FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Mar 30

Americans Have Even Been Able to Fully Politicize COVID Masking Policies

by bcurry

Want to get a good overview of past pandemics and the current COVID pandemic, I highly recommend that one read “Apollo’s Arrow” by Nicholas A. Christakis.  In it, he highlights how “nonpharmaceutical interventions” such as social distancing, masking and lockdowns helped people get through past pandemics such as those in 1957, 1918 and others.  During those outbreaks, there were no vaccines or other pharmaceutical treatments available for the most part, forcing the authorities to implement masking, quarantine and other spread prevention measures.  Such public health measures were accepted with very little backlash given the severity of the pandemic and fear of exposure which often led to deaths. 

This brings us to the current COVID-19 global pandemic.  In the spring of 2020, the U.S. and most other Western nations were forced to shutdown.  In addition, numerous nonpharmaceutical interventions were introduced, including mandating the wearing of masks in most settings, including those in the transportation, service and retail sectors.  However, no sooner had the requirement been implemented, various Americans cried out that such mandates were an infringement on their rights.  Unlike in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the simple act of masking became highly politicized, despite what history tells us about the utility of such measures in limiting the exposure of people to the virus.  For the average American, the act of masking was normally done for occasional visits to grocery stores, clinics, pharmacies and on public transportation.  However, for health-care personnel, they were required daily to wear masks to avoid being infected.  As the author points out: “In some photos, their faces were blistered and bruised from wearing tight-fitting masks all day.”  They had no choice.

Recently, you have the so-called “Peoples Convoy” of truckers in the States, who are protesting all public health measures, including masking and vaccine mandates.  Next, one has a group of 21 states (primarily Republican), as well as groups of pilots and flight attendants, asking federal courts to permanently end the Biden administration’s federal transportation mask mandate.  The mandate is set to expire on April 18th, less than three weeks away.  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, reportedly said in a statement announcing the lawsuit that “it is well past time to get rid of this unnecessary mandate and get back to normal life.”  Here you have a Governor who was willing to reduce the budgets of any school boards who defied his “no masking” directive in Florida’s schools. 

Thinking back to two years ago, the airlines were among the first businesses to support masking and testing to ensure the health and safety of their employees and passengers.  Now, several American airlines are claiming that the federal mask mandate and other coronavirus travel requirements are no longer aligned with the realities of the “current epidemiological environment.”  Otherwise, they believe that the COVID pandemic is over and we no longer have to worry about it, especially since one now has widespread vaccine availability and newly available therapeutics.  However, they readily admit that they want to encourage more people to fly by removing some of the so-called hassles such as masks, which can make air travel less comfortable.  However, other major airlines that fly globally intend to keep masking requirements for awhile yet, given the different transportation policies among countries.

Given that experts predict that a sixth wave is expected in the U.S. and Canada this spring, mainly because of the Omicron variant known as BA. 2 which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain, one should consider encouraging people to mask when in public settings.  Mandated masking requirements will hopefully continue to exist in long-term care facilities, senior residences and health care settings for some time to come.  Such requirements are essential to protecting the elderly and those who are immune-compromised.  Many people will continue to wear masks in public as a personal choice and for health reasons.  Hopefully, people will respect their rights to do so whatever their political stance.  Attacking or harassing masked individuals has no place in a free and civil society.  Yes, some will argue that there is some “COVID fatigue”, but surely we can continue to support a little longer those public health measures that helped us limit this pandemic’s horrific impact on families and communities. 

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Mar 28

What both Canada and the U.S. have in common when it comes to the Artic and Russia

by bcurry

Back in 2016, a report to Congress by the U.S. Department of Defense appeared to call for American ships to challenge Canadian claims in the Arctic.  The U.S. has had three active marine disputes with Canada in the Arctic, including over 21,000 square kilometres in the Beaufort Sea and two smaller areas of the Dixon Passage, between British Columbia and Alaska.  In addition, in the past the U.S. Coast Guard has sent ice breakers through the Northwest Passage without seeking Canadian permission.  Then came issues surrounding access to minerals and fossil fuels located on the Arctic sea floor, especially as climate change and melting sea ice were helping to open up these waters to year round navigation and maritime shipping.  In 2017, this in turn led to President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jointly signing a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in Arctic waters.

