stress.
TBS is reviewing the coroner's recommendations.
The Prime Minister announced the appointment of a Minister for Digital Government.
The Government of Canada is exploring opportunities to responsibly use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve services for Canadians.
The Government of Canada is exploring opportunities to responsibly use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve services for Canadians. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) in collaboration with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) have developed a list of prequalified AI vendors to facilitate agile adoption of the technology across the Government of Canada.
The Government of Canada has accepted the 2020 chairmanship of the Digital Nations
What is the Policy on Service and Digital and how is it enabling digital government?
Antimicrobial-resistant infections are becoming more frequent and increasingly difficult to treat. The antibiotics we rely on for common infections, such as pneumonia and strep throat, are becoming less effective, resulting in serious illness and death.
The Council of Canadian Academies released a report on November 12th, commissioned by the Public Health Agency of Canada, that describes the serious threat of antibiotic resistance. Already,1 in 4 bacterial infections are resistant to the first line of antibiotic treatment and last year approximately 5,400 Canadians died from a resistant infection. Projections of growth to 40 percent resistance by 2050 and 400,000 deaths are plausible according to these experts.
The Government of Canada has endorsed global targets that aim to end the AIDS and viral hepatitis epidemics and to reduce the health impacts of sexually transmitted infections by 2030. Community-based organizations and researchers have called on the Government of Canada to increase funding to address HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) in Canada.
Lyme disease continues to draw public, political and media attention with particular scrutiny on the number of human cases, risks, diagnosis and treatment in Canada.
There has been widespread measles activity in 2019 affecting many countries (notably, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France). The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in the first quarter of 2019, the number of confirmed cases worldwide rose by 300%.
Measles is relatively rare in Canada due to effective vaccination programs. However, it is important that Canadians continue to be vaccinated against measles given the travel-related risks of infection and spread to unimmunized people.