Drugs/Alcohol Archives - Page 10 of 18

May 17, 2021June 2, 2022

Pfizer Lobbyists Claim Responsibility For Installing Ford and O’Toole Into Current Positions

A serious question: when someone helps install a politician into a position of power, and then becomes a lobbyist, are any “favours” then expected of said politician?

This specifically addresses 2 of them. One is Erin O’Toole, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and Leader of the Official Opposition. The other is Doug Ford, Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and Premier of Ontario.

Both men are in their respective positions as a result of others who then went on to become lobbyists for Pfizer. Both support the mass vaccination agenda, and support lockdowns and martial law of society.

Last month, 4 lobbyists from Pfizer tried to push for vaccine sales on behalf of their client. This is according to records from the Ontario Lobbying Registry. Let’s take a look into who these people actually are.

1. Kenzie McKeegan

Kenzie supports clients with government relations, policy development, research, and communication. Prior to joining Loyalist, Kenzie worked in the University of Toronto Government Relations Office where she built relationships at all levels of government, institutional partners, and external stakeholders.
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Before working at the University of Toronto, Kenzie served in various Ontario Ministries including the offices of the Deputy Premier, the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, the President of the Treasury Board, the Minister Responsible for Digital Government and the Minister Responsible for Small Business.
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During her years in government, Kenzie supported goals and priorities of Cabinet Ministers through strategic planning and stakeholder management, providing analysis and advice.

For a bit of variety, McKeegan was actually a party operative when Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals were still in power in Ontario. Interesting that by sending lobbyists from different parties, it ensures that there will always be bipartisan support for whatever is going on.

As a bit of a side note: she’s also currently lobbying Ottawa on behalf of Apotex, trying to get more generic drugs onto the market.

2. Dan Mader

Prior to founding Loyalist, Dan served as a Senior Vice President at National Public Relations. He draws on his knowledge of policy, communications, and strategy to help Loyalist Public Affairs clients succeed in an increasingly regulated world where public opinion and the political process are critical.
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Dan worked in the federal government, where he led the development of policy in several departments including Environment, Transport, Infrastructure, and the Treasury Board and later served as Chief of Staff to the minister responsible for defence procurement. Dan also served as Deputy Campaign Manager (Policy) on Erin O’Toole’s successful campaign to lead the Conservative Party of Canada.
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During his twenty years of activism for the Ontario PC Party, Dan has served as Deputy Director of Communications for the 2014 general election campaign and as a member of the scripting team on the 2018 campaign.
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Dan began his career designing and developing enterprise software, then worked as a management consultant and as an executive at a technology company. Before joining NATIONAL, Dan worked as a Senior Consultant at a Toronto-based public affairs strategy consultancy.
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Dan is an active volunteer with the Writer’s Trust of Canada, having recently co-chaired the charity’s Ottawa dinner, Politics and the Pen. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish National Fund of Canada and the Government Relations Institute of Canada (GRIC).

Mader wasn’t just with O’Toole in the 2020 race. He was also one of his handlers in his failed 2016/2017 run, eventually losing to Andrew Scheer. Mader’s boss was Campaign Chair Walied Soliman, who is a Director at Sick Kids Hospital Toronto.

Mader also lobbied Ford in November 2019, on behalf of Pfizer.

3. Jill Wilson

Jill represents clients across a wide range of sectors, from critical infrastructure such as nuclear energy, land development, and transportation to high-profile issues like cannabis, alcohol, and gaming.
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Jill focuses on government and stakeholder relations, policy development, detailed research, and communication support.
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Jill worked with federal, provincial, and municipal governments for over ten years. She understands how to make change in government, identifying those who make decisions and helping them to understand how her clients’ interests align with those of the public and the government.
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Before joining Loyalist, Jill worked at a national government relations and strategic communication firm.
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Jill served as a political advisor in Stephen Harper’s government and has also spent time in the not-for-profit sector with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

Wilson is another one who spent a long time in the Government of Stephen Harper, albeit in several different roles. Surely, she has connection to convince “Conservatives” not to ask too many questions about the experimental drugs Pfizer wants to sell to the public. Most likely, she knows a lot of the same people that Erin O’Toole and his staff know.

