Articles from:March 2022

• Ukraine’s path to joining European Union still a long road: Brock expert

  Friday, March 11, 2022 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 11 March 2022 – R0033

  Despite an outpouring of European support for Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s recent invasion, Ukraine’s hope to fast-track its entry to the European Union (EU) was always likely to be a “non-starter,” says Brock University expert Paul Hamilton.

  “Ukraine has enormous moral capital and the support of the European Parliament and the European Commission president, but the process of joining the EU is arduous and can take years,” says Hamilton, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science. “The joint statement of the European Council issued Thursday confirms that a special route to membership for Ukraine was never an option.”

  European Union leaders meeting for a two-day summit in Versailles Thursday, March 10 expressed support for Ukraine but did not agree to fast-track the country’s entry to the European Union.

  Hamilton explains that accession to the EU requires:

  • a treaty
  • a timeline for adjusting to EU norms (known as the Copenhagen Criteria)
  • harmonization of EU law with Ukrainian law in 35 policy areas, and
  • a unanimous vote of the European Council, which includes the heads of all 27 member states.

  The concerns expressed by European leaders at the summit about security, equity and thoroughness came as no surprise to Hamilton, either.

  “Ukraine is not considered a fully consolidated democracy by international observers like Freedom House, which categorizes Ukraine as ‘partly free’ due to concerns about corruption, judicial independence and rule of law,” says Hamilton. “Ukraine also does not have complete sovereignty over its entire territory, as Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 and the Donbass region has an armed separatist movement. This has to be a concern for the EU, and obviously, the recent invasion further complicates all of this.”

  However, Hamilton believes that the Western reaction overall must have come as “a shock” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

  “Perhaps Putin thought the West was too divided and too afraid of conflict to respond seriously to invasion,” Hamilton says. “The response of the international community to the seizure of Crimea was mild compared to what we see today. Putin may also have judged the United States to be too divided to undertake a serious and firm response.”

  Hamilton notes that the U.S. has long supported European integration and bringing Ukraine into the Western geopolitical orbit, so the “bipartisan, effective and quick” actions taken by the U.S. administration are not surprising.

  “The horrific nature of the attack on Ukraine and the images we are seeing has galvanized U.S. public opinion,” he says. “A poll conducted last week by Reuters/Ipsos showed substantial bipartisan majorities in favour of sanctions, even on oil, a no-fly zone and supplying weapons to Ukraine.”

  Brock University Associate Professor of Political Science Paul Hamilton is available for media interviews.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected] or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock experts concerned by Ontario’s decision to lift mask mandate

  Thursday, March 10, 2022 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 10 March 2022 – R0032

  Dropping Ontario’s mask mandate on March 21 may be going too far, too soon, say Brock University experts, who are concerned with the government’s decision announced Wednesday.

  “Most people rely on the message they are getting from the government and if the government is lifting so-called restrictions, it must be because things are OK,” says Christine Daigle, a Philosophy Professor with the Interdisciplinary Humanities PhD program. “We know the pandemic is far from over, but for most people, the message they are getting is that things are improving and are going to continue to improve.”

  Associate Professor of Immunology Adam MacNeil warns there is risk of doing more harm to the public through encouraging masklessness in indoor public spaces, which will increase virus transmission, without grounding the public in clear guidance around airborne transmission.

  “All protective measures need to be assessed in the current context,” says MacNeil, who teaches Infection Control in Brock’s Master of Public Health program. “Our current context is very high community spread and thus lots of virus in circulation relative to previous waves.”

  In addition, he says, the current context includes a number of factors: serious risks to children under five years old who remain unvaccinated, most children five and over who are not fully vaccinated, immunocompromised individuals and the high-risk elderly; the new and more highly transmissible subvariant of Omicron (BA.2) that is moving toward dominance in Canada and elsewhere; and increasing understanding of the longer-term consequences of infection in Long COVID.

  Wednesday’s announcement shifts responsibility to the individual, but Daigle notes that individuals can only make an informed decision if they are informed, and many may not be following COVID-19 news closely for many reasons.

  “What we’re ignoring here is that we live in a collective and that my decision potentially impacts you and others I interact with,” says Daigle, who has been researching human vulnerability.

  MacNeil thinks it is too soon to shift focus onto individual choice.

  “In my opinion, we’re not at the ‘personal risk assessment’ time yet,” he says. “Infectious disease experts widely agree, Ontario’s move Wednesday is not grounded in science.”

  While Daigle is hopeful that people will continue wearing masks, she is concerned about increasing polarization, harassment and peer pressure towards people, especially children, who continue to wear masks.

  “I’m hoping that even with this announcement, a good number of people will continue wearing masks because they understand it is a caring gesture.”

  Daigle says there has been a failure of communication in the language government leaders and the media have used to talk about the pandemic. Words such as ‘restriction,’ ‘mandate’ and ‘lockdown’ rather than ‘protective measures’ exaggerate hardship and invite resistance.

  “This choice of words has had a very profound impact,” says Daigle. “If you call it a mandate or call it a restriction, you are soliciting resistance rather than co-operation.”

  Brock University Philosophy Professor Christine Daigle and Associate Professor of Immunology Adam MacNeil are available for media interviews.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected] or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases