Patrick Fafard

Now in print, my review of: In COVID's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us An ambitious but ultimately selective, flawed critique of COVID-19 decision-making with sweeping/contentious claims about public health measures, the motivations of public health advisors, & the roles of experts/media.

La sécurité en ligne ne devrait pas dépendre uniquement des « bons » choix des utilisateur·rices.

Join @ottawahealthlaw.ca on campus Tuesday 3 November 11:30 am–1:00 pm for "Global Health Law Amidst Shifting American Leadership". Featuring Professor @benjaminmasonmeier.bsky.social (UNC,Chapel Hill), moderated by CHLPE member @roojinhabibi.org. All welcome! www.ottawahealthlaw.ca/events/meier...

“Global health has a future. The real questions are who pays for it, who sets its priorities, & how we make sure science and innovation close the equity gaps rather than widen them.” GSL's @shoffmania.bsky.social opens our fireside chat on the future of global health and innovation 🎥 bit.ly/4i9Gsrj

Tariffs between Canada and the US have now been normalized. It’s just a matter of their levels. No one is talking about the USMCA and its renewal anymore. If Canada ends up making a deal that includes tariffs, then Trump’s coercive approach will have won the day.

Since the GOP decided to elevate white supremacy as a political strategy, they should have to answer for it. If it takes decades for the party to recover, so be it.

Rejoignez-nous le 10 novembre pour une présentation de Craig VanGrasstek, auteur de On Trade War, un nouvel ouvrage qui examine l’histoire, la théorie et l’économie politique des conflits commerciaux, de l’Antiquité à nos jours. Avec @prleblond.bsky.social >>> www.cepi-cips.ca/event/presen...

Join us on November 10th for a presentation by Craig VanGrasstek, author of On Trade War, a new book that examines the history, theory and political economy of trade conflict from the ancient world to the present day. With @prleblond.bsky.social Learn more >>> www.cips-cepi.ca/event/book-t...

Are you in Ottawa and interested in global health governance? Come learn about the implications of shifting American leadership. www.ottawahealthlaw.ca/events/meier...

From the outside, I have all the markings and credentials of a person who should “fit” in academia (for better or worse). But there’s a little Bourdieu who sits on my shoulder and whispers “habitus” and “your Dad was a high school drop-out truck-driver” at all the wrong times.

www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

"With new Ebola cases reported in Nigeria and Kenya, the latest outbreak of the deadly virus has become the fastest-growing and most geographically widespread in history, African health officials say." www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl... via @geoffreyyork.bsky.social ⬇️🤔

Thanks to @ottawahealthlaw.ca for convening #OttawaCharter40! GSL’s @roojinhabibi.org, Arne Ruckert, @shoffmania.bsky.social & @pfafard.bsky.social joined conversations on public trust, #AMR, breaking down silos in health mandates and the Charter’s future.

⬇️⬇️ Calling the absence of an inquiry into the Canadian experience with the COVID-19 pandemic an ‘omission’ is an understatement to say the least. All the more because is the prevalence of post-COVID revisionism, some it coming from the USA.

“In Covid's Wake … makes sweeping, contentious claims about the effectiveness of public health measures, the motivations of public health advisors, and the roles of university experts and the mainstream media.” read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl/articl...

Scathing and not entirely inaccurate take on the World Health Summit. Glossy, sanitized and full of private backrooms where high-level figures discuss poor people's right to heath "Where policy elites aura farm each other" www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/blogs/world-...

This isn't an 'oopsie, we'll look into it' mistake This is a 'everyone associated with this resigns and there's a Parliamentary inquiry into how the tax agency paid out $300m to fraudulent conspiracy theorists with no legal basis or remotely plausible case' www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Mon entrevue hier sur TFO sur les rôles des secteurs public et privé dans les soins de santé en Ontario. En bref : un changement pour s'appuyer davantage sur des fournisseurs à but lucratif, mais la santé reste en grande partie financée par l'État. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT-8...

It's Getting Colder Ted Harrison 1987

If we don't follow Article I, we don't have a Constitution: "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States"

A public health lens on online harm shows it's a risk for all Canadians, and isn't just about social media or chatbots. We need a host of new regulations, incentives and institutions to address it. www.hilltimes.com/2026/10/14/c...

