Workers
in Action Across Canada to Contain COVID-19 Firm Opposition to the Untenable Status Quo 
As infections from the second wave of COVID-19 continue
to rise dramatically across Canada, more provinces are seeing
record-breaking numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
Faced with a mounting health crisis that is reaching
proportions far greater than what Canadians faced in the spring,
governments at all levels are failing to take up their responsibility
to protect the well-being of the people. Instead of using the lessons
learned from the first wave of the pandemic, provincial governments are
using emergency
measures to attack workers' rights and impose pay-the-rich schemes
which they claim are "building back the economy." As
far as implementing the measures necessary to fight the
pandemic the status quo prevails with a refusal by provincial
governments to follow the guidelines of public health experts and
listen to the experience of frontline workers who know exactly what is
needed in this crucial situation. The important and urgent actions
needed now are being
suppressed under the blackmail that if all health and safety measures
are taken to protect everyone, this will amount to shutting down the
economy. This is the untenable status quo that people are rejecting.
It
is an excuse being given to justify doing nothing.
Instead of using available resources to build up the capacity to do
more testing and establishing an organized tracking and tracing system
to identify sources of infection, the premiers of Alberta and Ontario,
among others, continue to claim that the main issue is "individual
responsibility" to
follow the guidelines. Such attempts to blame the people cannot hide
the fact that these governments are continuing to fail to meet the
needs of the people at this crucial time. Instead of finding solutions
they are actually a block to having the discussion needed to find
solutions to the problems we face. And this is indeed how the system
works -- it deliberately blocks the people from exercising their right
to govern the society they depend on for their living and well-being
and that of society itself. It recently
came to light that some public health
officials who provided advice to the Premier of Ontario were even asked
to sign a non-disclosure agreement to prevent them from speaking
publicly about the discussion that took place. In
Alberta, more than 430 doctors together with the Alberta Union of
Provincial Employees, the Health Sciences Association of Alberta and
the United Nurses of Alberta have signed an open letter sent to Premier
Kenney and the health minister urging immediate action. The letter
states:
"We believe that the conversation should not be
framed
as a choice between 'lockdown' akin to the prolonged experience
in April-June or no mandatory restrictions. "Instead
the province should consider a two-week short
sharp lockdown to drop the effective reproductive number and allow
contact tracing to catch up. We believe it is time we had a clear
direction from our provincial government. We need rules not
suggestions." This is a critical moment in which
urgent action must be taken. What
is crucial is the mobilization of the working class and people to raise
the demand from coast to coast that what workers are demanding in terms
of measures that must be taken to contain the disease must be
implemented. The Criminal Code defines "criminal
negligence" as conduct
"that shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of
other persons." The alarming figures regarding new cases and deaths due
to COVID-19 across the country and especially in the "hot spot" zones,
as well as the false report submitted by management on staffing levels
at one long-term care home in Manitoba, leaves no doubt that it was the
wanton disregard for the lives of others by those in "control"
that allowed staffing levels to drop to "such a level of criminal
negligence." Activating the human factor/social consciousness
by
raising the demand that what the workers are asking for must
be
implemented can protect the people at this time by hitting at the block
to providing the serious problems facing us with solutions.
This issue of Workers'
Forum reports on stands taken by workers, doctors and
others across the country.
This article was published in
Number 79 - November 19, 2020
Article Link:
Workers
in Action Across Canada to Contain COVID-19: Firm Opposition to the Untenable Status Quo
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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