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

Thanks, you too. I've been noticing every last thing the last two weeks--when I clear my throat, a little twinge in the back, everything--which is also around when I started preemptively taking Tylenol flu tablets once a day, and lemon-drink stuff with my tea every other night. Which is insane, I know. By "I'm not at all exempt from the risk of community spread," I actually meant as an asymptomatic carrier who could have passed it on to someone else. I keep thinking of those supply days back in Brampton, and also that I was more or less out and about normally until two weeks ago.

Right, same. I was aware and vigilantly watching the stats while doing so too, so I can’t help but feel the daily reports that there were only travel related cases here were misleading. They could have been very clear that those were the only cases getting tested at all, and there was no other monitoring in place to catch cases that were not. I’m not attributing it to malice, but it’s very disappointing.

Just spent a few minutes looking around for answers and while you can find a lot of references to shortages and fragile supply lines, rarely does it say exactly who actually makes all this stuff we suddenly need. So yeah, not us I guess, but can it be us? Do we have those manufacturing capabilities anywhere still? I’d like to see someone get on that.

The US and UK are taking measures to make companies start producing some of these things even if that is not what they usually do.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/trump-invoked-the-defense-production-act-heres-how-he-can-use-its-powers.html

https://fortune.com/2020/03/17/coronavirus-mask-hand-sanitizer-factory/

Anyway, if anyone needs info on applying for benefits: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/apply-emergency-benefits-1.5501977

Biggest one-day jump in Ontario, with March break people about to return (with difficulty? I don't know).

http://www.narcity.com/news/ca/on/covid-19-in-ontario-50-new-cases-on-friday-is-the-provinces-biggest-single-day-jump

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/