Thursday, December 16, 2021

Vaccine passports are not only unreliable, they’re dangerous

 

Evidence that vaccinated people can and do contract and spread the virus undermines the rationale of vaccine passports

By Gwyn Morgan
Contributor
Troy Media
 
The creation of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in an astonishingly short period was a stunning achievement by the biotech industry. The vaccines were approved for “emergency use” in just a few months, rather than the eight to 10 years normally required of previous vaccines.
 
Most Canadians were more than willing to accept that risk.
 
According to federal government data, over 85 per cent of Canadians 12 and older are now “fully vaccinated,” including yours truly. This has been hugely important in reducing the dreadful carnage in care homes and deaths of others with weakened immune systems.
 
And yet, we’re not as far along as we had hoped to be. Just last spring, rapidly diminishing COVID infection rates seemed to indicate the pandemic was nearing an end. As summer turned to fall, however, the more contagious Delta variant gained a foothold. Soon, case numbers and hospitalizations were rising again.
 
That increase was widely blamed on the unvaccinated, creating a division that’s torn at the social fabric of our nation. These days, you’re either a vaccinated ‘good Canadian’ or a villainous ‘anti-vaxxer,’ forbidden from working in the public service, going to restaurants, gyms or sports events, or using public transportation.
 
In a flagrant violation of the basic Canadian rights and freedoms that we all cherish, the prime minister issued an edict forbidding air travel, even for those with a negative COVID test.
 
Increasingly, however, it’s becoming evident that the facts don’t justify a binary, zero-one distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated. As we double-vaxxed are learning, to our disquiet, vaccination doesn’t provide the protection against the virus we had counted on.
 
It’s now clear that fully-vaccinated persons are getting and transmitting the virus. A coach and 10 players of the fully-vaccinated Ottawa Senators hockey team tested positive for the virus. These players then infected their families.
 
Similarly, hundreds of Canadian soldiers who participated in a training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa had to be quarantined after a COVID-19 outbreak. A spokesman for the military said “everyone participating in exercise was fully vaccinated.”
 
And fully vaccinated singer Bryan Adams contracted the virus – twice.
 
Ontario’s Dec. 10 COVID report that the vaccinated accounted for 57 per cent of new cases confirms the stark new reality that vaccine passports are not only unreliable, they’re dangerous. When I began research for this column, I was puzzled as to why those ‘protected’ by being vaccinated would worry about catching the virus from the unvaccinated. Now it’s those vilified unvaccinated who need to worry about the reverse.
 
Yet the vaccination establishment powers on, with children as young as five being coaxed with candy into rolling up their sleeves – despite the fact that healthy children who contract the virus almost never get seriously ill.
 
Just 17 Canadians under age 19 have died of the virus in the past 18 months, and most had serious comorbidities. That number is roughly the same as the pre-pandemic 12-month average for the seasonal flu. And we don’t yet know the extent of more serious side effects, such as myocarditis. The virus vaccines were approved for “emergency use.” Where’s the child emergency?
 
Meanwhile, startling new research, financed by Pfizer and published in the Lancet Medical Journal, found the protection level of the Pfizer vaccine administered to most Canadians drops to less than 50 per cent after just five months. Waning efficacy of vaccines has health officials authorizing a third and even fourth booster shot.
 
No one knows if the protection period will continue to wane, but it seems increasingly clear that trying to hold back the virus with vaccines sets up an endless booster-shot gerbil wheel.
 
If never-ending booster shots aren’t the answer, what is?
 
A study published in the journal Nature found that many people who have recovered from SARs-CoV-2 will make antibodies against the virus for most of their lives. This ‘natural immunity’ effect is comparable to that developed for measles and other viral diseases. That explains why Germany treats recovered persons the same as fully vaccinated.
 
That begs an important question I believe health authorities need to answer: Since the vaccinated people who contract the virus experience only mild symptoms, why keep giving booster shots rather than letting the much more sustainable natural immunity effect achieve the ‘normal’ we all long for?
 
Clear evidence that vaccinated people can and do contract and spread the virus undermines the fundamental rationale of vaccine passports.
 
