Manitobans are frustrated. The CBC recently reported a 34 percent drop in approval for Brian Pallister’s conservative government, largely as a result of his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Manitoba government’s COVID response has received very poor ratings, according to the Angus Reid poll cited in the article, with 67 percent of the people polled agreeing that the province has done a poor job of responding to the pandemic. This disapproval is in stark contrast to other provincial ratings, all of which (except Alberta’s) are higher than Manitoba’s.
The frustration and mistrust aren’t hard to understand. Pallister and his government have consistently failed to be forthcoming about the decisions they’ve made in dealing with the pandemic. His government has ignored the advice (or even questioned the motives) of health care professionals in the name of keeping the economy open. Under Pallister’s Restart Manitoba campaign, even as the province’s COVID numbers continued to rise, schools and businesses continued to operate, a decision which has ultimately led to our current code red situation.
To those who question his policies, Pallister’s continued response has been to deflect blame towards the individuals who are struggling to follow public health orders. Pallister frequently calls for greater fines and increased policing, most recently hiring a private security company to help enforce restrictions.
While certainly, non-compliance is an issue, the reasons for social unrest are many. Food insecurity, social isolation and mental health issues, and housing shortages are all exacerbated by the pandemic. In these times, our focus should not be on individuals but on the social systems that continue to deepen the divides in our communities. As the Briar Patch puts it, “The virus is a system-wide problem and we need system-wide solutions.” If people are currently struggling with public health orders, it should be government’s responsibility to listen to the voices from the ground up, to understand the systemic pressures that underlie that unrest, and to take action to change the system. What we’ve learned from the pandemic is that systems can change, rapidly when necessary, and some believe these changes can be made to better our social whole.
Community Not Cuts is proposing a “socially just pandemic response” that focuses on suppression and mitigation while taking into account community needs. Read more about their proposed actions and sign the online petition here. Please also consider sharing widely!
Contributor: Jana Millar Usiskin – Council of Canadians Winnipeg Chapter Member