It's Just An Economy

I'm sure it will right itself somehow, just like old people have nothing to fear from apathy and a shocking lack of care:

The economy has shrunk more quickly than feared with national production falling 2.6 percent in the first quarter of the year including a nine percent decline in March alone, Statistics Canada said yesterday. New data follow an admission by the Department of Industry it has no formal plan on when or how pandemic shutdowns may be lifted: “What have they been doing?”

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Cabinet yesterday rewrote a pandemic relief bill to fix benefits for under-employed Canadians. The Department of Employment would not detail costs or explain if the bill must now return to Parliament for approval, slowing billions in payouts: “It’s a little premature.”

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The Canadian economy shrank by an estimated nine per cent in March as the novel coronavirus pandemic forced a partial lockdown of the country, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.

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A U.S. judge canceled a key permit Wednesday for the Keystone XL oil pipeline that’s expected to stretch from Canada to Nebraska, another setback for the disputed project that got underway less than two weeks ago following years of delays.

Judge Brian Morris said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to adequately consider effects on endangered species such as pallid sturgeon, a massive, dinosaur-like fish that lives in rivers the pipeline would cross.

The ruling, however, does not shut down work that has begun at the U.S.-Canada border crossing in Montana, according to attorneys in the case. Pipeline sponsor TC Energy will need the permit for future construction across hundreds of rivers and streams along Keystone’s 1,200-mile (1,930-kilometer) route.

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Carl, President of Kitchen Visions cabinet manufacturers, closed down his showroom on March 16th – one week before Premier Doug Ford shut down Ontario’s economy – after coming to the realization there were “zero prospects” for business in the near future. At first, he instituted a policy for customers to call and make an appointment to visit the showroom, but didn’t receive a single call for two weeks. 

However, the saving grace for his cabinet company has been orders for cabinets from hospitals. “We’ve got 300 cabinets going into a local hospital over the next week,” said Carl.

As for the government measures meant to help small businesses out, such as the $40,000 emergency loan, Carl is lukewarm. 

“I filled out the application, it was very straightforward. It should come in five to ten days which is a real positive. It’s a small number for our businesses – not even two weeks of operating expenses – but it’s better than nothing.”

However, Carl pointed out that government communications were constantly focusing on fines and penalties for business owners who don’t follow the rules or try to take advantage of the system. 

“There seems to be an underlying expectation that business owners are dishonest, but we just want to survive. They keep emphasizing penalties and jail terms.”

“But this is not a moneymaking situation.”