
Speaking to reporters about Ottawa’s response to the recent surge of Omicron cases, Freeland was asked to explain why the White House is reassuring Americans that holiday gatherings are safe if vaccinated, and that the variant is not a cause for panic, while the Canadian government is urging people to stay home and reduce contacts.









Canada’s largest port is shut down. Highways have snapped, buckled and crumbled. Bridges are washed into raging rivers and landslides rumble down mountainsides, burying cars and stranding travellers. Rail lines linking the west coast to the rest of North America are damaged. 