4. Chris Froggatt

Prior to founding Loyalist Public Affairs, Chris served as the Managing Partner for the Ottawa office of National Public Relations for eight years.
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In government, Chris served as Chief of Staff to the Hon. John Baird in a variety of ministries including Treasury Board, Environment, Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities. He also served as senior advisor to the Minister of Transportation and the Attorney General in Ontario, and a senior advisor to Canada’s former Leader of the Opposition, Preston Manning.
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During his time in the governments of Canada and Ontario, Chris led the development and execution of many policy and communication strategies for various complex public policy files. In 2012, Chris received Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal as a recognition of his commitment to his community and to Canada.
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In 2018, Chris provided strategic counsel to Doug Ford during his successful bid for the leadership of the Ontario PC Party. He then served as Vice-Chair for the Ontario PC Party’s 2018 election campaign where the PCs won their first election in almost twenty years and Doug Ford was elected Ontario’s 26th Premier. At the request of then Premier-elect, Doug Ford, Chris chaired the transition team that helped shape the foundation for the new Government of Ontario.
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Chris is a graduate of Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario where he received a B.A. in Political Science and History. For over six years, he served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management at Carleton University and as a former Fellow of the Program, he provided lectures on the Canadian political process.

Froggatt appears to have left his official roles with the Conservative Party of Canada before Erin O’Toole was elected to Parliament. Nonetheless, he likely has many connections that cross over. Otherwise, what would even be the point of hiring him in the first place? He claims to have been with Doug Ford pretty much every step of the way of putting him into power in June 2018.

In an interesting twist to all this, Erin O’Toole was working for Christine Elliott (now the Health Minister), when she was running for the Ontario Progress Conservative leadership. She ultimately lost.

Another Loyalist operative, Zahra Sultani, worked as a Project Manager at Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Headquarters and Advisor to Ontario Cabinet Minister Rod Phillips.

What do you think? Should political handlers be allowed to get into lobbying, and then try to peddle on those very same politicians? Or does this just invite corruption?

May 17, 2021October 11, 2021

Doug Ford’s Covid-19 Communications Director Now A Pharma Lobbyist Pushing Vaccines; Counsel Public Affairs

Few things are as disgusting as when lobbying and political cronyism cross paths. This is going to focus on Doug Ford, and his operatives working for drug companies. Also, see this piece on Bonnie Henry’s Communications Chief.

The lobbying firm relevant here is Counsel Public Affairs. Its members are former (and current) political hacks who use their connections to push for financial benefits for their clients. While it’s mandatory to disclose such things, it’s rarely in the public interest.

Take Jessica Georgakopoulos, who went (almost overnight) from being a staffer for Doug Ford, to becoming a mouthpiece for GlaxoSmithKline.

Jessica Georgakopoulos brings over a dozen years of strategic thinking, political insights and communications expertise. She has extensive experience both in the public and private sectors in strategy development, media relations, crisis communications and advocacy campaigns.
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Immediately prior to joining Counsel, Jessica served as the Director of Strategic Communications for the Premier of Ontario where she advised on the widely praised communications of Ontario’s COVID-19 response and managed the integration of government-wide communications strategies during the pandemic.
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Jessica has also served the Ford Government as the Chief of Staff to the Minister of Long-Term Care, leading the development of the government’s modernization plan for building long-term care homes. Jessica also worked as Director of Communications for Ontario’s Minister of Government and Consumer Services.
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Jess brings to Counsel a strong network across Canada’s political and business media forged through her work as the Director of Communications at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, her five years in public relations and crisis communication consulting, and serving as Press Secretary and Issues Manager to two Federal Cabinet Ministers within the Harper Government. During her time as a consultant, Jessica worked on high-profile advocacy campaigns and provided crisis communications support for leading organizations.

Immediately prior to joining Counsel Public Affairs, Georgakopoulos worked as Communications Director for Doug Ford, related directly for his Covid-19 public strategies. She now is a lobbyist for pharmaceutical companies like GSK, pushing for vaccines. And in case there is any confusion about the content of the lobbying, the Ontario Registry itself lists the content.

Q: Describe your lobbying goal(s) in detail. What are you attempting to influence or accomplish as a result of your communications with Ontario public office holders?

A: Engage with provincial government decision-makers to educate and raise awareness about two new COVID-19 therapeutic treatments under development by GSK (Vir-7831 and Otilimab), and encourage Ontario to actively collaborate with the federal government to expedite procurement options, and pursue related implementation matters, to secure an appropriate allocation of such medicines to potentially make them available to Canadian patients, prescribers and hospitals, pending approvals by Health Canada.

In the span of a month, Georgakopoulos went from working with Ford’s Government on its “pandemic” response, to trying to convince them to buy drugs related to that response. Does anyone see a problem with any of this?

