Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Ian C MacLeod -- Whichever scenario plays out it will continue to be hugely disruptive and expensive, and will probably be with us for quite a while






The COVID-19 crisis will not be over soon (a few months to several years!), and it will be prohibitively expensive. No politician has all the answers and none can realistically provide a quick fix. Those are realities, and we must find ways to adapt to them.

As to duration of the COVID-19 crisis, there seems to be 4 alternative timelines and tracks:

1. MAYBE A FEW MONTHS ► NEW TREATMENT DRUGS are developed to treat actual infections. There seem to be a number of them close to, or actually in, human testing. Will still be issues of cost and access;

2. MAYBE A FEW MONTHS ► JUST “RUNS its COURSE”. With containment measures, cases seem to be “plateauing” in China (if one can believe the data). As with some previous pandemics, maybe in time (hopefully no more than 4 or 5 months) it just fizzles out (with the help of containment and treatment measures).

3. MAYBE 18 MONTHS ► a NEW VACCINE is brought to market. There are a number of options in the pipeline, but they take time and money to test for effectiveness and safety. There also potential issues of pharmaceutical companies or Trump's USA cornering the market on vaccines or price gouging;

4. SEVERAL YEARS (MAYBE 3 TO 5) ►over time, society builds GROUP IMMUNITY (like the common cold). But that means that a huge number of us, perhaps the majority, will have to first suffer through the disease, with the resulting death toll (the current mitigation measures are more to save the health care system from being swamped beyond capacity in the short term than to actually stop the spread of the disease);

Whichever scenario plays out, it is, and will continue to be, hugely disruptive and expensive - to all of our lives, services, jobs and the economy, and will probably be with us for quite a while - and much longer than most of us expect or hope for.

Hopefully the shorter tracks #1 or #2 above pan out, but it could the much worse #3 or #4.

In the meantime, each and every one of us will have to:


  • follow the advice of the medical authorities (cleanliness, social distancing, etc);
  • give our support to all of those on the front lines (health care and emergency service workers, much needed food and other retail workers, etc.); and
  • give what help we can to the more fragile seniors, the ill, the economically vulnerable, and the parents of children who have no schools, community programs or libraries (and the children themselves).


It will not be easy, but acting together, with diligence, caring, sharing, wisdom, personal sacrifice, patience and time, we can get through this. We have no other choice!

“Let's be careful out there!” (iconic line from the TV drama, Hill Street Blues (1981-1987)).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BC cannot regulate, redesign, and reinterpret its way to a stable forestry sector. Communities need clear rules, predictable timelines, and accountability for results.

Photo credit:  Atli Resources LP   BC’s Forestry Crisis Continues with Closure of Beaver Cove Chip Facility   As industry leaders, Indigenous partners, and contractors gather this week at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the gap between government rhetoric and reality could not be clearer. Just hours after the Eby government once again touted reconciliation, certainty, and economic opportunity under DRIPA, Atli Chip Ltd, a company wholly owned by the ’Na̱mg̱is First Nation, announced it is managing the orderly closure of its Beaver Cove chip facility. The closure comes despite public tax dollars, repeated government announcements, and assurances that new policy frameworks would stabilize forestry employment and create long-term opportunity in rural and coastal British Columbia. “British Columbians are being told one story, while communities are living another,” said Ward Stamer, Critic for Forests. “This closure makes it clear that announcement...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stamer: Hope for Forestry Completely Shattered After Another Provincial Review Driven by DRIPA

IMAGE CREDIT:  Provincial Forestry Advisory Council Conservative Critic for Forests Ward Stamer says the final report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council confirms the worst fears of forestry workers and communities; instead of addressing the real issues driving mill closures and job losses, the NDP has produced a report that ignores industry realities and doubles down on governance restructuring. Despite years of warnings from forestry workers, contractors, and industry organizations about permitting delays, regulatory costs, fibre access, and the failure of BC Timber Sales, the PFAC report offers no urgency, no timelines, and no concrete action to stop the ongoing decline of the sector. “ This report completely shatters any remaining hope that the government is serious about saving forestry ,” said Stamer.  “ We didn’t need another study to tell us what industry has been saying for years. While mills close and workers lose their livelihoods, the NDP is focused on re...
Post a Comment
Read more

FORSETH – My question is, ‘How do we decide who is blue enough to be called a Conservative?’

How do we decide who’s blue enough to be a Conservative? AS OF TODAY (Friday January 30 th ), there are now eight individuals who have put their names forward to lead the Conservative Party of British Columbia. Having been involved with BC’s Conservatives since 2010, and having seen MANY ups and downs, having 8 people say “I want to lead the party” is to me, an incredible turn-around from the past. Sadly, however, it seems that our party cannot seem to shake what I, and others, call a purity test of ‘what is a Conservative’. And that seems to have already come to the forefront of the campaign by a couple of candidates. Let me just say as a Conservative Party of BC member, and as someone active in the party, that frustrates me to no end. Conservatives, more than any other political philosophy or belief, at least to me, seems to have the widest and broadest spectrum of ideals.   For the most part, they are anchored by these central thoughts --- smaller and less intru...
1 comment
Read more

Labels

Show more