COVID Compared in Canada and USA

Bernd Debusmann Jr  reporting for BBC News, asks the question of why is Canada's Covid death rate so much lower than the US?

 

The BBC article has a number of graphic presentations comparing case rates, reported COVID deaths and ICU patients over the past year.

Canadian public health experts and many government officials believe that the more gradual relaxation of these rules - which are dependent on improvements in public heath data - has allowed it to avoid the same the high levels of infections and deaths that have been experienced in the US, where numbers spiked in a number of locations that rushed to ease regulations.1

The categories of data reported by the BBC, especially numbers of ICU patients and deaths, are trends that public health must monitor to modulate our relaxation of COVID restrictions as we move to living with COVID using an abundance of caution.

Watching with abundance of caution

 

 

References

1(2022, February 14). Why is Canada's Covid death rate so much lower than US? - BBC. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60380317

Temporary and Fulfilled

The decision of the Government to use the Emergencies Act as a temporary measure to control the illegal aspects of the “Freedom Convoy” occupation of areas of the country may become a permanent example to anarchists of extreme government overreach.

A man waves a flag while taking part in the convoy protest against vaccine mandates in Ottawa. (CBC / Radio-Canada)

John Paul Tasker, of CBC News, explains what the Emergencies Act means.

In this instance, the act is being invoked to deal with a public order emergency. This means the cabinet has the power to prohibit "public assembly that may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of the peace," to prohibit travel to, from or within any specified area, to forbid the use of a "specified property" and to secure "protected places." The cabinet can also direct any person or class of person to "render essential services" and gives the government the power to regulate the "distribution and availability of essential goods."... Trudeau said the federal powers will be used to prohibit people from illegally gathering in the city's downtown core and to order tow truck companies in the area to help remove big rigs used in the protests… The cabinet is also directing banks and financial institutions to halt the flow of funds to protest organizers through amendments to the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act.1

 

On the other hand, the predictable, controlled, and monitored lifting of temporary COVID restrictions by provincial public health authorities was an opportunity for anarchist elements who know frustration with these measures might be both a rallying point and an opportunity to claim a win. Being mindful of the TEMPORARY nature of the Emergencies Act and the Covid restrictions is extremely important to avoid overreaction to these events.

Monitor the trends

 

Steve Scherer and Nichola Saminather report, for Reuters, on how the Emergencies Act can squeeze funding for the trucker protests.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday invoked rarely-used special measures to end protests that have shut some border crossings and paralyzed downtown Ottawa. He said he would invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with the "Freedom Convoy" protests, started on Jan. 28 by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers. They have turned into a rallying point for people opposed to a range of Trudeau's policies, including COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and a carbon tax. The demonstrations shut a main economic corridor between Canada and the United States for six days before it was reopened on Sunday2

 

The majority in Canada respect the value of enjoying an environment of peace, order, and good government where they live and the respect the rights of people to demonstrate for change through the democratic processes that protect us all. This is not a right respected by anarchists who act by denying freedom to fellow citizens and seek replacement of democracy with autocracy.

 

References

1	(2022, February 14). The federal government has invoked the Emergencies Act ... - CBC. Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/emergencies-act-explainer-1.6351504
2	(2022, February 14). Factbox: Canada's Emergencies Act: how will it squeeze funding of .... Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-emergencies-act-what-it-would-allow-quell-protests-against-pandemic-2022-02-14/