However, now enters Russia who we all know are very active in opening up their Arctic waters.  In the past, Russia has made it clear it intends to control the so-called Northern Sea Route off its northern shore, a route that significantly shortens the shipping distance between China and Northern Europe.  U.S. officials have complained that Russia is illegally demanding that other nations seek permission to pass and threatening to use military force to sink vessels that do not comply.  Two years ago, Moscow brought its own war games barrelling through the Bering Sea, with Russian commanders testing weapons and demanding that American fishing boats operating in U.S. fishing waters get out of the way — an order the U.S. Coast Guard advised them to comply with at the time.  In addition, Russia has repeatedly sent military aircraft to the edge of U.S. and Canadian airspace, leading U.S. and Canadian jets to scramble to intercept them and warn them away.

Russia is far ahead of both Canada and the U.S. in creating ice-breaking capacity and particularly in the building of large nuclear-powered icebreakers.  Their nuclear propulsion systems allow them to smash through much thicker ice than conventionally powered vessels giving them a full winter capacity to push through the up to three-metre ice encountered at that certain times of the year. In 2019, the American government began pondering the construction of three heavy icebreakers and three medium-sized vessels.  The Trump Administration ordered an overview of the nation’s icebreaker fleet, with an eye toward fielding a new, rejuvenated fleet by 2029.  The current fleet of Canadian Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships, now under construction, will still have limited icebreaking capacity, and to date little progress has been made toward the actual construction of a planned heavy polar icebreaker.  Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerns over Russia’s military capability and intentions in our Arctic waters have grown.  All signs indicate that Russia is reinvesting in its military capabilities and presence in the region.

Canada’s Defence Minister Anita Anand is pledging to modernize the alliance protecting Canada’s North particularly in terms of our Arctic sovereignty.  Hopefully, the Russian threat may actually now lead to Canada and the U.S. to finally reaching agreement on the status of the critical Northwest Passage between the North Atlantic and the Beaufort Sea.  However, some observers will argue that the European Artic waters — comprised of Norway, Denmark and Iceland — are more vulnerable to Russian shipping and military initiatives in the North.  One has to remember that these countries are part of NATO, and we are then, of course, obligated to go to their defence in the event of any military incursion.  Since the Russian threat is also an aerospace one, there is an urgent need to strengthen the current capabilities of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).  First created during the Cold War to protect against a Soviet attack, NORAD is a joint military command between Canada and the U.S. that provides airspace surveillance.  America’s strategic air command’s bombers fly over Canadian aerospace on a daily basis.  However, the technology of NORAD’s north warning system was only last modernized in 1985, and requires an immediate modernization designed to counter imminent dangers of the day — long range bomber threats from the Soviet Union.

What all this means is that Canada and the U.S. had better get their acts together to protect their Arctic maritime and aerospace regions.  The sooner the better!

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Mar 26

Sorry Folks, But COVID Is Not Done With Us Just Yet!

by bcurry

You don’t have to be an epidemiologist to predict that COVID is not finished with us just yet!  Another wave is expected in the U.S. and Canada this spring, mainly because of the Omicron variant known as BA. 2, which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain, BA. 1, and has been fuelling outbreaks overseas.  According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Center, the United Kingdom had a seven-day average of over 65,000 cases and 79 deaths as of March 16th.  Unfortunately, the lower vaccination rate in the U.S. is very likely to be of major concern as BA. 2 spreads farther in the States, especially in regions where vaccination rates are significantly lower than the national rate.  U.S. health authorities estimate that about 65.4 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated and just 44 percent have received a third booster shot.  Indeed, recent news media headlines note that COVID vaccinations — including boosters — have fallen to their lowest levels since 2020. 

