No country should outsource important things like medication or medical equipment and no one should ever expect his or her government, crammed with pension-building mouth-breathers, to selflessly aid the electorate in a competent way.
But I run the risk of repeating myself:
Way to shift the blame!
**
What happened to all of those masks we were supposed to produce without China'spermission assistance?
Why this lockdown is an absurd farce:
If the fear that causing another outbreak was genuine, Dr. Nesathurai would have stood by his decision and explained it carefully to everyone.
He didn't.
The Victoria Day week-end signals the beginning of summer. Picnics, barbecues, trips to the cottage are all par the course for the middle of May. Canadians were happy to hide in their homes over ramped-up fears of catching the coronavirus (being properly prepared for any pandemic, closing the border, stopping ALL flights from China, mandatory quarantine for infected persons, speedy production of medication and equipment should not enter into this discussion lest people realise how wrong they all were) in cooler weather. Now that enforced regulations get between them and beer and knowing that it is a battle they will not win, the authorities have caved in but with their usual caveats because the job requires them.
Do not mistake me. I am not asking that people abandon reason. Indeed, I am asking people to embrace it.
The best way to beat this virus was never to let it in in the first place. The people who did have the authority to do so refused to act. Then there was poor screening, contact tracing, adequate personal protective equipment, quarantining, research - you name it. People screwed up. Never mind the pouty demands that I do better. People who are paid to do a job just didn't do it and are still relied on to do it now. They warned against the use of masks and then insisted that people use them (if they could find them). Very few actually wear masks or gloves when they go out (an activity controlled to an absurd degree). Does one really think that standing six feet apart (droplets from sneezes or coughs extend two to three feet) will matter while wearing a mask or if someone who didn't wash his hands after going to the bathroom has been handling fruit? Did shutting down emergency rooms or doctors' offices result in healthier people (abortions have not seen a slow-down. It sucks to be you if you need cancer treatments, though.)? In Ontario alone, thirty-five cardiac patients died because they could not get treatment. How has that helped? And what of testing? Has that been tapped down yet? Of course not.
So, after two months of house arrest, how has the entire population of the country benefited? As of this writing, 5,702 people are dead. No one saw fit to isolate the elderly who would most likely be affected by this. Four out of five deaths due to the coronavirus have been in nursing homes where, sadly in some cases, the elderly were left to die largely alone in poorly staffed and equipped homes (this has been Canada's crowning achievement in all of this).
But has the population been kept safe from people who may or may not be sick? How long can fears over a virus that is now part of the seasonal sickness cycle go on?
Long enough to finish off the economy:
Quite.
After all, Taiwan managed to avoid a complete shutdown of its economy with some sensible and serious measures. Is being stuck in a warm house (just another incubator for all kinds of germs) while not going to work or school the answer for another two months? While Justin can flee to Harrington Lake for the week-end, everyone else is remain inside, conditioned to believe that doing so is helping the nation.
With the ineffective and contrary measures being taken now, is anyone asking what this is all for if doesn't make a dent in the problem?
No, that would be too much thinking.
Why even have a Parliament at all?:
It's just an economy:
These people kicked down doors for you. You owe them!:
Also:
Try Facebook. People leave all kinds of personal information there and there is no need to violate privacy.
And - if the old people die off because of the coronavirus, this election promise problem could solve itself:
Carbon taxes are living taxes and will only get higher:
Oh, shut up! Your federal leader pointed at his socks like a five year old desperate for attention!:
Whatever one may think of Doug Ford, he has at least shown up for work unlike some prime ministers whose dads were prime ministers one could mention. I'm sure a light moment after weeks of serious effort won't break Ontario's back.
But I run the risk of repeating myself:
Canada’s National Emergency Strategic Stockpile wasn’t focused on personal protective equipment and had little of the necessary gear to respond to COVID-19, government officials testified at a House of Commons committee on Friday.
The stockpile, or NESS, was established in 1952 out of fear of the Cold War. It has changed over the years and warehoused different items depending on expected demands.
But Sally Thornton, a vice-president with the Public Health Agency of Canada, told MPs that it was never meant to backstop the provincial health care systems.
“We do not focus on PPE and that wouldn’t be a major element, because we count on our provinces, within their respective authority, to maintain their stockpile.”
Way to shift the blame!
