Some people are losing their heads over the notion that Alberta will pursue potential solutions related to the #COVID19 pandemic that have been approved by world leading regulators but have not yet received an approval through Health Canada. They shouldn’t. 1/x #ableg #cdnpoli

Whether it be tests, medications or vaccines; the regulatory processes places like the EU and the US are based on rigorous scientific analysis. This is not a matter of reducing standards, it is about safely improving our ability to respond quickly. 2/x #ableg #cdnpoli

There’s an excellent example to consider here, namely the rapid COVID-19 testing developed by Spartan Bioscience. This testing process was approved today by Health Canada. What we might forget is that it’s use was already approved by both EU and US regulators. 3/x #ableg #cdnpoli

This technology is already in use by the CDC and the Mayo Clinic in the US, it is already being used to provide reliable testing data in the fight against COVID19. But until today, in Canada it’s use was on hold. Despite it being made by a Canadian company. 4/x #ableg #cdnpoli

Another thing you might not know is that 2 weeks ago, Alberta Health Services partnered with Spartan Bioscience to acquire this tech. The medical experts at AHS made that decision, before Health Canada approval, because they knew it would be critical to have. 5/x #ableg #cdnpoli

Now, because of that decision, Alberta is 2 weeks ahead than where we would have been if we waited for Health Canada’s edict. This will expand our testing capacity by thousands of tests a day, giving us another weapon to fight this virus. 6/x #ableg #cdnpoli

This decision to push ahead, a decision that was made by the medical experts at AHS, based on the scientific evidence. We cannot let duplicate processes and bureaucracy get in the way of scientificly sound measures to save lives. 7/x #ableg #cdnpoli

So to all those who are losing their heads, let’s trust our medical experts here in Alberta, let’s stop erecting unnecessary barriers and let’s find ways to speed along scientifically grounded solutions to this pandemic that faces the world. 8/8 #ableg #cdnpoli