And yet, in never-never land, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – fresh from COP 26, where he pledged to lead the world off fossil fuels – has announced he intends to also lead the world out of the COVID pandemic with the creation of a “global vaccine passport.”
 
The 70 per cent of Canadians who didn’t vote for him might be hoping his quixotic global mission takes him a long way from our shores.
 
Gwyn Morgan is a retired business leader who has been a director of five global corporations.

Monday, November 29, 2021

Peroxide -- Source: Arham. Detox for Body-mind-soul.

 Peroxide was invented during WWI.. It was used to save and help cleanse the needs of our troops and hospitals.

Please think about this:
1. Take one capful of hydrogen peroxide (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. (I am doing it when I bathe.) No more canker sores, and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash.
2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of peroxide to keep them free of germs.
3. Clean your counters and table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters.
4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria.
5. If you have fungus on your feet spray a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry.
6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to 10 minutes several times a day. Gangrene that would not heal with any medicine but was healed by soaking in peroxide.
7. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will.
8. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold or plugged sinus. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes, and then blow your nose into a tissue.
9. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for 10 minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly.
10. And of course, if you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through. You will not have the peroxide-burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, reddish, or dirty blonde. It also lightens gradually, so it's not a drastic change.
11. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help get rid of boils, fungus, or other skin infections.
12. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour it directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.
13. Use peroxide to clean mirrors. There is no smearing.
14. Another place it's great is in the bathroom, if someone has been careless, has peed on the floor around the toilet, and it's begun to smell of urine. Just put some peroxide in a spray bottle and spray. In the blink of an eye all the bacteria gets eliminated!

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Canada announced agreement with Novavax to produce vaccine in Montreal

Canada announced agreement with Novavax to produce vaccine in Montreal:

 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed an agreement with Novavax to produce their COVID-19 vaccine in Montreal after approvals for widespread distribution. BNN Bloomberg's David George-Cosh has the details.

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Novavax applies to WHO for emergency listing of COVID-19 vaccine

Novavax applies to WHO for emergency listing of COVID-19 vaccine

Novavax and its partner Serum Institute of India have applied to the World Health Organization for an emergency use listing of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine.

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Health Canada suspends licence, issues recall for hand sanitizer containing 'elevated levels' of methanol

Health Canada suspends licence, issues recall for hand sanitizer containing 'elevated levels' of methanol: Health Canada has issued a recall and suspended the licence for PURE75 gel hand sanitizer after learning the product contains 'elevated levels' of methanol that can cause serious health issues such as skin and eye irritation, breathing problems, headaches and even death.

Friday, October 8, 2021

Merck’s New COVID Drug

 

Merck’s New COVID Drug Is Making News — How Does It Compare to Ivermectin?

In his latest video, John Campbell, Ph.D., compared ivermectin, whose use as a COVID treatment has been widely criticized by mainstream media, with Merck’s new COVID drug, Molnupiravir, which is garnering positive media coverage.



https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/john-campbell-mercks-covid-molnupiravir-ivermectin/

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Canada launches its first national vaccine injury compensation program

Canada launches its first national vaccine injury compensation program

A national vaccine injury compensation program, first announced in December 2020, was officially launched Tuesday, allowing Canadians who have experienced severe adverse reactions to an approved COVID-19 vaccine to apply for compensation.

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Cream of Carrot Soup | Ricardo

Cream of Carrot Soup | Ricardo

INGREDIENTS


  1. In a saucepan, soften the onion in the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil.
  2. Cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.In a blender, purée the soup until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Landmark Agreement for Desert Control to Accelerate Climate-Smart Agriculture, Food Security, and Sustainable Forestry

Landmark Agreement for Desert Control to Accelerate Climate-Smart Agriculture, Food Security, and Sustainable Forestry

The agreement is the first deal of this kind for Desert Control and further proves the company's ability to generate revenue from its products and services. The deal's first stage is a pilot, where the parties will use Desert Control's Liquid Natural Clay ('LNC') on several Mawarid managed forests and...

