The Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy

Progressive Dialogue and Policy for a Better Canada

COVID Crisis: What can we learn? (Cardozo)

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March 25, 2020

COVID Crisis: What can we learn? (Cardozo)

By Andrew Cardozo

1. If this pandemic changes everything, can we do better for the most important workers?
2. CRISIS BRINGS CANADIAN STRENGTHS INTO FOCUS

By ANDREW CARDOZO

If this pandemic changes everything, can we do better for the most important workers?
APR. 9, 2020
In one of his recent press conferences Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, ‘In a country like Canada no one should be abandoned.’ The question is, does that only apply to the duration of the pandemic, or is that a permanent basic Canadian value?

Finance Minister Bill Morneau, pictured on March 27, should introduce a ‘basic income’ program for all Canadian adults, writes Andrew Cardozo of the Pearson Centre. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
COVID-19 is making us more aware of some absolute necessities of life. We seriously depend on cleaners to keep hospitals and supermarkets extremely clean. We need grocery store workers to keep those shelves stocked with the things we urgently need. Unload those trucks and get the stuff on the shelves fast—toilet paper, vegetables, canned goods, Lysol wipes. Hurry, hurry, hurry.

And we need those hospitals super clean, cleaner than ever before, with the door handles and elevator buttons wiped constantly.

We want our groceries delivered to our front door, as well as Skip the Dishes and Doordash. Quick, hurry.

To keep the number in stores manageable, security guards are being hired from the plethora of security companies. Many are students or really new immigrants, only too glad to be making some extra money, never mind the virus floating around.

And those seniors’ homes. The most dangerous places to be living in these days. There are some better paid nurses—not that much better paid but better than the personal support workers who attend to the residents most basic needs through the day, cleaning staff, kitchen staff, and servers, all of whom are having to go the extra mile as residents are now confined in their rooms and meals and medicines have to be delivered three to four times a day to each room in multi-story buildings.

And what do all these workers have in common?

They are now all front-line workers, who are absolutely key to helping people and keeping our systems running—and keeping people alive.

And we just came up with a new term to describe them: superheroes.

That’s terrific. Let them know how much we value them. Let them know how meaningful their work is to our safety and security.

But what they all also have in common is that they are the most vulnerable of workers in our society, least permanent, often on contract with no benefits. They are the “essential workers” who have to go to work while the rest of us are told to stay safely at home. They work in the gig economy—a morning gig here, and afternoon gig there, may be today, may be not.

The women and men on the front lines (more women than men). And where does that word from? The front lines. It comes from a war lexicon. They are the first line of contact for the ambitious coronavirus. They come into contact with it most and have the highest likelihood that they will get it. They are the ones we are counting on most to keep the rest of us from it. And often they don’t even get the necessary personal protective equipment.

And there’s one other thing they have in commons. They are the lowest paid with the most vulnerable of workers.

If “this changes everything” is to mean anything real, then we have to rethink how we pay them and how vulnerable their working conditions are.

It does start with minimum wage levels, and employers, but really, it is about all of us. It is us, the consumers in our society who must be willing to pay that little bit more. If this changes everything, then we must be willing to pay an extra quarter for a cup of coffee and for our bag of potatoes. If the Ontario Premier Doug Ford is serious, he needs to restore that increase in the minimum wage to $15, if not more. And all provinces should do likewise, now.

Some supermarkets have upped their minimum wage from $14 to $16. Two dollars in exchange for working on those front lines, but at the least it’s a recognition and governments need to follow the example.

In one of his recent press conferences Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “In a country like Canada no one should be abandoned.” The question is, does that only apply to the duration of the pandemic, or is that a permanent basic Canadian value? If it is permanent, then should we not be thinking about a basic income level for all Canadians. While lots of hardworking Canadians are getting thrown out of work these days, there are lots of other hardworking Canadians who have not been able to get a decent wage in awhile, a long while for others.

Why do we suddenly think being unemployed or without money is such a bad thing? Should we not think that all the time? The growing number of gig economy workers are not lazy people. To the contrary, they are the most hardworking and innovative. They don’t just get up in the morning and go to work and get a guaranteed paycheque. They have to do all that plus innovate constantly to get that little bit of money. They also split their prescribed pills and delay their dentist visits and eat more potatoes than salad, so the rest of us can get a tall skinny latte at a price we like. And now we suddenly realize that these are the people who are performing the most basic jobs that are keeping our society going and keeping us safe.

What is needed is a better minimum wage across Canada. And a “basic income” program for all Canadian adults that should be announced by Finance Minister Bill Morneau in Budget 2020. More full-time positions for personal support workers and others at seniors’ homes and grocery stores, with paid sick leave and health benefits. In general, more respect for workers. Our superheroes.

Andrew Cardozo is the president of the Pearson Centre.

The Hill Times

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The Hill Times, March 23, 2020

CRISIS BRINGS CANADIAN STRENGTHS INTO FOCUS
Government, health care, the online work world, and diversity in Canada Government can be a huge force for good— in fact, it’s the only central force for some time to come

OTTAWA—Some things are becoming clear through the COVID-19 crisis.

