Back to the Basics for Canada - by John Feldsted

Canadian Parliament - Ottawa Back to the Basics for Canada      If we step back and look at the COVID-19 crisis objectively, most of the problems we have encountered are due to neglect of the basics. Our intelligence agencies were not monitoring for potential virus threats. We failed to have adequate virus epidemic contingency plans in place. Our public safety planning has major gaps including adequate policing and emergency services in rural areas. We allowed stockpiles of personal protective equipment to expire, closed some warehouses, and failed to replenish expired equipment when we could have. We heeded advice from the World Health Organization instead of making our own risk assessment and deciding on what action to take. In early February, we knew that we had about 20,000 international travelers from China every week and failed to stop flights from China to prevent the virus from infecting Canadians. We told ourselves that infections were linked to foreign travel and did not appreciate that once the population was infected, those people would infect others without traveling. We overestimated the number of infections that would occur and over-prepared for an onslaught that did not happen. We were woefully unprepared to deal with a virus epidemic in personal care facilities. We have no planning in place for virus-related workplace safety measures.      There is no doubt that the 35-day lockdown we have endured to date helped to check the virus spread and minimize the rate of case swell. When we set aside personal care home cases and deaths, we have done remarkably well.      Our future depends on applying the lessons we have learned from COVID-19. We have to get the basics right and ensure they are maintained and updated. We need to develop workplace virus safety standards with employers and employees who do the work and know what practices are feasible and practical. We have to accept that face masks can be an alternative to social distancing. Requiring both face masks and social distancing can be overkill; the workplace and jobs die.        The basics of improved hygiene we are employing have to be maintained. Hand washing, gloves, face masks, social distancing, and disinfecting surfaces must become part of our normal routines. We can use these disciplines to combat the normal fall flu virus season and be better prepared for the next virus epidemic as there will be one; we just do not know when.           We need to develop a network of federally protected infrastructure corridors to ensure that our highways, rail lines, pipelines, and power transmission lines cannot be interfered with and allowing for expropriation to expand those corridors as required.      We must make Canada energy self-sufficient. We have learned that depending on foreign suppliers for vital equipment and supplies is a road to disaster. It is in Canada’s interest to change course and revitalize our oil and gas industry. We desperately need the investments, jobs, works and cost stability that self-sufficiency will bring us.      We cannot return to government “business as usual” later this year at any time in the future. Much of the panic associated with COVID-19 is due to governments trying to cover over huge holes in planning and preparedness. There is nothing worthy of photo ops in taking care of the fundamentals, but neglect of the basics has resulted in severe hardships for millions of Canadians.      We have neglected the maintenance required to keep Canada a safe and secure home for her people. When governments refer to the multi-billion dollar “infrastructure deficits” they are admitting that they have ignored our basic infrastructure although it has a predictable life span and eventually needs to be replaced. That neglect leads to new emergencies.          We have a very bright future in store if governments focus on Canada’s needs and build a diverse, robust and stable economy that will attract business, industry and investment from around the world. Governments must get out of business. Their role is to provide a business climate in which entrepreneurs, large and small, can thrive and move us ahead to an even better standard of living.          We must prepare to cast informed votes in the next election. Political parties are not credible or truthful during an election. Their sales pitches do not reflect their performance since the last election. That performance is what counts.

John Feldsted, Winnipeg, Manitoba   To subscribe to John: https://mailchi.mp/cfabc3018c46/feldsted-friends