For more context, both GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer announced they would launch a joint consumer health care venture. Considering that Pfizer is one of the companies with an interim authorized (not approved) vaccine on the market, lobbying for GSK could be seen as helping them. Again, consider the timing of Georgakopoulos’ departure from the Ford Government.

Brad Lavigne and Jean-Marc Prevost were mentioned in the previous piece, along with their ties to Emergent BioSolutions, which makes AstraZeneca, and coziness with Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix.

As for cronyism and conflicts of interest within Counsel Public Affairs, hold on. It’s about to get much, much worse.

Caroline Pinto is also listed as a GSK lobbyist. She is co-Founder of Counsel Public Affairs, and was “policy advisor to the Attorney General of Ontario and Minister Responsible for Native Affairs under the Mike Harris government from 1995 to 1998”. Interesting how her ties extend back to the previous ONPC Government.

Devan Sommerville was a policy advisor in the Ontario Liberal Governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne. Perhaps if Ford gets voted out, Devan will be called in to do the influence peddling.

Jaskiran Shoker was an intern in the Ontario Legislature at the tail end of Kathleen Wynne’s run as Premier. She then immediately gets into consulting work with Counsel Public Affairs. That must have been quite some educational experience.

Shanice Scott worked in the Premier’s Office back when it was run by Kathleen Wynne. Another Liberal Party insider.

Of course, the lobbying isn’t limited to Ontario. Counsel Public Affairs also lobbied the Alberta Government, trying to push a nasal spray on behalf of Emergent BiolSolutions. As stated earlier, this company is manufacturing AstraZeneca. They’ve hit Saskatchewan as well.

Yes, this firm has lobbied Federally too

To be clear, this isn’t all the lobbying that Counsel Public Affairs does, or even all the pharma lobbying. The point is that this organization is filled with partisan operatives, very connected, and are advocating for it. Jessica Georgakopoulos is a particularly aggregious case, but far from the only one. Parliaments, particularly in Ontario, are compromised by this group.

Also check this previous article from Canuck Law, and this from The Breaker. Both will provide further background into the lobbying issue.

May 16, 2021October 11, 2021

Bonnie Henry’s Ex-Mouthpiece Now BC Pharma Lobbyist For Emergent BioSolutions (Which Makes AZ)

One would think that leaving the Ministry of Health, join a lobbying firm, and then lobby said Ministry would be a serious problem. However, that appears to be what has happened in B.C.

A disclaimer: the connection between Jean-Marc Prevost, Bonnie Henry, and Counsel Public Affairs was reported on by The Breaker. Go check out that article as well. While there is considerable overlap, this will not be a complete rehash, and will focus more on the source material involved. The Breaker also covered the hiring of a spin-doctor for Henry.

On May 10, 2021, Prevost became a registered lobbyist in B.C. on behalf of Emergent BioSolutions Canada Inc. (formerly Adapt Pharma Canada Ltd.) He’s working for the firm Counsel Public Affairs, and is now planning to lobby the B.C. Government on behalf of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which are mass producing vaccines to sell across the globe.

British Columbia Real Estate Association
Emergent BioSolutions Canada Inc.
Encorp Pacific (Canada)
Hello Fresh Canada Inc.
Insurance Council of British Columbia
North York Rehabilitation Centre Corp.
Toyota Canada Inc.

In the last week, Prevost has officially become registered as a lobbyist for 7 companies. He will be quite busy as a paid mouthpiece for the foreseeable future.

Prior to joining Counsel, Jean-Marc led B.C. Health’s communications team. From the first confirmed COVID-19 case to the first vaccine shot, he supported Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on their globally-recognized pandemic response. Dr. Henry acknowledged his contributions and “powerful ways with words,” in her book, Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe.
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Jean-Marc held communications positions in economic, energy and justice ministries in the Government of Alberta under Premier Rachel Notley, including leading multi-department implementation of a province-wide coal phase-out. He also worked with economic development leaders to plan digital arts, health innovation, venture capital and market diversification initiatives for small and medium-sized businesses.
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He held central roles in the Manitoba government under Premiers Gary Doer and Greg Selinger – including leading communications for two record floods and for Canada’s delegation to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
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Jean-Marc has also travelled to many First Nations across the prairies, working with Indigenous organizations to develop public and private partnerships that support indigenous environmental, education, training, employment and housing initiatives.
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Jean-Marc started his career as a journalist with CTV Winnipeg.