What is indefensible is the fact that these vaccines have proven to be very effective against Omicron, leaving fully vaccinated people with milder symptoms and fewer hospitalizations.  In addition, vaccines greatly reduce the health care costs associated with COVID.  In a December 2022 study, the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks U.S. health policy and outcomes, estimated that between June and November of 2021 unvaccinated American adults accounted for $13.8 billion in “preventable” COVID hospitalization costs nationwide.  However, simply because the number of related hospitalizations has steadily gone down in recent months, does not mean that the number of Omicron cases have also gone down.  One can expect that with more and more public health restrictions being removed, more people will become infected, with the unvaccinated most likely to suffer more severe health symptoms.

Federal reports show that the U.S. has spent billions to get vaccine shots into arms, including more than $19.3 billion to help develop vaccines.  Still, the U.S. has one of the largest COVID vaccine holdout rates among highly developed countries.  Particularly, as some question the need for getting the shots, especially boosters, or bristle at government or workplace mandates.  Needless-to-say, there are also costs associated for unvaccinated individuals themselves, often in the form of increased health premiums under employer health insurance plans.  In addition, the biggest financial risk vaccine holdouts have faced is getting laid off from their jobs due to employer imposed vaccine mandates.  A Kaiser Family Foundation nationwide survey in October 2021 found that about a quarter of workers said their employer required proof of vaccination, or faced dismissals, suspensions or regular COVID testing.

The U.S. is on the verge of unfortunately recording one million COVID-related deaths over the course of this pandemic.  What makes this statistic even sadder is the fact that the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation estimated vaccinations could have prevented 163,000 U.S. deaths between June and November of 2021 alone.  Anti-vaccination and vaccine hesitancy remains a serious problem, despite the evidence that COVID vaccines are safe and reliable.  With the emergence of BA. 2, vaccines, particularly for those seniors 65 and over and for those who are immune-compromised, remain the first line of defence against hospitalization and death.  Yes, current vaccines do not prevent someone who is fully vaccinated from actually getting the COVID.  However, according to Public Health Ontario figures for example, the data shows that unvaccinated people over 60 were 15 times more likely to end up in the ICU with COVID than the fully vaccinated.  According to Ontario’s science advisory table, in January 2022 the rate of unvaccinated people in ICUs in the province of Ontario adjusted or “standardized” for age was 254 per million, compared to 22 fully vaccinated — a significant difference.

As of this March, Reuters reported that costs of going unvaccinated in America are mounting for workers and companies.  The same can be said for Canada, although over 80 percent of Canadians were fully vaccinated and a significant number have received a third-dose COVID vaccine.  Whether one agrees with vaccine mandates or not, they have proven to be effective where they were instituted.  There is little doubt, based on on-going emergence of COVID variants, additional vaccines will be required in the future to finally put an end to this pandemic.

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Mar 23

Book Banning in American Schools Continues to Grow — What Next, Burning Books?

by bcurry

A recent article by Hannah Natanson in The Washington Post outlined the continuing issue of schools nationwide quietly removing books from their libraries, particularly books dealing with discussions of race, gender, sex, the Holocaust and LGBTQ identities.  Some of the removals have been even apparently done outside the normal school board processes for book review and assessment.  Many of the banned books include such classics as Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” M.O. Yuksel’s “In the Mosque,” Zetta Elliott’s “A Place Inside of Me,” Kyle Lukoff’s “When Aidan Became a Brother,” Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer,” Jonathan Evison’s “Lawn Boy,” George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” and Vladek Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Maus.”  The list goes on and on.

Yes, these are books that some would deem controversial, depending on the eyes of the beholders who hopefully have taken the time to actually read the books.  Unfortunately, some parents have taken it upon themselves to engage in censorship, believing that today’s eight to twelve year olds cannot handle any discussion related to important societal issues.  However, one has to ask, where does such censorship all end?  Kind of reminds me of Ray Bradbury’s 1953 dystopian novel, “Fahrenheit 451”, which presents a future American society where books are outlawed and “firemen” burn any that are found.  Bradbury wrote his novel as a result of his concerns during the McCarthy era aimed at so-called un-American activities indiscriminately directed at artists, journalists and others.  He raised concerns about the potential threat of book burning in the U.S. at that time.  Today, one might conclude that his novel may be somewhat prophetic.

