We Still Have a Government, Right?: Canadian Politics 2020

Wow

Even if the US manufacturers a surplus of equipment, if the current crew is in charge, I’m not exactly confident providing them to us won’t be considered too unethical to use as leverage. When it comes to absolute essentials, our govt should probably be operating under the assumption that we *could* be on our own?

With the 4/5 day delay in processing, plus the time to become ill, then get assessed and tested, I’m estimating break related cases should only just begin to show up in the stats in 7-10 days.

On a lighter note, killer hornets are on their way.

http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/b-c-warns-of-likely-return-of-asian-giant-hornets-1.4861602?fbclid=IwAR2GcFFGkP4NVdcOq3V855V_UhwpA_5wLDRRwIg40dd8oJrWTl9SluuSrks

Yeah, no, my point was "if the US and UK can do it, why can't we?", not "the US and UK should be on the case soon".

Oh my apologies! :) I did misinterpret. Phew, If we all get through this, we should plan one hell of a Toronto reunion FAP. Those were good days!

No worries, probably wasn't clear. And that sounds fun: I'm not out that way that often but I could plan a trip.

http://globalnews.ca/news/6710957/etfo-ontario-tentative-agreement/?utm_source=notification/

Surprised and happy. I don't know what it means until I see the agreement, but maybe my original guess was right: that Ford finally decided he just wanted this out of the way right now.

Smaller class sizes and levels of employment might have suddenly seemed like a good thing to maintain?

Could very well be, assuming teachers held on that; both parties had lots of incentive right now to settle.

Canada's progression is starting to look like every other country's.

http://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/canada/

Lecce added that the government is committed to maintaining class sizes and full-day kindergarten, investing in special education, and a "fair" increase in compensation.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/mobile/ontario-government-reaches-tentative-agreement-with-etfo-1.4862278

we need to kick it up a notch and issue shelter-in-place today. i went to the park in vancouver today and there were TWO groups of like two dozen people playing SOCCER. like full games across two fields

how is doug ford better at this than the NDP here: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/doug-ford-food-rent-coronavirus_ca_5e7510e9c5b6eab77947f493

ford and legault being proactive and pro-renter is giving me some serious cognitive dissonance

Sounds like Horwath is right that it should be guaranteed in law but, yeah, it's a good move. What are the BC NDP doing?

SAQs apparently closing after today, have to imagine LCBOs will soon follow

Only on Sundays afaik.

Otherwise their opening hours are now 12-6 and no more than 10 or 20 customers may enter at a time, depending on the size of the store.

oh I saw the news and thought it meant they were closing STARTING today, lol. I was thinking, how will QCers survive...

I was checking to see if there have been any more local cases and came across this, posted 17 hours ago:

http://www.kitchenertoday.com/coronavirus-covid-19-local-news/over-50-nurses-exposed-to-covid-19-at-st-marys-general-hospital-ona-2188064

I know that's the story everywhere right now. Still, extremely unsettling in a small town.

Yikes, yeah that doesn’t sound good. My takeaway from that is that pretty much all medical staff in hospitals are going to get exposed so whole hospital becomes a danger zone. No wonder they are warning of healthcare collapse - regular care can’t function alongside that. Understanding the new hospital builds in China now weren’t simply done for capacity.

^Yes.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/03/22/at-least-thirteen-toronto-doctors-nurses-longterm-care-workers-infected-with-covid-19.html

Good decision, although I suspect there's a lot of unnecessary (i.e., premature) attention to this. No way in the world those games go forward; Japan has been postponing a final decision in a whistling-past-the-graveyard kind of way, but cancellation/postponement has seemed like a foregone conclusion for at least two weeks.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/canadian-olympic-committee-tokyo-2020-ioc-1.5506291

Today we are calling for immediate help for all Canadians:

1) IMMEDIATE DIRECT HELP: Sending $2,000 with an additional $250 per child directly to all Canadians (Universal Basic Income)

2) FIRING FREEZE: Giving employers more than 75% in a wage subsidy to keep people employed

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) March 23, 2020

+409 cases in Quebec in 24h, mainly due to an increase in testing, which remains key.