Prevost has spent considerable time with BCPHO Bonnie Henry, and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix. In fact, it was so much time that Bonnie acknowledged him in her book (which was written while working for the public). Additionally, he has worked in Government both in Alberta and Manitoba. Also, his time with the Bell-owned CTV gives him considerable clout into the Canadian media landscape.

Will any of this matter? In the media, probably not. After all, Bonnie Henry repeatedly makes comments about there being no real science behind the health measures she imposes. She never gets called out on any of it though. This will probably be more of the same.

The plot thickens. Another prominent lobbyist for Emergent BioSolutions is Brad Lavigne, a long time political operative, both in B.C., and Federally. Some information on him:

Prior to Prevost taking charge, Emergent BioSolutions was represented by Brad Lavigne, a longtime NDP political operative. He has also been a regular on CBC for some 17 years, which makes him just another political mouthpiece.

In March, despite various new restictions in the Province of B.C., wineries were still allowed to remain open for tasting. That seemed to be an odd exemption, as this isn’t exactly “essential”. Of course, things start to make sense once it’s mentioned that Bonnie Henry co-owns a winery in Keremeos. Can’t let a public health crisis get in the way of business.

In April, Health Canada announced that Emergent BioSolutions manufacturing facility in Baltimore, Maryland has been flagged by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for serious quality issues, but claimed that there was nothing for Canadians to worry about.

Of course, the pharma lobbying is not restricted to B.C. It goes on elsewhere as well.

As an aside, Counsel Public Affairs operates throughout Canada, and most of its staff are based in Ontario. They are lobbying the Ford Government on behalf of several pharmaceutical companies, including GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) and Emergent Biosolutions. No wonder he and Christine Elliott are so vaxx happy. In fact, the Counsel Public Affairs firm seems to have connections throughout Ontario politics, and it spans different parties.

Nose spray anyone? Counsel Public Affairs is also trying to get a nasal spray sold in Canada on behalf of their client as well.

Of course, this isn’t everything that is going on. However, it’s another example of politicians and lobbyists being too close for it to be in the public interest. Anyhow, after reading this, go check the work from The Breaker.

(1) https://thebreaker.news/business/henry-wordsmith-lobbyist/
(2) https://thebreaker.news/business/bonnie-henry-spin-doctor/
(3) https://counselpa.com/insight/counsel-public-affairs-adds-experienced-government-communications-specialist-to-western-team/
(4) https://counselpa.com/team/brad-lavigne/
(5) https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-lavigne-a0927a39/
(6) https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/
(7) https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=4186&regId=56559213
(8) https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/advSrch?V_SEARCH.command=navigate&time=1621194530444
(9) https://www.lobbyistsregistrar.bc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrs/do/cmmLgPblcVw?comlogId=9170
(10) https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-lavigne-a0927a39/
(11) https://globalnews.ca/news/7732090/indoor-wine-tastings-bc-covid-restrictions/
(12) https://www.keremeosreview.com/news/similkameen-winery-co-owned-by-dr-bonnie-henry/
(13) https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2021/04/statement-from-health-canada-on-astrazeneca-and-janssen-covid-19-vaccines-produced-at-emergent-biosolutions.html
(14) http://lobbyist.oico.on.ca/Pages/Public/PublicSearch/
(15) https://counselpa.com/team/
(16) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/advSrch
(17) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/vwRg?cno=365677&regId=905980

May 16, 2021December 27, 2022

CV #10(D): Nova Scotia Pharma Lobbying; MOH Robert Strang An Anti-Democratic Tyrant

Just to get it out of the way, it’s disturbing how someone who looks this unhealthy could be a Medical Officer of Health, as he is for the Province of Nova Scotia. Supposedly he was a rugby player, although it’s hard to tell. For some inexplicable reason, the media treats people like this as rock stars.

Anyhow, Strang is a huge proponent of endless lockdowns, and pushing the big pharma agenda. However, even when the consequences of this are becoming obvious, he won’t admit any responsibility. See the above video, and the following quote:

Nova Scotia will pause the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as the first dose effective today, May 12.
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The decision is based on an abundance of caution due to an observed increase in the rare blood clotting condition linked to this vaccine and because Nova Scotia has enough mRNA vaccine to immunize people age 40 and older.
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Anyone who is scheduled to receive their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine will receive an email canceling that appointment and asking them to book a new appointment for either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
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A decision on second doses will be made once more information is received from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. Nova Scotia’s vaccine plan will be adjusted based on this guidance.
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The AstraZeneca vaccine has been linked to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, or VITT, in other provinces.
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Anyone with any of the following symptoms after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine should seek medical help right away or call 911 and say they have received the vaccine:
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-shortness of breath
-chest pain
-stomach pain that will not go away
-leg swelling
-a sudden and severe headache
-a headache that will not go away and is getting worse
-blurred vision
-skin bruising (other than the area vaccinated), reddish or purplish spots, or blood blisters under the skin
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The above symptoms are most likely to occur between days four and 14 after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Have to love the mental gymnastics here. Even as Robert Strang tells Nova Scotia that getting the vaccines was the right decision, it’s pulled from use (probably forever), and people are urged to seek medical attention for a variety of symptoms.