**
An international supply crunch and concerns with defective equipment are being blamed for Canada having to slash its order of N95 respirator masks by almost 50 million in the past two weeks – and only a fraction of the masks received have met health standards.On May 1, the government said it had orders placed for 154.4 million N95s. That number dropped to 135.6 million on May 8, and was cut again Friday to 104.6 million, according to a federal source. ...Receiving usable masks is also turning into a serious challenge. According to a government update released Saturday, only 1.7 million of the 11.5 million N95 respirator masks the government has received have passed quality control, and Canada has not received any new N95 masks in shipments in the past week.The dramatic decline in orders isn’t due to demand drying up, the government said. Instead, it’s because suppliers have cut expectations for how much of the vital gear they can source and because Ottawa has suspended orders from suppliers that have shipped faulty equipment.
What happened to all of those masks we were supposed to produce without China's
Why this lockdown is an absurd farce:
A controversial order banning cottagers from attending their seasonal property in popular waterfront communities along Lake Erie — under threat of a $5,000 fine — was rescinded just as cottagers were heading out for the Victoria Day long weekend. ...
“The transmission of COVID-19 only requires one cough. If travel is absolutely necessary, please bring your own groceries and fuel your vehicle up in your home community. And if you’re thinking about a day-trip, please consider putting it off for a little while longer,” Nesathurai said.
“Social distancing measures remain in effect and are critical to completely breaking the coronavirus’ chain of transmission in our community.”
Nesathurai’s order, issued April 23, was the only known use in Ontario of the sweeping power given a municipal public health officer to close property to collectively target cottagers.
If the fear that causing another outbreak was genuine, Dr. Nesathurai would have stood by his decision and explained it carefully to everyone.
He didn't.
The Victoria Day week-end signals the beginning of summer. Picnics, barbecues, trips to the cottage are all par the course for the middle of May. Canadians were happy to hide in their homes over ramped-up fears of catching the coronavirus (being properly prepared for any pandemic, closing the border, stopping ALL flights from China, mandatory quarantine for infected persons, speedy production of medication and equipment should not enter into this discussion lest people realise how wrong they all were) in cooler weather. Now that enforced regulations get between them and beer and knowing that it is a battle they will not win, the authorities have caved in but with their usual caveats because the job requires them.
Do not mistake me. I am not asking that people abandon reason. Indeed, I am asking people to embrace it.
The best way to beat this virus was never to let it in in the first place. The people who did have the authority to do so refused to act. Then there was poor screening, contact tracing, adequate personal protective equipment, quarantining, research - you name it. People screwed up. Never mind the pouty demands that I do better. People who are paid to do a job just didn't do it and are still relied on to do it now. They warned against the use of masks and then insisted that people use them (if they could find them). Very few actually wear masks or gloves when they go out (an activity controlled to an absurd degree). Does one really think that standing six feet apart (droplets from sneezes or coughs extend two to three feet) will matter while wearing a mask or if someone who didn't wash his hands after going to the bathroom has been handling fruit? Did shutting down emergency rooms or doctors' offices result in healthier people (abortions have not seen a slow-down. It sucks to be you if you need cancer treatments, though.)? In Ontario alone, thirty-five cardiac patients died because they could not get treatment. How has that helped? And what of testing? Has that been tapped down yet? Of course not.
So, after two months of house arrest, how has the entire population of the country benefited? As of this writing, 5,702 people are dead. No one saw fit to isolate the elderly who would most likely be affected by this. Four out of five deaths due to the coronavirus have been in nursing homes where, sadly in some cases, the elderly were left to die largely alone in poorly staffed and equipped homes (this has been Canada's crowning achievement in all of this).
But has the population been kept safe from people who may or may not be sick? How long can fears over a virus that is now part of the seasonal sickness cycle go on?
Long enough to finish off the economy:
The Macdonald-Laurier Institute released the letter, dated May 14 and co-signed by several business and health leaders, which said “the Liberal government has presented social distancing measures as a stark choice — either selflessly shut down the economy to save lives or selfishly worry about the economy and condemn thousands to a vicious illness.”
But that approach oversimplifies the decision facing governments, and “is being pursued at an almost incalculably large cost to the well-being of Canadians,” according to the letter, which was co-signed by 24 health professionals and business executives.