That would explain why our nation numbers shot up in the last few minutes.

http://www.cp24.com/news/ford-announces-mandatory-closure-of-all-non-essential-businesses-1.4864007

I assume that leaves grocery stores and pharmacies? This is easier for me to say as a non-drinker, but I really hope he doesn't exempt LCBOs and beer stores.

And this, which was a foregone conclusion.

http://www.680news.com/2020/03/23/children-wont-be-returning-to-ontario-classrooms-april-6-due-to-coronavirus/

I never, ever thought I would say this, but initial stumbles aside, Ford appears to be handling this pretty well. He’s trying to be firm without being draconian, his actions are rational, and was even going out of his way to effusively praise the media for “doing a great job getting the message out there“. Upside down days!

'Shitty head of state does decent job after days/weeks of conspiracist dithering' is a thing now.

Tory has joined other cities.

http://globalnews.ca/news/6718926/coronavirus-mayor-tory-state-of-emergency-toronto/?fbclid=IwAR1O4B-9XfxLRuiq3G2EpOPPN2mOFgZKyt2SxNTS8zHcLx2vUaf5l2JdN48

I agree about Ford (and normally I'm as harsh on him as you can be). I'm not sure why--smart enough to listen, seeing the Trump debacle on TV every day, actually understanding the gravity of the situation, or what.

(Maybe "scared enough to listen" makes more sense.)

Having said all that, major misstep.

http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/lcbo-beer-store-to-remain-open-amid-closure-of-all-non-essential-businesses-1.4864781

Posted in haste. I guess the consequences of not keeping liquor stores would be disastrous for anyone living with alcoholism. Everything's complicated.

"open"

ford still somehow better than Horgan:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-bc-premier-john-horgan-update-march-23-1.5506942

"Missing from the action plan was a universal moratorium on rent payments during the crisis.

"A $1,000, conditional, one-time payment is not going to keep renters in their homes. They are at a risk of eviction and they are panicking," read a statement from the Vancouver Tenants' Union."

"Help for renters" is coming Wednesday?

Our national cases were almost three times our previous high today (after a drop on Sunday).

I'm sure that number will go up and up for the next two or three weeks at least. But I'm hopeful that, right now, today, the spread is invisibly slowing down because of measures taken (which won't show up for a while, plus throw in the increased testing that will ensure numbers go up).

But for all I know, that previous post will look tragically naive in three weeks.

initial stumbles aside, Ford appears to be handling this pretty well.

I said the same thing earlier today!

Wow, is this really true?:

In his press conference today, Premier Horgan made it clear that evictions already in progress will continue.

https://www.vancouvertenantsunion.ca/covidpress

I don't think he did make that clear...but he certainly didn't say that wasn't the case, so. They should probably make up their mind by April 1st!

Various models specific to Canada:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/technology/science/article-when-does-social-distancing-end-these-graphs-show-where-were-heading/

Up early for some reason...Just heard a long interview with Jenica Atwin, New Brunswick's Green Party MP. She was great--reading up on her, she was a sixth-place finisher at 2010's World Series of Poker!

She and others (I think I heard the number 32) are voting on a relief package today. (She just drove in from NB.) Sounded like there was some glitches to work out, but that that would't be nearly as much of an ordeal as what's going on next door.

She also said that she supports invoking the Emergencies Act, and that she thinks it'll be seriously considered in approximately a week. That's a tough one for any PM at any time, but, I would think, especially when your father's most infamous moment lurks in the background.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeTsQQ22Uwc

"Glitches" is not meant as a diminutive--I'm sure the points of contention affect many. I just mean that it sounded like they were negotiable, not immovable road blocks.

Or maybe not--passage now held up until at least tomorrow.

Watching the full clip of that legendary PET interview, one striking aspect is the way that both the PM and the CBC journalists actually engaged in intelligent protracted debate with each other on the issue, not something I feel like we see anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7_a2wa2dd4

It's an amazing six minutes. I have to laugh when the reporter says, "My choice is to live in a society that is free and democratic, which means you don't have people with guns running around in it. And one of the things I have to give up for that choice is the fact that people like you may be kidnapped." I mean, I know what he means, but if I'm Trudeau I'm thinking, "Gee, thanks."

1000+ cases in QC now.

Wait, this says 221 confirmed cases in QC, 1646 in the whole country: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html?topic=tilelink