Dr. Bonnie Henry and Dr. Reka Gustafson are not serving public health or science by withholding so much information. No excuses. They have a large budget and bureaucracy, but they’re either unwilling or not allowed (by the NDP minister) to be transparent. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
They have many official sources of data. It's easy enough for their consumption (and, frankly, yours too). Like this @bccdc dashboard on #coronavirus testing data from November 2020. I recently received a copy inadvertently via FOI. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
Also from November 2020, showing #coronavirus testing capacity by health authority and provider. B.C. consistently under-tests, even though the NDP likes to brag about the capacity. WHO said test widely, to find the virus and stop transmission. B.C. is not. Why? #bcpoli#cdnfoi
Another document I received, that is not proactively disclosed, shows turnaround times for #coronavirus testing. This, from late November 2020 during the 2nd wave. Turnaround times and backlogs varied wildly. Time is of the essence in a pandemic. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
Here is another image of a dashboard with details on hospitalizations, updated daily, for internal use only. They have many dashboards at @CDCofBC and @PHSAofBC. It's the way data is organized for ease of use. Why isn't this proactively disclosed? #bcpoli#cdnfoi#GiveUsData
The so-called Provincial COVID19 Monitoring Solution on the dashboard includes daily patient census stats for hospitals (including ICU) and bed occupancy. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
A closer look at the patient census (from November 2020) that is kept in-house at @PHSA@bccdc, but not made public. Why aren't we allowed to see this? British Columbians have already paid for it. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
This disclaimer caught my eye on the hospitalization dashboard. “Data prior to March 25/20 is incomplete.” How much #COVID19 data across all the @CDCofBC datasets and dashboards is incomplete and/or incorrect? Or data that was corrected, but not noted as such? #bcpoli#cdnfoi
There is also a #COVID19 dashboard for @PHSA Emergency Health Services, which includes hospital delays. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
The @PHSA ambulance calls report includes charts for Oct. 28-Nov. 26, 2020 for flu-like illness calls and COVID-19 calls. Fraser Health (which includes Surrey) led, not just because of the health region's size. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
@seanholman is a member of the Canadian COVID-19 Accountability Group, which raised the alarm last May about the impact of the pandemic on the information we need to make the right decisions. Here is the executive summary of its report. We have the right to know! #bcpoli#cdnfoi
The Canadian COVID-19 Accountability Group's report is titled "Protecting Whistleblowers and Increasing Transparency in Canada in the Age of COVID-19." Here are the recommendations. #bcpoli#cdnfoi drive.google.com/file/d/1dpm3eQ…
Officially, ~25,000 Canadians died of #coronavirus. The lives of countless others have changed forever. The pandemic has put public institutions at risk of corruption. It's not over. We can't wait for the inevitable public inquiry for answers. #TransparencyNow. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
Today's statement from information and privacy commissioners comes MORE THAN A YEAR after Canadian COVID-19 Accountability group, including @seanmholman, sounded the alarm.
The statutory watchdogs waited more than a year to speak as one. #bcpoli#cdnfoi drive.google.com/file/d/1dpm3eQ…
🧵Can we believe @bcndp pandemic data? #BCgov has under-tested and made #covid19 case/death reporting errors along the way. I wanted to know how many and whether they were corrected. This is about science and history. I filed an #cdnFOI request last July. #bcpoli#GiveUsData
I asked for B.C.-wide and health region correction and revision notices for March-July 2020. The original due date: Sept. 14. #bcpoli#cdnfoi#coronavirus#GiveUsData#FOIA
Instead of documents, I got a bill for $270. Less than two weeks before @jjhorgan took time off from the #coronavirus pandemic and called a very costly snap election. #bcpoli#cdnfoi#FOIA
Like many reporters, I collect passes for events I cover. @JustinTrudeau staff wouldn’t let me keep this from @CoastGuardCAN photo op in Vancouver. They said it would be reused. Today’s other event is party, not PMO. Pass is dated. I also said it’s single-use plastic. #cdnpoli
Another PMO staffer, taking orders, tried to prevent me from taking photos of the PM walking down the gamgway, in case he were to fall. PM ably descended, as you can see. Sukh Dhaliwal, however, needed help. The Surrey Liberal MP didn’t have sea legs today. #cdnpoli#cdnmedia
Also at @JustinTrudeau photo op at @CoastGuardCAN in Vancouver: dir. of photography from Mark Marissen’s Burrard Strategy (r) and Marissen’s wife/BS managing dir., Maryam (l). PMO issued media passes to both. BS recently produced Sukh Dhaliwal vids. #cdnmedia#cdnpoli