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BC kicks bird flu: CFIA

By Matt Kieltyka , Vancouver 24 Hours June 29, 2009 12:26 pm

VANCOUVER - Canada, and B.C. specifically, has officially kicked one of its nasty flu bugs.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed this week that the nation has met World Health Organization standards to achieve “disease-free” status for avian influenza, or bird flu.

The confirmation follows months of investigation and containment after the presence of the H5 avian influenza was found in two Abbotsford commercial poultry farms in January.

The provincial government is currently in the process of commissioning a $14-million Containment Level 3 Lab in Abbotsford, which will allow for a more rapid response to any future bird flu outbreaks.

It will be the second lab of it’s kind in Canada.

Matt Kieltyka reports for Vancouver 24 hours.

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The British Columbia legislature resumes sitting this week, but not before Premier Christy Clark outlined her spring agenda in an appearance on the Vancouver radio station where she used to work in what was pitched as a replacement for the throne speech. That agenda amounted to staying the course: focus on the economy, no money for teachers or anything else, and no higher taxes.

This from a premier who won the leadership of her party on a "change" platform. Perhaps appropriate then that the government didn't bother with a more formal speech from the throne at a time when polls suggest an increasing number of people are wondering if the premier's going to, as they say, piss or get off the pot.

-- Andrew MacLeod