The influential journal published a series of editorials and analytical papers Monday, which called for an independent review and argued that the country’s health-care system was ill-prepared for COVID-19. The articles identified issues such as the pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on marginalized populations and people in long-term care homes, as well as hoarding of vaccination doses. In Canada, there were 1,372 COVID-19 deaths per million, exceeding the global average of 855. (The Logic)

Talking point: The doctors and researchers aren’t the first to call for a review of the government’s pandemic response. In October 2020, the Business Council of Canada wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging the federal government to launch an independent interim review. The response from all levels of government in the early stages of the pandemic were “far weaker than in other comparable countries,” Jon Shell, managing director at non-profit Social Capital Partners, told The Logic. He also said the government’s tardy response created strain and caused some businesses to fail before support structures were set up. “For those first six months, our response was behind, with very little communication to the business community and it led to a lot of unnecessary pain.”