Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 29, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 Jeopardizing education Re: Province announces $120M for student sum- mer jobs (April 24) Although many are buoyed by the recent news that Manitoba would subsidize the wages of sum- mer students up to $120 million, I remain con- cerned about the current government's approach to post-secondary education during this time of crisis. This news about student wages comes at a time when Premier Brian Pallister has also called for up to 30 per cent cuts to the budgets of our universities. Well, it might appear that the Manitoba govern- ment is merely trying to be fiscally responsible. Why, then, did Pallister refuse the University of Manitoba's offer to use its emergency funds in lieu of budget cuts? This renders the point of a university rainy-day fund entirely moot and tells me that these cuts are perhaps less about money, and more about control. As a university student returning to school in the fall, I am concerned that these cuts will strain the already-strained system, and jeopardize the ability of schools to deliver the quality of educa- tion we're used to. All of this leaves myself and my peers won- dering: what's the point of Manitoba propping up student wages during summer, if they are just going to hobble the very schools we will be returning to? ALUK FONTAINE RICHARDSON Winnipeg Poverty the other pandemic Re: Pandemic hits Manitoba's poor hardest (April 18) The prime minister's regular commentary on the status of our nation's journey back to health is appreciated. My family and I thank him and his family for leading us through these unique times. The prime minister and the government have quickly found billions of dollars to give financial help to millions of Canadians. But when it comes to the challenges of getting meaningful levels of payments to help Canadians in a financial and health pandemic, we need to respond differently now. As Sid Frankel asked, "Why are the benefits offered through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit more generous than the wages working parents of many poor children earn in normal times, and than the welfare benefits that support many poor families?" When food banks began, they were supposed to be a "temporary" solution to hunger and poverty among Canadian families. That was more than 35 years ago. At the first world food summit in 1996, Canada supported the legal right to food as part of the international expression of the cultural, social and economic rights guaranteed in Canada's constitution. An NGO conference, held in parallel with the summit, endorsed the concept of food security in which a citizen has "physical and economic access to food." But at the next world food summit in 2001, Canada diluted the right to food by adopting voluntary guidelines as its action plan. This back- tracking makes it more difficult to establish the right to food in our courts. Food banks and their clients want to decrease the need for food banks by ensuring every citizen has enough money to be food-secure in Canada. We already have an example of an approach that works. All Canadians over 65 receive Old Age Security, while many more receive the Guar- anteed Income Supplement or Canada Pension Plan payments. This basic income for all seniors is a step in the right direction. A basic income for all citizens for the balance of 2020 and thereafter would be in line with Cana- dians' commitment to caring for each other, as we do with medicare. Basic Income Canada and Basic Income Mani- toba are taking this proposal to elected leaders, senators and a growing number of citizens. In these times in which citizens are work- ing together to beat the coronavirus, let's try a basic income program to defeat the virus called poverty. DAVID NORTHCOTT Winnipeg Tam the right person for the job Re: Don't say WHO didn't warn us - it did (April 25) In his timely commentary, Dan Lett described the recent activity of the World Health Organiza- tion (WHO) and its Global Preparedness Monitor- ing board, which released a significant report this past September. This report warned of the consequences of an infectious disease pandemic for which no country was prepared. Lett helped put into context the unfounded and repugnant assertions made by Conservative MP Derek Sloan against Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam. Sloan speculated publicly that Tam might be influenced unduly by China because of her advisory work for WHO, a group irrationally denounced by U.S. President Donald Trump as too China-friendly. What alarms me is the willingness of Sloan to circulate misinformation against Tam, with no rationale except as an apparent attempt to under- mine her work and stir up xenophobic attitudes. His insinuations about Tam's competence should offend everyone. He clearly knows nothing about her. Tam was educated in the British school system and in medical school, and she then received specialist training in western Canada. Her in- ternational reputation for expertise in infectious disease has been established by her authorship of many peer-reviewed articles in public-health journals. Additionally, during her work for Canada as a federal public servant, she learned a lot about government practices. When Tam spoke in Winnipeg two years ago, she described to local health staff that one of her goals as chief public health officer was to strengthen the lines of communication between such related departments as public health, Health Canada and the ministry of health. She set out to meet with members and administrators with the hope of improving interdepartmental co-ordina- tion; she revealed her fierce determination to use her position and knowledge to protect the health of Canadians. We in Canada have had the benefit of Tam's very hard work and strategic communication skill during our experience of the COVID-19 crisis - truly a complex infectious-disease emergency. Our regional public health officers, following her