The message is touted nationally as well. Even though this “vaccine” is being pulled for health reasons, Canadians should take pride in the decision to get a first (or second) dose. It’s mind blowing that people could actually take this seriously.

Strang has taken it upon himself to decide what’s true and what’s not, and to condemn “misinformation“.

Interesting side note: Strang took some flak for opting out of AstraZeneca himself. Perhaps he doesn’t really believe what he preaches.

So, why is Nova Scotia so hesitant (pardon the pun) to completely throw AstraZeneca under the bus?

Wild idea, but perhaps AstraZeneca having 15 people currently registered (as in right now) as lobbyists with the Nova Scotia Government played some role in not completely bashing their product. And no, this is not limited to a single company.

The Canadian Medical Association, which is on record as supporting Ontario’s stay-at-home order (or 24 hour curfew) also has plenty of lobbyists registered with Nova Scotia.

The Doctors of Nova Scotia doesn’t seem to raise too many red flags. However, having a lobbyist from GlaxSmithKline is an interesting bit. Likewise with Innovative Medicines, Merck, and the Pharmacy Association of Canada. It’s almost as if there was some pattern to the types of organization that are lobbying in Nova Scotia.

Keep in mind, these are only the registrations that are documented. It’s quite likely that other things have gone on behind the scene for which records aren’t posted.

Strang worked with Theresa Tam on the Special Advisory Committee on the Epidemic of Opioid Overdoses Regarding Updated Data on Canada’s Opioid Crisis in 2018. Interesting. Now he pushes for Nova Scotians to take “vaccines” that are not approved, but only have interim authorization, based on low standards.

On Wednesday May 12, 2021, an application for injunction was filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. It was granted on Friday based on 2 Affidavits, one from Robert Strang. This was done “ex parte”, meaning that there was no opposing side to challenge it.

At a minimum, it would have been nice to see what was in those Affidavits.

The result is that public gatherings, including gatherings to these illegal measures have been effectively banned. The ban (unless thrown out) would remain in place as long as the Government decides there is a public health emergency.

In participating in this, Strang demonstrated himself to be nothing more than a thug. He convinced a judge to strip away Nova Scotia’s right to assemble, something that could never have been accomplished legislatively.

(1) https://twitter.com/Doctors_NS
(2) https://twitter.com/nsgov/status/1393286842737434626
(3) https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20210512006
(4) https://globalnews.ca/news/6716932/coronavirus-canada-medical-officers/
(5) https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/astrazeneca-vaccine-provinces-pause-regrets-1.6024004
(6) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/covid-19-nova-scotia-march-31-2020-1.5516108
(7) https://novascotia.ca/sns/Lobbyist/organization/confirmation.asp
(8) https://novascotia.ca/sns/Lobbyist/undertaking/undertaking_VD.asp?key=748&a=view
(9) https://www.cma.ca/
(10) https://doctorsns.com/
(11) https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-strang-9044ab43/
(12) https://www.pharmiweb.com/press-release/2018-09-18/statement-from-the-co-chairs-of-the-special-advisory-committee-on-the-epidemic-of-opioid-overdoses-r
(13) https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/docs/court-of-nova-scotia-injunction-order-14-may-2021.pdf
(14) Nova Scotia Supreme Court Protest Injunction May 14

May 13, 2021October 12, 2021

Why Is Rempel Silent On Harmful Effects Of “Interim Authorized” Vaccines?

Rempel is tied the World Economic Forum, as are many “Conservatives”. Don’t worry, it won’t impact how she does her job. She’ll stand up for Canadians on making sure these “vaccines” are safe.

At least these are safe, right? At least these “vaccines” have gone through all the steps to become approved by Health Canada, correct? These aren’t allowed onto the market by some emergency authorization?

So, Michelle Rempel-Garner is a sell out to big pharma. But at least the Conservative Party of Canada is taking seriously the vast array of civil rights abuses going on in Canada.

