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

FURSTENAU -- Rapid testing, paid sick leave, Question Period, and more ...

 

We often compare our pandemic responses to other countries and other provinces. Indeed, we can and should learn from the failures and successes of other provinces and countries.

The maritime provinces have been very aggressive in their response to COVID-19. On Monday, with a population of less than a million and a total active case count of 323, Nova Scotia processed 11,335 COVID tests and reported 66 positive cases. Rapid tests are available to anyone in Nova Scotia over the age of 16, whether they are exhibiting symptoms or not. 

B.C. has 2.7 million rapid tests available but currently only for approved work sites. We have deployed less than ten percent of the tests provided by the federal government, and administered less than one percent of those tests. 

This week in Question Period, I asked the Minister of Health if the province was planning on using rapid tests as another tool to prevent virus transmission.

Another important topic this week was paid sick leave.

On Tuesday, the Premier finally announced an intention to fix the gaps in the federal sick pay program. People have been forced to choose between staying home when they feel unwell or providing for their families. It leaves all workers much more vulnerable to COVID.

I was happy to hear of this intention, but I am concerned about the timeline.

There are still no details on an immediate program. Like many of the big issues facing British Columbia, this government seems to be waiting on federal leadership instead of being proactive. Creating a program to fix the gaps on paid sick leave should never have been put on the shelf, hoping that another level of government would take the lead.

Government needs to learn and adapt at all times in this - and other - emergencies. We need:

  • clear outcomes identified and effectively communicated by government, and
  • policies, informed by data and evidence, that get us to those outcomes.

I watched with great interest the SFU event "The Strategic Path out of COVID-19" on Thursday evening, with speakers David Alston, Dr. Lisa Barrett, Dr. Caroline Colijn, Nick Diamond, Dr. Kelley Lee, Dr. Amy Tan. Moderated by Andy Longhurst.

What was clear from this panel of experts is that there are several tools that can ensure infection numbers go down and stay down. Vaccines, are of course incredibly important, but so is effectively managing our borders so that new variants don't keep coming into Canada and BC (many countries have done this very well), as well as testing widely and aggressively.

We all want our lives and our communities to return to normal, and we can see from other countries and provinces that clear, decisive responses do achieve this.

Let's hope that here in BC, government shows a commitment to learning from best practices so that we can have the best possible outcomes in our province.

Sonia Furstenau ... is the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Cowichan Valley, and Leader of the BC Green Party.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FORSETH -- Focus on the nine things I mentioned. That’s what will allow the Conservative Party to win the next election

IMAGE CREDIT:   Darryl Dyck, the Canadian Press. I thought I had already made up my mind who I would be ranking on my ballot, in the Conservative Party of BC leadership race; now I am not so sure.  That means that, at least for me, and perhaps many others, it’s a good thing voting hasn’t already taken place. There were initially only one or two of the candidates that I thought might be a little too right of centre for my liking, now it seems that list is growing. I consider myself more closely aligned with what used to be called a Progressive Conservative, regardless, I feel more than comfortable within the Conservative Party of BC.  Some, however, in messages to me on my political Facebook page, have been rather, shall we say, a bit mean-spirited in comments they’ve made about my ‘purity’ as a conservative. To tell you the truth, I really don’t care! Some leadership candidates, in comments made online, have also been raising the issue of who is a pure enough conservati...
Post a Comment
Read more

WARD STAMER -- Those are REAL forestry numbers, not just made-up numbers

The following is a condensed version of remarks Kamloops – North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer’s made, regarding Forestry, in the BC Legislature, on Tuesday afternoon (02/24/2026)   Let’s talk a little bit, when we talk about Budget 2026, about the forest industry, which is near and dear to my heart. Forestry remains one of British Columbia’s foundational industries. It’s a pillar that built this province. Entire communities depend upon it. Interior towns, northern communities, Vancouver Island regions, the Kootenays, the Lower Mainland, with manufacturing facilities in Surrey and Maple Ridge, just to name a few — everywhere in BC is touched by forestry. One word that was not mentioned in Budget 2026 was forestry. That’s a shame, an incredible shame. It wasn’t an oversight – it was intentional. This government has driven forestry into the ground .... INTO THE GROUND! We can talk a little bit about some of the initiatives that this government has brought forth, to try to resurrect ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Your government has a gambling problem (Troy Media)

Provinces call it “revenue,” but it looks a lot like exploitation of the marginalized The odds of winning Lotto Max are about 1 in 33 million. You’re statistically more likely to be struck by lightning than to win it. But your government is betting that statistics won’t hold you back; they’re counting on it. Across Canada, provincial governments not only regulate gambling, they also maintain a monopoly on lottery and gaming by owning and operating the entire legal market. That means every scratch card is government-issued, gambling odds are government-set, casino ads are government-funded and lottery billboards are government-paid. And these are not incidental government activities. They generate significant revenues that governments have powerful incentives to expand, not constrain. It would be one thing for our governments to encourage us to engage in healthy activities. We can quibble about whether the government should be trying to convince us to be more active or eat more vegetabl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more