No time to point fingers at WHO: Trudeau
PM takes opposite side from Trump
WASHINGTON — Now is not the time to assign blame for COVID-19, Canada’s federal government said Wednesday after Donald Trump, his re-election hopes hijacked by a pandemic, turned his populist cannons on the World Health Organization.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to be drawn into the administration’s latest political offensive, insisting that his Liberal government would concentrate for the time being on helping Canadians avoid getting sick.
“That is our focus right now — what can we do now, what do we need to do in the coming weeks, how do we lean on experts in international institutions and in partner countries around the world for making recommendations alongside our domestic experts on what we need to do now,” Trudeau said. “There will be plenty of time as we move forward to reflect on challenges that were faced in the past. We need to learn and move forward as quickly as we can.”
In the U.S., where the outbreak of the virus has killed more than 26,000 people, sickened more than 600,000 and plunged the economy into suspended animation, Trump is accusing the UN agency of botching its initial response to the outbreak in China and covering up the extent of the threat.
He has ordered a halt to funding — the U.S. is the WHO’s largest financial benefactor, providing hundreds of millions of dollars each year — pending the results of a review to examine why “credible reports” that conflicted with official accounts from the Chinese government weren’t properly investigated, and why early evidence of human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus in China was ignored.
But the president’s not alone in calling out the agency: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer wants Trudeau to explain why Canada has been so dependent on an organization so closely aligned with China.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday six days passed between when Chinese officials knew about the real dangers of the virus and when the public was warned, time that allowed the outbreak to blossom into a fullblown global public health disaster.
The WHO failed outright in calling out China’s lack of transparency, the president said — although he neglected to acknowledge his own public statements in January thanking President Xi Jinping and praising the country’s efforts in fighting the virus.
The move is classic Trump: attacking a multilateral institution with a mixed track record, deep ties to the rules-based international order and an outsized financial dependence on America.
Countries around the world greeted the timing of the decision, if not the decision itself, with condemnation. So too did Microsoft founder Bill Gates, now a global health philanthropist whose foundation rivals the U.S. as the agency’s largest contributor.
“The world needs WHO now more than ever,” Gates wrote on Twitter.
Trudeau said Trump has not asked Canada to adjust its contributions to WHO — $17.5 million for 2020, paid in full, along with an additional $15 million since Feb. 11 specifically for the agency’s response to COVID-19, a government spokesman said. By comparison, the U.S. pays more than $500 million a year in annual assessments.
It’s money well-spent on a “valuable tool” under normal circumstances, said Health Minister Patty Hajdu — but especially during a pandemic.
“Canada values the work of the World Health Organization, and we continue to commit to contribute towards the work of the organization,” said Hajdu, citing its ability to bring countries, scientists and researchers together to find both short- and longterm solutions.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general, last week urged the world to resist the temptation to politicize the pandemic.
“When we are divided, the virus exploits the cracks between us,” Tedros said Wednesday, expressing “regret” at Trump’s decision.
“No doubt, areas for improvement will be identified and there will be lessons for all of us to learn. But for now, our focus — my focus — is on stopping this virus and saving lives.”