Friday, June 4, 2021

Value Blueprints Research Brief Explores Patient-Driven Value Element Framework to Identify Factors Most Important to Patients

Value Blueprints Research Brief Explores Patient-Driven Value Element Framework to Identify Factors Most Important to Patients


The Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI), an independent, nonprofit research organization dedicated to advancing patient-centric value assessment, today released a research brief describing the application of a patient-driven value elements framework in identifying value elements important to patients...

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

AstraZeneca advice from national panel delayed by new data on COVID-19 and variants

AstraZeneca advice from national panel delayed by new data on COVID-19 and variants

Canada's chief public health officer says new information on COVID-19 and variants prompted the National Advisory Committee on Immunization to suddenly cancel its planned announcement on who should get the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Don’t be so quick to condemn processed foods

 

Don’t be so quick to condemn processed foods
Played an essential role in offering edible, safe and nutritious foods to all Canadians, yet food processing remains misunderstood

By Sylvain Charlebois
Professor in Food Distribution and Policy
Dalhousie University
 
Processed foods exist so we can save time, money and energy. They’ve made our food systems more efficient over the years. It’s all about convenience.
 
But in recent years, the health attributes of processed foods have increasingly come under scrutiny for a variety reasons, biased and unbiased. Many reports by professional organizations and interest groups have been unkind to processed foods, causing many consumers to believe that they should be avoided at all costs.
 
A fascinating study to be released in April, published in Trends in Food Science and Technology, looked at the underlying basis of the food classification systems used to determine what food is processed. Over 400 publications were screened for definitions of processed food.
 
The study argues that food classification systems used around the world, including in Canada, were mostly designed to examine the relationship between industrial food products and health.
 
The study shows clearly that there’s no consensus on what factors determine the level of food processing. In fact, the concept of ‘processing’ is considered by the authors of the study as a chaotic conception, largely concerned with technical processes.
 
While Canada’s Food Guide recommends that we stay away from ultra-processed foods, our classification system doesn’t include quantitative measures. Instead, it implies a correlation between industrial processing and nutrition. That’s right – there’s no direct relationship between processed food and their nutritional value.
 
The anti-ultra-processing pundits will be quick to indicate that those are the foods to be condemned and banned from the marketplace. This movement against ultra-processed foods is largely motivated by a classification system called NOVA.
 
The study didn’t provide any clarity or justification for the use of the NOVA system. The system looks at additives and other features associated with overeating, but it doesn’t include proper nutrient profiling and other formerly assessed nutritional aspects of food.
 
Food processing is a complex issue. Although it has played an essential role in offering edible, safe and nutritious foods to all Canadians, food processing remains largely misunderstood.
 
Based on the study, we can only assume that the rationale used by Health Canada to support Canada’s Food Guide and discourage Canadians from consuming ultra-processed foods aren’t well articulated or evidenced. The study argues that the subjective rhetoric often used by public health officials about nutrition is rather inappropriate for use in policy.
 
Processed foods have played an important socio-economic role in the last few decades. Some have argued that without processed foods, gender inequalities would be more predominant than they are now.
 
Knowing women have historically spent more time in the kitchen on average than men, women have been able to play a much larger role in our economy by having access to pre-processed foods. Many decades ago, most of the food processing occurred in the kitchen, accomplished largely by women.
 
More needs to be done on gender equality, of course, but food processing has certainly not been an obstacle to our quest to have a more equitable society. This shouldn’t be forgotten.
 
We need to make sure we avoid pompous misconceptions and properly educate ourselves on what food processing means. Many believe processed foods can only lead to a more obese and unhealthy society.
 
Certainly, some processed foods shouldn’t exist. But processing has a particularly important economic role within our food systems. It reduces waste across the supply chain and allows food costs to remain at reasonable levels for Canadians by using better technologies and knowledge.
 
In countries where access to technologies is limited, food waste and price volatility at retail tends to cause major challenges. Food processing provides stability across the food supply chain.
 
Instead of using guilt or value-laden terms, consumer understanding can only grow by appreciating the healthiness of food products we eat and buy every day.
 
The study simply recommends that we need to improve the scientific basis for food classification systems and to support consumer understanding.
 
Otherwise, ideology and nutritional elitism will continue to mislead the public and our policies will unceasingly misguide consumers in their food choices.
 
Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is senior director of the agri-food analytics lab and a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University.