lead, have provided us with daily information as it becomes available, and practical advice. Let's add these dedicated people, along with their technolo- gists in testing laboratories, to our list of disease- fighting heroes. JEAN A. PATERSON Winnipeg COVID-19's impact uneven The coronavirus pandemic is perceived as the "great equalizer," impacting both the rich and the poor, but is it really? Rather, the pandemic responses have re- vealed the inequities among our policies, placing vulnerable populations last in line for support. The H1N1 outbreak in 2009 disproportionately impacted Indigenous communities and racial- ized impoverished neighborhoods. Based on U.S. COVID-19 demographic data, Canada is likely on its way to repeating its history with H1N1. As the world scrambles to find a vaccine for COVID-19, Canada must not forget the need to fund existing immunization programs, as 1.5 million children globally die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases. As world immuni- zation week rises upon us, Canada's pledge to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance will demonstrate our stance to protect, regardless of location or socioeconomic status. NINA HUYNH Orleans, Ont. LETTERS AND FP COMMENTS WHAT'S YOUR TAKE? THE FREE PRESS WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU. The Free Press is committed to publishing a diverse selection of letters from a broad cross-section of our audience. The Free Press will also consider longer submissions for inclusion on our Think Tank page, which is a platform man- dated to present a wide range of perspectives on issues of current interest. We welcome our readers' feedback on articles and letters on these pages and in other sections of the Free Press ? Email: Letters: letters@freepress.mb.ca Think Tank submissions: opinion@freepress.mb.ca ? Post: Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, R2X 3B6 Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. ? Follow us on Twitter @WFPEditorials OUR VIEW YOUR SAY PERSPECTIVES EDITOR: BRAD OSWALD 204-697-7269 ? BRAD.OSWALD@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A6 WEDNESDAY APRIL 29, 2020 Passing grade, but it's only mid-term I T'S customary for students to receive mid-term marks that indicate whether they're on their way to achieving the semester's aca- demic goals. If the Manitoba public was given a mid-term grade for pandemic work thus far, it would likely be a qualified A. Our rate of COVID-19 cases is among the lowest in Canada at 19 per 100,000 people. By comparison, Quebec has 273, Ontario has 101 and Alberta has 96. Long-term care facilities have been the site of nearly half of all COVID-19 deaths in Canada. But in Manitoba, preventative measures by such institutions, as well as no small measure of good fortune, have prevented the clusters of death that racked care facilities in other provinces. The goal of "flattening the curve" was to keep Manitoba hospitals from being overrun with CO- VID-19 patients. So far, so good. The caseload has been manageable and, in fact, Manitoba's health system now has capacity to resume some elective surgeries unrelated to the pandemic. With cautious optimism, Manitoba officials are even talking about some economic reopenings, such as hair salons and golf courses, within the coming weeks. When handing out mid-term report cards, it's important to note the high mark accorded the public is separate from the decidedly lower grade many people are giving the Pallister government, which has been roundly criticized for a pandemic response offering too much cost cutting and not enough financial supports for shutdown victims, including businesses. But in spite of disputable political decisions, perhaps Manitobans can be allowed a thumbs- up to each other - while keeping two metres apart - to recognize the general public is doing a good job of obeying the unprecedented orders to suspend public activities and many of our legal rights. And our acquiescence is having the desired result. In assessing the success of Manitoba's effort to minimize the pandemic's impact, it must be acknowledged we can't take credit for two sig- nificant advantages: our geographical isolation, which means we had relatively few travellers car- rying the virus into Manitoba during the impor- tant initial stages; and the advance warning and hard lessons provided by other places around the world that battled the novel coronavirus weeks before it arrived in Manitoba. There is a third factor, however, for which Manitobans deserve credit: the willingness to surrender individual privileges to what sociolo- gists call "the greater good." Early acceptance of personal hardships for the larger benefit of Manitoba is among the reasons why the virus hasn't ravaged this province as badly as it has devastated other places. To understand what can happen when people won't act for the greater good during a public health emergency, an example is as close as Can- ada's southern neighbour. The COVID-19 deaths- per-capita total in the U.S. is about three times that of Canada, and it's expected to soar more as some states ignore the advice of public-health experts and allow group activities to resume. America's passion for celebrating individu- al freedom could create a fertile field for a virus that flourishes when potential human hosts ignore public-health warnings. Masked protest- ers marching en masse against stay-at-home orders in various U.S. states are endangering themselves, which may be their right, but the reality is that they're also endangering others, including medical staff. In contrast, the past six weeks have shown Manitobans are willing to radically change their behaviour to help all of us keep healthy. When it comes to the greater good, we're good with that. EDITORIAL MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Traffic is sparse as Winnipeggers adhere to stay-at-home directives. Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the M�tis A_06_Apr-29-20_FP_01.indd A6 2020-04-28 4:32 PM ;