PONDERABLES
Who put the hex on Nova Scotia?
Why is the province of Quebec, with less than 25% of Canada’s population, recording 60% of the country’s Covid-19 deaths?
DR. THERESA TAM MUST GO
Trudeau’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, flip-flops more than a stranded fish, and she was at it again last Tuesday when she testified before the House of Commons health committee; this time it was about face masks. Earlier she said there was no need to wear face masks in public, but now she’s strongly recommending that everybody should.
However, her most egregious flip-flop was about airport security. In the early days of the pandemic she said that border closures weren’t effective but later changed her mind, a delay which resulted in many possibly infected people being allowed into the country without quarantine, which may have contributed to a significant number of deaths.
The problem with flip-floppers is that they’re wrong as often as they’re right. Tam’s job requires better than a 50-50 chance of being right. She should be replaced. Right now.
HIT THEM HARD
Because many of the cancelled flights because of Covid-19 will never be replicated, the airlines’ refusal to refund the fares is unconscionable. I wonder how their board members can sleep at night.
Airlines are heavily regulated, so it would be easy for the federal government to remedy this situation by enacting legislation providing for a fine of two billion dollars (the amount that Air Canada purportedly is refusing to refund) for any airline that doesn’t give complete, unconditional refunds.
When questioned about what he intends to do, Prime Minister Trudeau said he’s going to “see how other countries deal with such situations.” Is he really that clueless, or could it have something to do with the fact that Air Canada, like SNC Lavalin, has its head office in Montreal and that both Trudeau and Attorney General David Lametti represent Montreal-area ridings
STREAMLING PRESS CONFERENCES
Participants in the pervasive government press conferences could make them a little more palatable by adopting a couple of simple streamlining measures. The government officials should stop thanking journalists for their questions; questions are the whole purpose of a press conference. And, for the same reason, the journalists should stop thanking whoever for “taking my question.”
Prime Minister Trudeau’s daily ego trips waste a lot of time by having two people dealing with phone calls, both of who, after every question, thank somebody (not clear who) in both official languages. Just accept the next damn question, Trudeau’s probably going to evade it anyway.
NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMISSION
It’s been reported that The National Capital Commission is in the process of spending upwards of $17 million on “refurbishing” the prime minister’s getaway at Harrington Lake. Considering that a very fine getaway, suitable for the leader of our country, could probably be built from scratch for under $5 million, that’s some refurbishing. I’ve never given the NCC a moment’s thought before learning about this, but my curiosity being aroused I did some research.
The commission’s website describes itself as ”the federal Crown corporation dedicated to ensuring that Canada’s capital is a dynamic and inspiring source of pride for all Canadians, and a legacy for generations to come.” I don’t know how good it is doing that, but it’s a superstar when it comes to wasting our tax dollars.
Its board of directors has fifteen members, apparently appointed for only one year, an alarming lack of continuity. So the the whole operation must be run by staff, an equally alarming lack of accountability
With the staggering economic cost of the pandemic bailouts, reining in such spending by Crown corporations and commissions should be very high on Finance Minister Morneau’s to-do list.
THINGS I DIDN’T DO BEFORE COVID-19
Wear a mask when going to the bank.
Consider the liquor store to be an essential service.
Wash my hands like I was a surgeon.
Do three or four crosswords a day.
Go for months without watching sports on TV
Watch news channels for eight or nine hours a day.
Regularly watch old movies.
Take my car for a drive every few days even though there’s nowhere I need to be.
Go three months without a haircut or being to the dry cleaners.
Eat every meal at home.
Stay six feet away from people as much as possible.