Friday, April 2, 2021

How Canada botched its campaign for vaccines

 

How Canada botched its campaign for vaccines
The proven determinants of scientific progress – collaboration, a plan, guaranteed funding, transparency – are nowhere to be found
By Susan Martinuk
Research Associate
Frontier Centre for Public Policy
 
The Human Genome Project (HGP) stands as one of mankind’s most remarkable achievements. Its significance is easily equal to, or even eclipses, James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of DNA’s helical structure, or Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon.
 
The goal was to determine the position and function of the more than 100,000 genes that comprise the 23 chromosomes of human DNA. It was a massive endeavour and the challenge was so overwhelming that it could only be accomplished by the global collaboration of scientists.
 
In 1990, a $5-billion publicly-funded plan was established under the auspices of national research councils in the United States and the United Kingdom. A 15-year timeline was set and the chromosome pairs were sectioned and sent to laboratories around the world.
 
The collaboration was a gamble that paid off in spades: the HGP was completed in 13 years (not 15) and at a cost of $3 billion (not $5 billion).
 
The group was led by Dr. Francis Collins, an American geneticist who is now head of the National Institutes of Health. Years ago, I heard him give a speech in which he jokingly (and probably quite rightly) referred to the HGP as the “only government project to ever be completed earlier than scheduled and under budget.”
 
The secrets to this multi-layered (financial, bureaucratic and scientific) success?
 
Collaboration. A plan. Guaranteed funding. Transparency.
 
So where are these proven determinants of scientific progress today?
 
We’re in a pandemic and, so far, there has been far more competition than collaboration in the race to create, manufacture and distribute enough vaccines to immunize all of humanity. As many as 23 vaccines have been approved by various countries and more than 60 others are in some stage of development or clinical trials.
 
A vaccine is, ultimately, the only solution to this pandemic. Former U.S. president Donald Trump may have eschewed masks, but his administration shifted $18 billion into a rapid vaccine development program called Operation Warp Speed. These funds have supported seven drug manufacturers, including $2.5 billion for Moderna Therapeutics and almost $2 billion for Pfizer. Perhaps that’s why these companies delivered some of the first, safest, most effective vaccines.
 
Instead of funding vaccine development, Canada’s leaders decided to pay “volunteers” by providing, without proper scrutiny, almost $1 billion to their ethically challenged friends at WE Charity and giving billions more to ensure the survival of almost every industry – except vaccine research and development.
 
This decision has not been without consequences.
 
Although Canada made agreements to obtain the most vaccine doses (more than four times our population) of any country, it has become abundantly clear that the big drug companies are in no hurry to deliver them, signed agreements or not.
 
In contrast, countries that pumped billions of dollars into research efforts (like the United States and the United Kingdom) began receiving their allotted doses long ago. While they’re quickly getting vaccines into arms, Canada is tumbling downward on lists that rank nations by the progress of their vaccine rollout.
 
To be fair, Canada did make an international contribution of $440 million to the World Health Organization’s vaccine partnership. Half of the money was to secure vaccines for us; the other half was to assist in creating a global vaccine cache for underdeveloped nations. But as our vaccine delivery schedules turned into a gong show, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided that Canada should dip into the global vaccine bank to withdraw vaccines that were set aside for the poor.
 
At home, attempts to fund the development of a Canadian-made vaccine were anemic and impractical, at best. Initially, just $23 million was provided for domestic vaccine research and payouts were capped at $5 million per group.
 
Later, $192 million was made available to vaccine manufacturers – but only as a reimbursement for expenses. That fund has only recently increased to $468 million. Such minuscule contributions, coupled with no money upfront, are not nearly enough to assist Canadian biotech companies in managing the financial risks of developing a vaccine.
 
Finally, most government decisions and contract negotiations have been conducted in secrecy. It was only recently that Canadians realized the federal government had, months ago, appointed a vaccine task force to advise on policy. Names were withheld from the public (until uncovered by the media), meetings take place in secrecy and details of contracts with private corporations are not released. Actions and decision-making on a national level have only been open and transparent if we pretend this is the Soviet Union, circa 1962.
 
