Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Sunday
The latest:
- More Canadian politicians admit to foreign travel.
- Nunavut reporting zero active cases.
- B.C. OK's NHL games in the province for 2021 season.
- Feds mull barring those who travel abroad from new benefit.
- U.K. warns of even tougher lockdowns for England.
- Death toll in the U.S. has surpassed 350,000.
- Have a question about COVID-19? Send your questions to COVID@cbc.ca.
More Canadian politicians travelling over the holidays have come under scrutiny for ignoring public health guidelines against COVID-19 that discourage non-essential travel, and one Toronto-based epidemiologist says they should be held to a higher standard.
Dr. Maria Sundaram, with the health-care research agency ICES, said while she normally doesn't endorse shaming people as a public health strategy, she believes politicians must be held to a higher standard, because their actions set an example for the public they serve.
"There are some leaders out there who are really practicing what they preach and that is really reassuring and really motivating," Sundaram told The Canadian Press.
"Unfortunately, there are others who haven't quite adhered to the policies that they've espoused for others and that really damages trust and it really damages our ability to keep going."
Among the politicians under fire are several federal MPs.
Conservative Ron Liepert of Calgary-Signal Hill travelled to Palm Desert, Calif., on two occasions since March to address what his office called "essential house maintenance issues", while the NDP's Niki Ashton was stripped of her critic roles on Friday after sharing that she travelled to Greece to visit her sick grandmother after spending Christmas alone with her family in Manitoba.
In Quebec, Liberal MNA Pierre Arcand said he now regrets his decision to visit Barbados with his wife for the holidays, while Rod Phillips resigned from his role as Ontario's finance minister after it was revealed he took a personal vacation to the Caribbean Island of St. Barts.
In Alberta, several MLAs left the country for vacations, prompting Premier Jason Kenney to order MLAs not to leave the country unless it was for government business.
