Governments across the country are locking things down again. The Ford government in Ontario has pretty much replicated the Spring lockdown (with some exceptions such as schools) for the City of Toronto and neighbouring Peel Region while other suburban Toronto regions are severely restricted. The lockdown concept has an obvious allure: accept more pain now in return for a COVID-free world some months down the road - after this second lockdown. And what delivers this...
Read moreSummary Ontario's current strategy will fail to contain the Covid pandemic because it is not targeted at the dynamic that is driving the increase in "second wave" Covid cases in the province. The hard truth is that workers in food processing plants, warehouses, manufacturing plants and customer facing workplaces (retail, etc.) are taking the virus home with them to overcrowded, multigenerational households where they are unable to isolate. Because there is no ability to isolate,...
Read moreOn Monday, Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer, said the “high transmission” of COVID-19 in the four Ontario regions now under modified Stage 2 restrictions had prompted him to recommend against traditional Halloween night trick-or-treating. Ontario Premier Doug Ford strongly endorsed Dr. Williams' position. In Dr. Williams' view, the current Covid situation has made it too dangerous for door-to-door trick or treating in Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa. The ban on trick and...
Read moreOn September 24, a news release put out by the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) on behalf of 38 infectious disease specialists and public health professionals called for the Government of Ontario to: "immediately place restrictions on non-essential businesses and activities that facilitate social gatherings and increase opportunities for exposure, including dine-in restaurants and bars, nightclubs, gyms, theatres, and places of worship. The province must also ask non-essential businesses to have employees work from home and...
Read moreThe pandemic has thrust governments into a more proactive role than anyone would have imagined just a few months ago. As Canada moves beyond the immediate COVID-19 health crisis, policymakers must seize the opportunity to implement bold, forward-looking reforms. These include redesigning income support programs for the unemployed, regulating the labour market in a way that encourages full-time, high wage jobs, and improving the distribution of risk and return between the public, the state, and...
Read moreThe past three months have shown that with major sacrifices, the community transmission of COVID-19 can be slowed down considerably. In Canada, we can rightfully say that we were able to “flatten the curve” to avert a northern Italy, Madrid or New York City scenario. This is something to celebrate. Now we face the collateral damage of the lockdown: delays in medical care for non-COVID patients, harmful educational impacts on our young people due to...
Read moreCovid-19 has struck the world's major cities hard. New York City, Paris, London, Madrid and Milan have all been hit with particularly virulent outbreaks of the virus with devastating consequences for the quality of everyday life for the residents of these cities. In Canada, Montreal is the epicentre of the pandemic while the Greater Toronto Area has been hard hit as well with 62% of Ontario's confirmed cases. Out of necessity, these cities and cities...
Read moreEven when they recede, pandemics and other great crises seldom leave social and economic arrangements as they were. It is now up to Canadians to decide what the legacy of the COVID-19 will be. What kind of economy will emerge from the crisis? Will it be one that honors the dignity of work, rewards contributions to the real economy, gives workers a meaningful voice and shares the risks of ill health and hard times? We...
Read moreNow is the time for the provinces to sit down together with the federal government and draw up a detailed implementation plan for re-opening the Canadian economy. Every province should be in a position to re-open some of its social distancing closures by the end of May. It is essential, however, that our governments be clear that the process of re-opening the economy poses two separate questions. One question is short-term and relates to how...
Read moreAfter a solitary Easter Sunday, Canadians entered another week in social isolation confronted by two contradictory facts. The lockdowns that have transformed daily life across the country are working, slowing the spread of the virus and saving lives. The western provinces are seeing a significant decline in new cases from their peak, while the number of new cases has flattened in Ontario and Quebec. But the lockdowns have brought commerce to a shuddering halt, forcing...
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