Meditations on an Emergency Brake

On Good Friday 2021, Ontario hits “the emergency brake” – another lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Okay, we do what we must, but are we doing the right things?

In March 2020, a client asked me about the lockdown “How long do you think this will last?”

My reply: “If it works, they’ll keep doing it. If it doesn’t work, they’ll do more of it.”

And here we are.

Another lockdown is soul-crushing, but our most informed people – ICU physicians – urge strong measures. The vaccination disaster has left us defenseless against the old and new variants. A lockdown is undoubtedly necessary.

But doing the same things over and over, expecting a different result, well that’s the definition of something (and it’s not “success”).

I believe that every Canadian, young or old, can contribute more to defeat the pandemic than by watching Netflix.

On the political end of things, it’s time for coalition cabinets under different, interim leaders. Who are the most competent and results-oriented people we know, in any field? THEY should be leading this until we have victory. And that’s the goal: victory. Nothing less.

Do you have ideas for how to win? Off the top of my pointy head, some immediate steps:

1. We can rapidly scale-up vaccine infrastructure: more sites, mobile units; private vehicles can be drafted into service (with their owners);

2. School should be scheduled for the summer – outdoors as much as possible. Let families and teachers and students plan now for that;

3. Vaccine priorities need to change to the most likely to be infected: those whose work exposes them to others, like teachers, store clerks, etc.

4. Small businesses cannot be shuttered over and over. We need to get more people shopping at them, not fewer;

5. Public servants who are underemployed – that’s a lot of people – can be drafted part-time into emergency duties, like cleaning premises, driving delivery vans, erecting tents over temporary vaccine clinics, whatever;

6. Everyone unemployed and able should be assigned public health related work too, even if it’s just delivering groceries or food orders, handing out masks at entrances, taking temperatures;

7. Obviously we need zero tolerance for a refusal to practice public health duties. True zero tolerance. COVID kills and cripples – those who traffic in the virus are accessories to those results.

I’m just one person who came up with a few ideas in 10 minutes. Maybe my ideas are all bad ones. There are millions more ideas if we look for them.

Tackling the Great Depression, FDR said: “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

We are at least six months from the end of this battle. Maybe more. Shall we let it drag on, or shall we try something new?