No one can deny that parents are entitled to oversee the daily activities of their young children, including those in middle school.  However, as a taxpayer supporting public school education in particular, one might feel taken aback by such censorship which would completely remove relevant books from school libraries.  I would have no problem should parents choose to send their children to private schools, certainly those proposing to be faith-based.  As parents who would like to see their children in public schools being allowed to address a number of issues in an intelligent and meaningful manner, their children should have free access to recommended readings.  Banning these books is an infringement of the rights of these parents.  The continuing harassment by some parents of school boards and librarians over the contents of their libraries and curriculum is totally uncalled for and inexcusable.  As noted in the above article, one district adopted the permission-slip policy to allow parents to be the decision maker in what materials their children are reading and have access to, seemingly a reasonable compromise. 

Young people are going to be naturally curious about numerous modern societal issues, be they about sex, race or gender.  Taking into consideration age-appropriate materials, many of the controversial books alluded to would appear to be highly useful in opening discussions about a number of difficult topics.  As the above article notes: “Psychologists, academics and librarians reached by The Washington Post said they see value in introducing children to books that contain challenging material, including of the sexual kind, provided it is done with appropriate context, care and tact.”  Throughout formal education today, children will be faced with information and discussion about a number of difficult topics — where better than in schools.  People need to place more trust in educators, who after all have extensively studied and researched many of these topics in compiling their curriculum.  Misinformed and indiscriminate censorship doesn’t have any place in these processes, especially where educators and librarians unfortunately can end up facing daily harassment by fringe groups.  Freedom of thought and practice should be the foundation of a public school education, while respecting the rights of all parents and not just a few.

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Mar 17

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Has Forced American and Canadian Political Parties to Unite on Several Issues

by bcurry

In both the U.S. Congress and Canada’s Parliament, the Russia invasion of the Ukraine has brought governing and opposition parties together in their support for the Ukraine.  When Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed these governing bodies this week, he received a standing and emotive ovation from both sides of the aisle.  Parties on the left and on the right have suddenly been galvanized in support of their mutual and strong opposition to Vladimir Putin’s war on the Ukrainian people.  One has not seen this kind of unified alliance in many years.  While there may be minor differences in the nature of support for the Ukraine, the general approach has been to provide more military and humanitarian aid to that country and to punish Russia with more and more economic sanctions.

In addition, both the U.S. and Canada have moved to strengthen their support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in its resolve to support the Ukraine in this horrendous war.  In addition, the Russian threat has led to leaders in both countries and in Europe to revisit their defence spending.  As Jonathan Weisman in the New York Times notes: “On the left, Democrats are acquiescing to higher military spending and dropping a bid to pull back rapidly from fossil fuels.  On the right, Trump-era isolationism and attacks on the trans-Atlantic alliance are being relegated to the fringe in Congress.”  The current Canadian government has also indicated that it will be moving to increase defence expenditures particularly in light of the Russian threat to Canada’s Artic region.  Canada has been reluctant to increase these expenditures in the past, but both liberals and conservatives now see such an increase as necessary due to the recent events and the need to better support NATO.

Also, both the U.S. and Canada now support an increase in a joint North American energy approach, including an increase in the production and transport of fossil fuels.  Both countries still believe that a reduced reliance on non-renewable energy sources is necessary to combat the impact of climate change, but are more willing to use fossil fuels as a bridge to the increased use of renewal energy sources and green technologies.  This may encourage the Democrats to revisit their anti-pipeline policies in order to facilitate the flow of Canadian crude oil to the U.S., something the Republicans have supported in the past.  Both administrations firmly believe that Europe will need to reduce its dependence on Russia for fossil fuels.  However, this approach will take years to implement and will require the continuing support of future American and Canadian governments.