Yet this is the group that apparently controls Canada’s pandemic destiny.
 
So much for collaboration. A plan. Funding. Transparency. Sadly, these proven characteristics of scientific progress are nowhere to be found in Canada.
 
Susan Martinuk is a research associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and author of a soon-to-be-released book, Patients at Risk: Stories that Expose Canada’s Health-care Crisis.

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Ballooning sunshine list a slap in the face to taxpayers

 

A 10 per cent across-the-board pay cut for all government employees receiving over $100,000, would save taxpayers more than $2.5 billion

By Jay Goldberg
Interim Ontario Director
Canadian Taxpayers Federation
 
While most Ontarians were barely getting by during lockdowns, the bill for Ontario top bureaucrats ballooned in 2020.
 
There’s still 800,000 Ontarians looking for a job. So, it must be jarring for them to see Ontario’s sunshine list, which discloses the municipal and provincial government employees making more than $100,000 per year, increased by 23 per cent in 2020. Among those high government rollers, 74 made more than $500,000 last year.
 
So much for being all in this together.
 
As Ontarians struggled to pay their Hydro bills, six top bureaucrats at Ontario Power Generation raked in more than $800,000. The highest earner was the President and CEO who brought in $1.2 million. The total bill for these six bureaucrats was nearly $6 million.
 
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
 
While tens of thousands of Ontario’s children were kept home from school for months on end, the number of teachers making more than $100,000 still doubled to over 29,000.
 
More than a dozen hospital presidents and CEOs received half a million dollars or more.
 
Surely some of that money could have been used for tax relief or could have been sent to the front lines of the pandemic.
 
While Ontario’s government sunshine list grew, many workers outside of government lost their jobs, took pay cuts or saw their hours reduced substantially. There’s still nearly 75,000 Ontario businesses at risk of closing their doors for good, according to research from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
 
For those that suggest that these exorbitant government salaries may be warranted, government employees make more than 10 per cent more than their equivalent private-sector counterparts, according to the Fraser Institute.
 
Struggling families and businesses need relief and we can’t afford to pay more bureaucrats six-figure salaries while the province is locked down. If Ontario’s municipal and provincial governments implemented a 10 per cent across-the-board pay cut for all government employees receiving over $100,000, taxpayers would save more than $2.5 billion. Not only should Premier Doug Ford reduce government labour costs to relieve some of the burdens facing struggling taxpayers, but he’ll need to tackle this expense to pull the province out of its sea of red ink.
 
The provincial deficit is about $40 billion, and its debt is fast approaching the $400-billion mark. With labour costs making up half of the government’s pre-COVID-19 budget, Ford has little hope in balancing the books and paying down the debt unless he’s willing to take some air out of his government’s ballooning labour costs.
 
For unemployed Ontarians who saw the government sunshine list expand in 2020, the news must have felt like a harsh slap in the face.
 
Even if the government’s finances were in good shape, giving salary increases to government employees in the midst of an economic crisis is tone deaf. And Ontario’s finances are a mess.
 
It’s not fair to ask the tens of thousands of Ontarians who just lost their job or took a pay cut to pay higher taxes because government employees haven’t shared in the downturn. Governments need to address their labour costs and the first place they should start is at the top of the bureaucrat pyramid.
 
Jay Goldberg is the Interim Ontario Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Make Informed Decisions About Personal-Care Products w Our List of 7 Ingredients to Avoid.


 https://www.motherearthliving.com/health-and-wellness/ingredients-to-avoid-zmfz12jazmel

Jubilant HollisterStier, Eli Lilly Enter COVID-19 Treatment Collaboration - Contract Pharma

Jubilant HollisterStier, Eli Lilly Enter COVID-19 Treatment Collaboration - Contract Pharma


Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd., an integrated global pharmaceuticals and life sciences company, recently announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jubilant Pharma Limited, through its contract manufacturing organization (CMO) subsidiary, Jubilant HollisterStier LLC, has signed a new contract with Eli Lilly for manufacturing of a treatment for COVID-19.
 
Lilly’s drug, Bamlanivimab, has been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA for emergency use as a treatment of COVID-19 and will be manufactured at Jubilant HollisterStier’s Spokane, WA facility.
 