Remember: voting works.
Vote next election.

WHO Paper On MANDATORY Vaccination April 13, 2021 (Original)
WHO Paper On MANDATORY Vaccination April 13, 2021 (Copy)
Section 30.1 Canada Food & Drug Act
September 2020 Interim Order From Patty Hajdu
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2020/12/government-of-canada-announces-pan-canadian-vaccine-injury-support-program.html
https://covid-vaccine.canada.ca/info/pdf/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-pm-en.pdf
https://covid-vaccine.canada.ca/info/pdf/janssen-covid-19-vaccine-pm-en.pdf
https://covid-vaccine.canada.ca/info/pdf/covid-19-vaccine-moderna-pm-en.pdf
https://covid-vaccine.canada.ca/info/pdf/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-pm1-en.pdf

Vaccines Supported For Pregnant Women, Despite No Testing
Vaccines Given “Interim Authorization”, Not Approval. Very Different
Call Centers Wrongly Telling People “Vaccines” Are Approved
Ontario Adds, Then Removes Protections Against “No Jab, No Job”
WHO April 13 Paper: Discussion On Mandatory “Experimental Vaxx”

May 10, 2021January 27, 2022

CV #24(D): Heidi Larson; LSHTM; VCP; Vaxxing Pregnant Women; Financed By Big Pharma

Heidi Larson is a bit of a superstar for the pharmaceutical industry, and its allies. It’s well known that GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, is heavily funded by the Gates Foundation, and big pharama. GAVI has also been lobbying the Canadian Parliament for years, and getting hundreds of millions of dollars in grants.

A bit of background information here. The VCP, Vaccine Confidence Program, is part of the LSHTM, or London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Both receive extensive funding from pharmaceutical companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization, and Governments.

Who else is worth noting?

Board member, Carlos Alban (AbbVie)
Board member, Bill Anderson (Roche)
Board Member, Gabriel Baertschi (Grünenthal)
Board member, Anders Blanck (LIF)
Board Member, Olivier Charmeil (Sanofi)
Board Member, Alberto Chiesi (Chiesi)
Board member, Frank Clyburn (MSD)
Board Member, Eric Cornut (Menarini)
Board member, Richard Daniell (Teva Pharmaceutical Europe)
Board member, Johanna Friedl-Naderer (Biogen)
Board Member, Murdo Gordon (Amgen)
Board member, Peter Guenter (Merck)
Board member, Angela Hwang (Pfizer)
Board member, Enrica Giorgetti (Farmindustria)
Board member, Dirk Kosche (Astellas)
Board member, Jean-Luc Lowinski (Pierre Fabre)
Board member, Catherine Mazzacco (LEO Pharma)
Board member, Johanna Mercier (Gilead)
Board member, Luke Miels (GSK)
Board member, Gianfranco Nazzi (Almirall)
Board member, Oliver O’Connor (IPHA)
Board Member, Stefan Oelrich (Bayer)
Board member, Giles Platford (Takeda)
Board member, Antonio Portela (Bial)
Board member, Iskra Reic (AstraZeneca)
Board Member, Susanne Schaffert (Novartis)
Board member, Stefan Schulze (VIFOR PHARMA)
Board Member, Kris Sterkens (Johnson & Johnson)
Board member, Han Steutel (vfa)
Board member, Alfonso Zulueta (Eli Lilly)

One of the major donors of the Vaccine Confidence Project is the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). It’s Board is made of up members representing major big pharma companies.

Another donor of VCP is the Innovative Medicine Institute. Salah-Dine Chibout is on the Governing Board of IMI, and also is the Global Head of Discovery and Investigational Safety at Novartis. Additionally, Paul Stoffels is the Chief Scientific Officer at Johnson & Johnson, Worldwide Chairman of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

The VCP also works closely with the World Health Organization, and is supportive of its mass vaccination agenda. The role with WHO is simply to market the programs to make them more effective.

The Gates Foundation has financial connections to WHO, GAVI, the CDC, and countless pharmaceutical companies. It is also connected to agencies that are involved in computer modelling, such as:
(a) Imperial College London, Neil Ferguson
(b) London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
(c) Vaccine Impact Modelling Consortium

While all of this is nefarious and creepy, where does Heidi Larson fit into this? What role does she play in the system?

