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Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Happy and Proud to be a Canadian

So can we take a second to humble ourselves for a minute.

I’m watching people jump all over our government right now and reading all kinds of posts about how stupid Trudeau is and how poorly the roll out for everything has been.

I personally have been impressed, we all need to come together, we are all connected.

Stop it. You should be damn proud to be Canadian right now and you are stupid lucky that this is where you were born because our government’s response has been one of the most effective, humane, and all encompassing responses in the world.

1)They issued immediate directives to isolate as early as they could in a directed nation wide response. Clear national strategy. Look at what is happening in countries where that hasn’t been the case (the USA for instance). I know people stuck in countries right now where there are shoot to kill orders if you are in the street without a permit. They don’t care if you need groceries.

2)They took quick action to regulate price gouging and are working on an international level to get us what we need in ways that we can afford.

3) They made a promise to provide financial assistance to a huge portion of our population so that we could stay home and safe. Yes the roll outs had some issues but if you have ever tried to organize an event you’ll know stuff comes up and you need to adjust. Financial aid on this unprecedented scale has never been done before. There’s some bugs and kinks to work out but there’s a damn commitment to making sure people can pay their bills, buy food, and don’t loose their homes.

3) But everything keeps changing and they aren’t giving us accurate info.....your prime minister speaks to you daily to update you with accurate and factual information so that there is less room for confusion and misunderstanding. What we know about this virus changes. Our response changes. What’s needed and how we need to adjust is in constant flux. There has been a massive effort to provide the entire population with accurate, up to date info. Trumps telling people to take Malaria drugs.

4) There’s no long term strategy or plan and they don’t know when this will be over......how are they supposed to know when this will be over? It’s not like we did this last year or ever and no body really knows what’s coming. More info is needed and that’s not the governments fault.

Also in regards to long term strategy.....the Canadian Military has been sent home to isolate. This was done almost immediately and you know why......it’s so that there is a large group of people who can be easily and systematically organized who are healthy and ready to go when our supply lines get interrupted, or people are too sick to keep our infrastructure (your power, water, and heat) going. They are healthy and waiting to be mobilized and provide disaster relief in whatever form is necessary to keep the country going. And you know what’s fantastic about this? If our military rolls into our cities (if we get to that point as so many other countries have) we can rest assured that they are here to help and none of us need to be afraid of them. What more do you want?

Our health care system doesn’t discriminate, unlike a lot of other countries. They are converting factories to make medical supplies and arranging for the manufacturing of materials.

Our provincial governments are working with educators to make sure our kids can still have access to educational resources.....as directed by the federal government.

Is it perfect....nope. Has it been a damn good effort....absolutely. Humble it down. Whether you voted for this government or not (don’t forget people die for the right to choose who governs them on a lot of other places in the world) you should be proud of the incredible response that has been there. Few countries in the world have done it as well as we have. Be proud to be Canadian right now. We have it better than the grand majority of the rest of the world and don’t forget that it’s our extreme privilege (and our guaranteed freedom of speech) that allows us to complain.

Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a third world country right now? A dictatorship? A disorganized democracy? A capitalist versus a welfare state? It’s not perfect but come on.....our government is rocking the apocalypse.

Stuff will get missed of course....it’s a massive endeavour being mobilized with tight time lines.....but look at our privileged citizens having the ability to come together to organize and fund raise with the understanding and Canadian values to look out for those of us who are vulnerable in the meantime. We are so lucky.

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