There were two byelections in Toronto yesterday. When you combine those results with the results in New Brunswick, B.C., and Saskatchewan, there is a consistent message: We don't want to change horses in the midst of a pandemic. Susan Delacourt writes:
Trudeau wasn’t out to gain more power with the Toronto by-elections but chances are that the Monday results will muddy speculation over whether Trudeau has everything to gain by trying for a full do-over of the 2019 results anytime soon. His fight in “safe” Liberal ridings was arguably tougher in 2020, like everything else this year.
The prime minister is being accused daily in Ottawa of trying to light the fuse on a federal election, with opposition parties saying he’s trying to capitalize on the COVID crisis to turn his minority into a majority. Last week, in a close brush with the collapse of Trudeau’s government, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said he was refusing to topple the Liberals out of spite — to deny Trudeau exactly what he wanted.
Monday’s by-election results, though more tightly fought, taken with provincial elections in New Brunswick, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, would seem to indicate that voters prefer to stay with the leadership they know during this crazy year. New Brunswick’s government went from minority to majority, so will B.C’s government, it’s expected, after all the results are counted in the next few weeks. Saskatchewan’s Premier Scott Moe was due to keep his hand on government too after Monday’s elections in that province.
The message seems pretty clear: Get us through the pandemic. Then we'll consider other issues.
Image: statnews.com
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University of Alberta virologist, Dr. Michael Houghton, was one of three doctors awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on a hepatitis virus. He's currently working on a Covid-19 vaccination. Houghton has warned we are not going to 'get through' this virus. We may develop vaccines of indeterminate effectiveness and duration but Covid-19 will still join the many other viruses that linger about ready to trigger a new pandemic. The doctor points out that mankind has eradicated one, and only one, virus - smallpox. That was back in 1980 and involved a global initiative over several years. Every other virus remains with us. Covid-19 is just an addition to the list.
We have been repeatedly warned that Covid-19 won't be the last surprise virus that will hit humans as we rapaciously destroy the wilderness across the tropics. After the Wuhan bat incident a study surfaced that looked at viruses in bats trapped in that same jungle. The tests found a number of previously unknown 'novel' viruses. Compared to Covid-19 some may be relatively benign or unlikely to make the animal to human jump. Some, however, could be much worse (think Ebola) and readily transmissible.
Now one might think that, after the pain, death and dislocation caused by Covid-19 it might dawn on us to quarantine - quarantine the wilderness - until we have the means to prevent new viral pandemics. Only we won't entertain that idea. We are humans, masters of all we survey. This does tend to corroborate the theory of why we aren't sharing our sidewalks with aliens - because intelligent life is self-extinguishing. Via con Dios, Owen.
The problem with intelligence, Mound, is that those with it tend to think they're the smartest people in the room -- which, obviously, is a fatal error.
As far as a snap federal election, Trudeau might as well go for it. Horgan did just fine. I support the idea because the opposition, especially the Tories, want to bury Parliament in pseudo-scandals. We need strong government to deal with not just the pandemic but climate breakdown and restoring social cohesion. I wish there was some better choice than the deeply flawed Trudeau Liberals but there's not. Let's do it and get it over with.
There are going to be more of these on the edge moments, Mound. I suspect that the Harperites can't wait to bring Trudeau down. And they're definitely not the party to deal with our present circumstances.
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