“We are delighted to partner with our customers and contribute towards the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Pramod Yadav, chief executive officer, Jubilant Pharma Limited. “Our CMO business, an established player in the North American market, has strong capabilities in the manufacturing of sterile injectables—both liquid and lyophilization—and we are committed to continue exceeding expectations of our customers in this business.”

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Eli Lilly's COVID-19 antibody shows it can prevent the disease. But will doctors use it?

Eli Lilly's COVID-19 antibody shows it can prevent the disease. But will doctors use it?

Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab was the first antibody drug the FDA authorized to treat COVID-19. Now, the Indianapolis pharma has data showing the therapy prevents symptomatic infections. The catch? The data are limited to long-term care facilities, where vaccination is now underway—and despite their utility, antibodies are having a tough time catching on.

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Policy uncertainty continues to hurt Canada’s mining industry

 

To attract the investment required to develop resources, mitigating the risks of policy uncertainly needs to be a top priority

By Jairo Yunis
and Elmira Aliakbari
The Fraser Institute
 
The COVID recession has hurt Canada’s natural resources sector, with supply disruptions, commodity price declines and greater uncertainty regarding future demand. Not surprisingly, capital investment in the Canadian mining industry has dropped to its lowest level since 2009.
 
Of course, business investment should be a key pillar of Canada’s economic recovery, as the governor of the Bank of Canada recently stated in a speech delivered to the Vancouver Board of Trade. Amid these conditions, government policies are critically important in attracting much-needed investment. And according to our recent survey, policy uncertainty continues to hurt several Canadian provinces in the eyes of mining investors.
 
Every year mining investors are surveyed around the world to determine which jurisdictions are attractive—or unattractive—for investment based on government policies and geological potential. The survey spotlights policies (taxes, duplicative regulations, availability of labour and skills, etc.) that impact investment decisions. The most attractive jurisdictions in the world match their mineral potential with a competitive policy environment and/or overcome a lack of mineral potential with solid policies.
 
This year, three Canadian provinces—Saskatchewan (ranked 3rd), Quebec (ranked 6th) and Newfoundland & Labrador (ranked 8th)—are in the top 10 most attractive jurisdictions for mining investment.
 
However, despite the relatively strong performance of these provinces compared to international competitors, several provinces with enormous potential continue to struggle because of poor government policies.
 
Consider British Columbia. This is a textbook example of how a jurisdiction endowed with abundant mineral resources can become unattractive for investment due to poor policies. Based on pure mineral potential, B.C. ranks 10th out of 77 mining jurisdictions. On mining policy, however, B.C. ranks 41st. When taking into account both mineral potential and policies, B.C. ranks 17th.
 
Given B.C.’s poor performance in the survey, the province would benefit from resolving its ongoing policy issues. For instance, 78 per cent of survey respondents cited disputed land claims as deterrents to investment in B.C. and 75 per cent cited “protected areas.”
 
Similarly, Ontario, which was the 7th most attractive jurisdiction for mining investment in 2017, this year ranked 20th. On policy factors alone, the province went from ranking 20th in 2017 to 31st in 2020. Like in B.C., investors view Ontario’s ongoing issues with disputed land claims and protected areas as major policy factors hindering the province’s mining competitiveness.
 
This trend continues with Quebec, which ranked in the top 10 most attractive jurisdictions worldwide this year. However, the province’s strong performance is largely driven by improved investor perceptions of the province’s mineral potential. When considering government policy factors alone, Quebec ranks 17th, suggesting room for improvement, with investors noting Quebec’s uncertain regulatory regime, disputed land claims and protected areas.
 
Indeed, uncertainty around disputed land claims and protected areas are among the top two greatest deterrents to investment in every Canadian province included in the survey. If mining investors are uncertain whether they can access land for exploration and production, they’ll be hesitant to invest.
 
Clearly, governments can’t solely rely on their jurisdiction’s mineral potential to attract investment. In reality, policy uncertainty matters to investors and if provincial governments hope to attract the investment required to develop these resources, mitigating these risks should be their top priority.
 
Jairo Yunis and Elmira Aliakbari are analysts at the Fraser Institute.