Larson works for both VCP and LSHTM. Her job is mostly one of research and consulting into “increasing vaccine confidence”. In layman’s terms, she is looking into ways to convince segments of the population to get vaccines at higher rates. This doesn’t involve research into CREATING safer and more effective products. Instead, it’s done to CONVINCE people that they already are. Her financial connections to companies like GSK and Merck likely influence her work.

Larson and her cronies apparently see nothing wrong with targeting pregnant women, who are the focus of the following article. Yes, damn the consequences, let’s vaxx the preggers. This, and the following information should horrify and enrage normal people.

5. Conclusion
This literature review has shown that both pregnant women and HCW cite safety concerns as a main barrier to obtaining/providing influenza and pertussis vaccines during pregnancy. However responses differed depending on geographical area: inlow-income countries for example, pregnant women were more likely to cite access issues as a barrier to vaccination. There are alsowide gaps in knowledge regarding the attitudes of HCW to vaccination in pregnancy, which is significant considering the impact they have on a woman’s decision to vaccinate.
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From the supply side, regulatory agencies still do not have a licensing pathway for many vaccines for pregnant women, manufacturers remain concerned about liability and providers perceive that pregnant women are unwilling to accept vaccines [95].
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As the MDG era comes to an end, the development agenda beyond 2015 is widening to include other important health issues such as non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, neither still-births nor neonatal deaths are mentioned in post-2015 documents [96] risking that the current momentum for new-born health may be lost.
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Barriers to vaccination in pregnancy are complex and can differ from barriers and concerns affecting uptake of routine childhood vaccinations. Maternal vaccination is administered at a time when the patient is cautious about various behaviours, including taking medications and vaccinations, and feels responsible for not just her own life but of that foetus. Depending on the cultural context, different norms are also established around the time of pregnancy. Barriers also vary depending on context and target population.
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Taking these points into account, ‘quick-fix’ interventions which aim to increase vaccination uptake, such as health communication messages and training physicians in communication strategies [97], without understanding addressing the root cause of vaccine hesitancy in specific contexts, are likely to have little effect on patients’ decisions to vaccinate or on the provider’s own confidence in communicating with parents about vaccines.
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It is important to understand how cultural and gender dynamics in different settings can influence a woman’s decision to vaccinate. This can be done through in-depth local ethnographies, taking the views of all community members and influencers into account, complemented by in-depth individual interviews and focus groups. Research could also examine some of the complex socio-political reasons for under-vaccination in certain communities must to inform vaccination policies and delivery strategies. With more understanding of the perspectives of pregnant women, their providers and communities, maternal vaccine strategies will be more likely to reach and protect pregnant women and their newborns from preventable disease.

Rather than reading the entire paper, that’s the conclusion. First, it’s pointed out that vaccine manufacturers are concerned about liability. So they are fully aware of the damage and exposure their products can bring. Second, it’s acknowledged that women feel responsibility for not just themselves, but the baby as well. This can be manipulated and it ties into the third point, that specific messaging needs to be used on this group. Fourth, specific training to “sell” the vaccines will likely be needed. Fifth, it is higher vaccination rates, not overall safety, that is the focus.

The reference list is extensive.
Check out the actual paper.

That is interesting. Not only is Larson working for the LSHTM and Vaccine Confidence Program, but she has also been employed by pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Merck.

Vaccine confidence concerns the belief that vaccination – and by extension the providers and range of private sector and political entities behind it – serves the best health interests of the public and its constituents. The Oxford English Dictionary defines confidence as “the mental attitude of trusting in or relying on a person or thing”. In light of that, we are not examining the well-studied domain of supply and access barriers to vaccination, but rather what is typically called the “demand” side of immunisation. However, our focus on confidence takes the “demand” rubric a step further than the more traditional notion of building demand through increasing knowledge and awareness of vaccines and immunisation to understanding what else drives confidence in vaccines, and the willingness to accept a vaccine, when supply, access and information are available. In other words, understanding vaccine confidence means understanding the more difficult belief-based, emotional, ideological and contextual factors whose influences often live outside an immunisation or even health programme but affect both confidence in and acceptance of vaccines.

The Vaccine Confidence Program believes that vaccines are good for humanity. It’s a part of the LSHTM, which is one of the biggest modelers of CV-19, predicting death waves. It also receives funding from drug companies who have a product to sell. What we have is a situation where the manufacturers, sales agents, and marketers work together under some humanitarianism guise.

October 2020, Larson co-chaired a panel on combatting pandemic misinformation. It was hosted by LSHTM and Center for Strategic and International Studies.

December 2020, Larson tweeted out — but did not condemn or question — a JAMA Network article discussing mandatory vaccinations.

