At a moment like this, Trust is the coin of the realm. Last week, the Trudeau government came close to destroying that trust. Robin Sears writes:
The Trudeau government should probably be saying a quiet thank you to Andrew Scheer and Jagmeet Singh for pulling them back from the brink in their shaky handling of the emergency relief legislation. Inexplicably, the government sought the power to tax and spend, with no Parliamentary oversight, until the end of next year. It was unwise, unnecessary and fed directly into Liberal opponents’ favourite meme about the governing party as sneaky and power hungry.
They deserve credit for quickly moving to mend the self-inflicted damage. All parties, with the exception of some predictable showboat backbenchers, deserve credit for mostly foregoing the usual partisan hyperventilating, leaving the tough talk to private negotiations.
One may hope there were voices on the government side who said, “Wait a minute! This will destroy trust in us to govern fairly, openly and competently. Lose that trust and we lose the country!” I think we may be confident that all the political players will understand how essential it will be to avoid another such potentially disastrous moment.
However, this moment will last for quite a while. And, when the virus subsides, we will truly be faced with the problem of trust:
Discussion will soon have to turn to issues of recovery and payback. As the medical crisis crests and begins to come under control, the economic crisis will continue to deepen.
It is at that moment, perhaps over the summer in Canada, that trust in our politicians and business leaders will become invaluable. They will need to triage economic assistance, making some who get pushed down the list, even more frightened and angry.
Business leaders will need to be seen to be “doing the right thing” by their employees, customers and community. Those who now turn to making ventilators and PPE products for free or at cost for front line workers will have built a reservoir of trust that will help carry them through their own priority-setting nightmares.
COVID-19 is testing our national character. Let's hope we can pass the test.
Image: Facebook
8 comments:
By my reckoning, many of us have still not put in two full weeks of self-isolation and social distancing. While some are quick off the mark to declare that it's working this is recklessly premature. We've got weeks, probably a month of two, to go if we're to judge by experience in countries affected before our own.
I was listening to NPR news this morning only to hear Trump declare that, if the US could keep deaths to 100- or 200-thousand Americans, that would be a great victory. That's classic Trump. He delayed acting for four to six weeks, allowing the virus a chance to take hold and spread, and now he's declaring the probable consequence of that a victory. It's best I keep my thoughts about people dull enough to fall for that to myself.
.. Apologies Owen, if I appear a tich blunt ..
but this Canadian aint buyin what Robin Sears is sellin.. not a'tall
Not sayin I'm buyin all that Trudeau / Butts sayin
but entitled posers Singh n Scheer et al can go suck eggs
My view ? Right now, parked in the here n now ?
Been stated previous. Praps Robin thinks this is a picnic or a buffet table
n let's all dress up fer th occasion.. put our manners on, social tea time
gawd save the queen, string quartet n all
harmony, down by th lazy river nicely
I went over the opinion piece line by line..
I hope his Chardon eh was a lovely Califor nigh eh blend
but he needs an irish whisky remedy up th nose
no coom buy yay.. please n thankee.. Salaam a Bam
Last I looked a moment ago.. people are dying..
That's right .. dead.. ! Kinda real life n death eh,
not negotiable, no refund.. instant replay.. just gone john dead..
It could be me next, you, Lorne, Mound or Ezra Levant
I'm locked, loaded.. got my scalping knife close to hand
repelling all boarders, but ready to share our shelter
Got my ears on, radar, sonar tuned,
my game face warpaint a painted on n no mirror
Thoughts n Prayers fer Scheer, his brood n Singh too
but they can git their retail entitled asses away from my ship thanks
and 'stand away' thanks. If they short a compass,
outta toilet paper, or tea biscuits.. glad to help if we can
We aint hoarding, we aint in hiding.. we aint in need for charity or sympathy
We talk over th fence or lawn to lawn with our immediate neighbors
smile n wave to those from across the street..
just the same as how we help out with a snow shovel or two
Right now we dance with the ones who brung us..
aint changin horses in the middle of th stream
That's a recipe for drowning.. or a Mississipi boat ride
Git to shore, solid ground.. feet dry.. Prime Directive
The river's rising, strong current raging
and weeks to go afore the flood peaks..
Negotiate ? Discuss ? .. Huh ? What ? Convene ? Harmonize ?
This is a time of The Warriors.. No time for Wankers..
Bottom line, Owen ?
I would trust a ten year old's opinion or concern
before I would trust Scheer or Singh..
Trudeau / Butts.. we are watching every move
will back OUR PM to the max.. if he has his shit in one bag
This aint no party, this aint no disco
This AINT NO FOOLIN AROUND ..
This is not a time to crow, Mound. This is a time to focus on the facts.
You're right, sal. This is not the time to put on Pollyanna's glasses. We have miles to go before we sleep.
What irks me about public influencers such as Sears is their ignorance of the plain warnings we've been given through multiple medical sources including the CDC and its counterparts in the UK and Canada. This type of pandemic is not a "one and done" contagion. These tend to last from 12 to 18 months. They come in waves, at least two and often three. Of those waves, the second is where the real dying comes. That's usually in the autumn following the first wave.
Perhaps Covid-19 will break that pattern. Perhaps we'll have some bulletproof vaccine by summer that's available for mass distribution. Perhaps our governments won't be caught sleepwalking again. Perhaps they'll use the hiatus to amass the equipment and supplies our medical professionals will require to meet the second wave/tsunami.
Succumbing to the first wave was a tragedy. If we are caught, unprepared, by a far worse, second wave, that will be something we chose to bring upon ourselves.
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," Mound.
Are we stuck with minority government when what we need now is good old FPTP 39%-pure constitutional dictatorship? Scheer and Singh remain the nobodies that they've always been, but I'm still not scared enough to put any trust in Trudeau's judgment. If I can be convinced that I should be, then I'll know it's already too late.
Most of our leaders are deeply flawed, John. The best that we can hope for is that they are the right people at the right time. Justin's father had his own flaws. But, in October 1970, he was the right man at the right time.
Post a Comment