First, government can be a huge force for good—in fact, it’s the only central force for some time to come.

Second, we are very fortunate to have a strong health-care system, and it’s a good thing we don’t have a confusing, two-tier system.

Third, governments can effectively help with income.

Fourth, we are being kicked and dragged into the online world really fast—virtually and through remote work.

Fifth, we have become a lot more hygienic.

Sixth, it is clear that a good part of the success of our health-care system is our diversity—the women and men of various origins who make the system run so well come from a range of origins.

Lastly, a strong public broadcaster makes a difference.

Almost no one is criticizing government for taking action on several fronts. To the extent there is criticism, it is that the government is not doing enough or fast enough. Whether it’s health care, income support, business support, immigration or national security and diplomacy; it’s government, government, government.

As the crisis started to unravel, we were seeing situations of Americans not going for tests as it could cost several hundred dollars for each person. Not so in Canada. Never. That’s why we have a universal system and not a two-tier system, which some people so desire.
And even if you really don’t care about your less fortunate fellow citizens, the prospect of potential carriers of the virus not being diagnosed meant that they would continue to carry it and spread it around—to selfish people included.

Isn’t it time we move to universal pharmacare so people who get the virus do not have to worry about paying for the drugs required?
And the areas of public policy should include the economy, employment, and income support, and we should be trying to provide a “basic income” for Canadians. Isn’t it time we move our whole system to one of ensuring a basic income for all Canadians permanently? Then there’s working from home.

It’s the big new thing. It’s no more a nice thing to do, with all sorts of environmental and family benefi ts. It’s a necessity. It has to happen, now, right away, and as across the board as humanly possible.

Who knew? A transition that started perhaps a decade ago and was slowly moving along, will literally become mainstream in a matter of days. Working remotely, and managing remote workers is suddenly the norm.

Oh and hand washing. My unscientific observations over the years is that one-third of men do not wash their hands after, you know. Yes, ladies, sorry to reveal the dirty truth. I hear on the female side of the ledger that figure is close to zero per cent. And those remaining two-thirds— only one-third uses soap. My male friends generally agree that these proportions are accurate. Now we men are 100 per cent washing with soap, at least I hope. That is a huge and sudden progress.

But washing hands after washroom use is just one element of hygiene. We are likely to become a whole lot more hygienic—although I hope not overly so, or we will lose any built-up immunities. The diversity of our top health officials is suddenly evident. It seems there is no other area of expertise where so many women and men of various origins have risen to the top.

Dr. Theresa Tam has to be the coolest, calmest, and most authoritative health official ever. Born in Hong Kong and educated in the U.K., she delivers the warnings in a way that is straightforward and non-threatening.

Her deputy is Dr. Howard Njoo, a veritable global citizen born in Europe and raised in Canada, of Chinese-Indonesian-Southeast Asian origin.
Dr. Horacio Arruda is director of public health of Quebec. Dr. Wajid Ahmed is the medical officer of health for Windor-Essex and Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang is Waterloo region’s medical offi cer of health are among the top health authorities across Canada.

The faces on TV are numerous. Dr. Peter Lin, whose calming dulcet tones grace CBC TV and radio, is called the CBC House Doctor. Dr. Samir Sinha is director of geriatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and Dr. Susy Hota is a University of Toronto academic. Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti is an infectious diseases specialist in Mississauga and Dr. Samir Gupta is a clinician-scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital, oh yes, there’s that other billionaire immigrant, Li Ka Shing. Dr. Nisha Thampi is head of Infection Control at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, infectious disease specialist with Toronto’s University Health Network frequently appears on CTV.

We would be woefully understaffed if it were not for the thousands of immigrants throughout the system, all the Filipina and Caribbean nurses, for example. Something for Quebec to watch closely—they may want to extend a more immigrant-friendly welcome mat and suspend Bill 21 for a while.

Overall, we are also seeing a large number of women in top spots in public health across the country. In addition to Dr. Tam and Dr. Wang noted above, these include Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s high-profi le provincial health offi cer; Dr. Patricia Daly, her counterpart for Vancouver; Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health for Alberta (who is leading from her home, in quarantine); and Dr. Jessica Hopkins, Peel’s medical officer of health.

And, of course, at the political level, we are seeing the COVID cabinet committee, led by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and the competent and always informative Health Minister Patty Hajdu.

Lastly, the CBC. While the private networks are doing a great job, the CBC-Radio Canada is performing at its best. CBC News Network and ICI RDI are providing stellar services, which not only provide news about who is doing what, but provide a lot of information to viewers to help us understand what COVID-19 is all about and how we need to defend ourselves. The demonstrations on how to wash your hands could not have been more valuable.

In these troubled times, it helps to see the silver linings and the strong system we have in place.

Andrew Cardozo is president of the Pearson Centre.
The Hill Times