January 2021, LSHTM tweeted (and Larson retweeted) a Telegraph article on combatting misinformation

January 2021, Larson was at the Pulitzer Center for a talk on combatting misinformation around CV vaccination. A look at their donors reveals the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, Omidyar Network, Planned Parenthood, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

March 2021, Larson wrote a piece for the New York Times, in support of AstraZeneca. The basic premise was that the AZ vaccine was safe, and that only public perception and confidence were keeping it from being distributed. She also called for “training vaccinators” in such a way to boost the image among others. In short, train people to better sell the product.

Now, this may be a coincidence, but some of the same companies that are paying for Larson’s work “increasing vaccine confidence” are also lobbying Ottawa to buy their products.

Side note with GlaxoSmithKline: Larson has disclosed being a consultant for the company. Now, in 2009, Canada gave Interim Authorization (not approval), to 2 vaccines for H1N1, Arepanrix and Monovalent Vaccine. Lawsuits were filed because the injections harmed a lot of people, but:

[19] The federal Minister of Health authorized the sale of the Arepanrix vaccine pursuant to an interim order dated October 13, 2009. Human trials of the vaccine were still underway. The Minister of Health is empowered to make interim orders if immediate action is required because of a danger to health, safety or the environment. In issuing the interim order, Health Canada deemed the risk profile of Arepanrix to be favourable for an interim order. The authorization was based on the risk caused by the current pandemic threat and its danger to human health. As part of the interim order process, Health Canada agreed to indemnify GSK for any claims brought against it in relation to the administration of the Arepanrix vaccine.

That’s one way to have high confidence in your product: make any sale contingent on getting legal immunity in advance. It’s fair to assume this latest batch came with the same conditions.

Larson’s career appears to have taken off in 2000, then she went to work for UNICEF. No surprise, but she was pushing mass vaccination even then. The bulk of her career appears to be acting as a mouthpiece for big pharma.

Canada announced the launch of a vaccine injury compensation program in December 2020, but so far, so follow-ups have been mentioned.

An interesting side note with Larson’s Twitter profile: she claims that she “did this reluctantly”. That is a strange comment. Does she not believe in what she pushes on the global population?

Anyhow, if nothing else is taken away from here, remember this: the “vaccine confidence” movement is funded by big pharma. They want to convince you that their products are safe. Just ignore the testing issues, and the indemnification agreements.

(1) https://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
(2) https://www.vaccineconfidence.org/team
(3) https://www.vaccineconfidence.org/partners-funders
(4) https://archive.is/Ah9Pw
(5) https://www.efpia.eu/
(6) https://www.efpia.eu/about-us/who-we-are/
(7) https://www.imi.europa.eu/about-imi/governance/governing-board
(8) https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/initiative/communication/network/vaccineconfidenceproject/en/
(9) Vaccination During Pregnancy Propaganda Research
(10) Vaccine Acceptance During Pregnancy Research
(11) https://www.vaccineconfidence.org/vcp-mission
(12) https://twitter.com/ProfHeidiLarson
(13) https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-larson-07b535119/
(14) https://www.csis.org/analysis/call-action-csis-lshtm-high-level-panel-vaccine-confidence-and-misinformation
(15) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2774712?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=content-shareicons&utm_content=article_engagement&utm_medium=social&utm_term=122920#.X-uxuv4Z2-I.twitter
(16) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/meet-scientists-tackling-vaccine-misinformation-tiktok/
(17) https://pulitzercenter.org/event/covid-19-vaccines-combating-misinformation
(18) https://pulitzercenter.org/about/donors
(19) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/opinion/astrazeneca-vaccine-trust.html
(20) https://lobbycanada.gc.ca
(21) https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/drug-products/legislation-guidelines/interim-orders.html
(22) https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2019/2019onsc7066/2019onsc7066.html
(23) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Larson
(24) https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2020/12/government-of-canada-announces-pan-canadian-vaccine-injury-support-program.html

CANUCK LAW ON “VACCINE HESITANCY”
(A) Canada’s National Vaccination Strategy
(B) The Vaccine Confidence Project
(C) More Research Into Overcoming “Vaccine Hesitancy”
(D) Psychological Manipulation Over “Vaccine Hesitancy”
(E) World Economic Forum Promoting More Vaccinations
(F) CIHR/NSERC/SSHRC On Grants To Raise Vaccine Uptake
(G) $50,000 Available — Each — For Groups To Target Minorities
(H) Canada Vaccine Innovation Community Challenge

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