The letter comes amid some debate around the severity and length of economic shutdowns across Canada, which have shuttered the majority of businesses, put millions of people out of work, and obliterated corporate and government balance sheets. While some form of lockdown is widely believed to be a necessary measure in response to COVID-19, some people are questioning whether more limited shutdowns could have been equally as effective in keeping the health-care system from being overwhelmed.
Quite.
After all, Taiwan managed to avoid a complete shutdown of its economy with some sensible and serious measures. Is being stuck in a warm house (just another incubator for all kinds of germs) while not going to work or school the answer for another two months? While Justin can flee to Harrington Lake for the week-end, everyone else is remain inside, conditioned to believe that doing so is helping the nation.
With the ineffective and contrary measures being taken now, is anyone asking what this is all for if doesn't make a dent in the problem?
No, that would be too much thinking.
Why even have a Parliament at all?:
An all-party committee is recommending the House of Commons hold additional virtual sittings to conduct all its regular business — including voting — during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recommendation was included in a majority report released Friday by the procedure and House affairs committee, which has been studying how to move toward a fully virtual Parliament.
But while the governing Liberals and most opposition parties supported the move to more virtual proceedings, the Conservatives issued a dissenting report that renewed their call for more in-person sittings of the Commons.
The Commons has been adjourned since mid-March, except for several single-day special sittings to pass emergency aid legislation, as part of the countrywide effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
It's just an economy:
Provincial governments had $853 billion of debt securities outstanding before the COVID-19 crisis, more than that of the federal government, according to Bloomberg. The pandemic will require them to sell even more debt, despite Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer warning in February that the spending plans of most provinces were already unsustainable.
Lost tax revenue will help cause record budget deficits this year in every province except Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, according to a recent report by the Bank of Nova Scotia. The report also predicted weaker economic growth and increased spending will add around $64 billion to provincial borrowing requirements.
For example, the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario this week estimated that the province’s real GDP will decline by nine per cent in 2020, the biggest annual drop on record, and that the deficit will nearly quadruple to $41 billion, also a record. The province’s net debt-to-GDP ratio will likewise increase to an unprecedented 49.7 per cent.
“COVID-19 will leave a lasting mark on provincial finances, which will put credit ratings at risk,” Royal Bank of Canada economists Robert Hogue and Ramya Muthukumaran said in a recent note.
These people kicked down doors for you. You owe them!:
“If a veteran or RCMP member with an eligible survivor or dependant applied before their death, the application would continue and a decision would be rendered,” Veterans Affairs spokesman Marc Lescoutre said in an email.
“If the applicant dies before a decision is made and there is no eligible survivor or dependant, the estate is not entitled to be paid and VAC stops processing the application.”
The rule, which Lescoutre said is contained in legislation, applies even if the application has been sitting in the queue for longer than 16 weeks, which is the standard by which Veterans Affairs is supposed to complete 80 per cent of all applications.
Also:
Canada's spy agency has warned the Trudeau government that proposed changes to bolster privacy could undermine the ability of intelligence agents to collect and use information about citizens.
Try Facebook. People leave all kinds of personal information there and there is no need to violate privacy.
And - if the old people die off because of the coronavirus, this election promise problem could solve itself:
Days after announcing additional financial relief for seniors struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal minister responsible for seniors wouldn’t confirm Ottawa will move ahead with a planned increase to the Old Age Security (OAS) pension in July — a promise made by the governing Liberals during their campaign for re-election.
Carbon taxes are living taxes and will only get higher:
You raised the
carbon tax on Canadian farmers by 50% last month.
Not
on foreign food imports. Just on Canadian food.
And
you just gave $50,000,000 to fast-track cheap foreign labourers to take
Canadian farm jobs, ahead of unemployed Canadians.
Go
back to your Netflix and bong. https://t.co/Zurat9xlnT
—
Ezra Levant 🇨🇳🦠(@ezralevant) May
16, 2020
Oh, shut up! Your federal leader pointed at his socks like a five year old desperate for attention!:
Ontario Liberal Party Leader Steve Del Duca ripped into Doug Ford for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic across the province—specifically attacking the premier for his homemade cherry cheesecake video.
Whatever one may think of Doug Ford, he has at least shown up for work unlike some prime ministers whose dads were prime ministers one could mention. I'm sure a light moment after weeks of serious effort won't break Ontario's back.
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