The University of Ottawa next week will be commemorating the 40th anniversary of the #OttawaCharter for Health Promotion. www.ottawahealthlaw.ca/conferences/... Please join us in Canada 🇨🇦 next week for our health policy discussions to examine the past, present, and future of #HealthPromotion policy.

So, happy 89th anniversary of the day Oswald Mosley tried to sell fascism to Liverpudlians—and someone concussed him with a brick

Autumn Trees, Mulmur Twp - Ontario Alan C. Collier 1987

Vietnam became an upper middle income country this year. Its story is remarkable, from 1960s conflict, to 1980s communist isolation, to 2000s economic powerhouse Its trade shifts alone are worth studying yawboadu.substack.com/p/the-2026-w...

The Government of Canada's response to the report on Antimicrobial Resistance #AMR by the Standing Committee on Science & Research #SRSR is out. www.ourcommons.ca/content/Comm... "The Government agrees in principle" to all recommendations. Here's their response to Rec.13 (Special Access Program):

surreal to be working in global health as the US administration pursues bilateral deals, kills milktoast UN pandemic resolutions, and and meanwhile our health minister wants to AI to help spread misinformation about basic public health science. 🤯

Also curious about how to interpret this #GlobalHealth funding recommendation from Canada's parliamentary standing committee on finance #FINA (found under Equity and Social Policy rather than Foreign Policy) w/ the approach of the last budget, which singled out Global Health for cuts.🤔 #Budget2026

Today is Canada's Day of Truth and Reconciliation. It is not a day to celebrate. It is a day to listen. A day to recognize the costs of colonialism and capitalism.

Check out our latest blog post highlighting the important work of Katrina Staronova & Michal Sedlačo. Find out how expert bureaucrats preserve expertise, autonomy, and policy influence when political leaders seek greater control over the bureaucracy 👇 policyandpoliticsblog.com/2026/09/30/h...

Congratulations to my #GSPIA colleague Costanza Musu on the publication of her trenchant analysis of the links between trafficking of looted antiquities, global crime, and international security.

"a detailed ... ultimately flawed, critique of decision-making during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It makes sweeping, contentious claims ...demonstrates very little of the epistemic humility that is required to manage deep affective polarization." read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl/articl...

Vous êtes-vous inscrit à la prochaine conférence du Groupe des 78 ? Conférences plénières 1 : 🔴 Réinventer l’architecture de la paix : comment en sommes-nous arrivés là et ce qu’il faut faire >>> www.cepi-cips.ca/event/reinve...

Have you registered for the upcoming Group of 78 conference? Keynote 1 & 2: 🔴 Reinventing the Architecture of Peace: How We Got Here and What Must be Done 🔴 Reinventing the Architecture for Peace: The Five Global Hinge Points of the Mid-21st Century >>> www.cips-cepi.ca/event/reinve...

"Vaccines work" isn't a political statement. "Immigrants do not increase crime" isn't a political statement. "Climate change is real" isn't a political statement. "Genocide is bad" isn't a political statement. Stop neutralizing the power of facts by framing them as "politics." Reality matters.

“Boyagoda commended the audience for coming to an event that wouldn’t juice their résumés or help them score a job” On the contrary, if I hear in an interview that you went to a phil talk just because you were curious, you’re now in the interesting group. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Canada's Ebola travel restrictions are up for renewal again Sep 28. Will they be modified to reflect evidence-based measures against actual risk (incl in countries w/no current cases)? Or will Canada continue the unscientific approach it complained about when applied to Canada by others during SARS?

Will Alberta’s dual-practice doctors cut wait times? by @christinebirak.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/player/play/... via @cbcnews.ca

As we sort out what it means to be an “Associate Member” of the EU, ⬇️ … a cautionary tale on whether this should include participating in Erasmus, the EU youth mobilitiy & training program.

In which I explain why Canada joining Erasmus properly will a) require a lot of work b) not bring in any money and in the context of institutions being down $10B a year thanks to the feds, there might not be a lot of institutional enthusiasm for it.

We are hiring - *three* positions! The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa is inviting applications for 2 tenure-track positions in Security and Defence Studies: * One at the rank of Assistant Professor... uottawa.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/uOttaw...

We’re looking for public health experts, epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists, & social scientists in AMR research to participate in a virtual expert dialogue on scientific priorities for IPEA’s work program across One Health sectors, as part of a larger research study ➡️ bit.ly/3Tfcus9