Canada has one of the largest populations of Ukrainians in the world outside of the Ukraine, forcing governments to support the Ukraine militarily and through sanctions on Russia.  Politically, no government can ignore the impact of the Russian invasion on these Canadians.  One should expect that all political parties will continue to support foreign policies in opposition to Vladimir Putin.  One can also expect that support for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), implemented by a pact made in 1957 at the height of the Cold War, will increase.  NORAD has been placed under the joint command the air forces of Canada and the U.S., and is the key means for both countries to reinforce our mutual defence of North America.

All in all, we should look forward to greater unity of both left and right leaning political parties when it comes to foreign policy, defence policy and energy policy.  This may be one of the few benefits derived from our reaction of the unfortunate and tragic situation in the Ukraine.  Time will tell!

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Mar 12

Why Limited Social Movements Such As The Truckers’ Convoy Fizzle Out

by bcurry

The “People’s Convoy”, which recently numbered about 1,000 vehicles, arrived in Maryland on March 5th.  The convoy had signs and messages referencing far-right political views, pro-Trump  and conspiracy theories, including calls to “arrest Fauci,” referring to White House medical adviser Anthony S. Fauci, and ridiculously equating the mandates to slavery.  Convoy organizers intended to drive the minimum legal speed and increase the number of loops around the Beltway each day to pressure lawmakers and public officials, but not to actually enter the core district of Washington, D.C.  Given what happened during the so-called “Freedom Convoy” illegal occupation in Ottawa, Canada, which lasted over three weeks, police agencies from D.C., Maryland and Virginia are closely monitoring the group.  In addition, hundreds of National Guard members are on stand-by should they be needed to control the protest.

The truckers’ protest is a spin-off of the Canadian version, which has so far fizzled out following the removal and arrests of several protest leaders.  Like the Canadian situation, there are many different complaints and factions among the protesters, some of whom are more radical than others and often represent far right fringe groups.  While the primary protest in Canada appeared to be against vaccine mandates related to the pandemic and other public health measures, there also appeared to be a segment that simply wanted the current federal government to step down and be replaced by some form of alternative governing body.  There was a good deal of American influence on the Canadian convoy as evidenced by pro-Trump and Confederate flags.  In addition, a good deal of funding in support of the protest came from the U.S.  As observers note, what’s already clear is that that success begets imitators.  The Ottawa occupiers’ ability to attract massive financial support and international media attention — while suffering few serious consequences — inspired copycats across Canada, the U.S. and around the world.

While there is little debate over the fact that both the Canadian and American populations have seen even more political division during the pandemic, one has to ask how these intense expressions of anger, sometimes legitimate, will be reflected in the future?  Most enduring social movements tend to focus on single issue causes.  Take for example, the “right-to-life” and “pro-life” movements which have been around for years in both countries.  Then there is the women’s movement for “equal pay and equal opportunities”.  However, there have been those movements which portrayed a scattered issue protest, such as the early 2000’s Occupy movement in the U.S., Canada and other countries.  Started with the Occupy Wall Street in 2011, it primarily focussed on what it referred to as income and wealth inequality between the wealthiest 1 percent and the rest of the population which became the 99 per centers.  The Occupy movement’s goals came to include a vast number of issues including: a reduction in the influence of corporations on politics, more balanced distribution of income, more and better jobs, bank reform, forgiveness of student loan debt, more affordable housing or other relief for indebted students.  Without organized formal leadership, which the Occupy movements deliberately shied away from, the movement soon fizzled away into the history books.

The same outcome could be expected with the recent convoy protests, especially as governments remove more and more public health restrictions and vaccine mandates as a result of declining cases related to the pandemic.  However, this does not mean that the anger of a significant portion of the population will simply disappear.  Some have suggested that the current mistrust of government and the authorities will continue into the future, hopefully to be reflected through the ballot boxes in both countries.  The economy will be the next big issue, notably the impact of hyperinflation, including high gas prices, on the average American and Canadian.  Employment issues surrounding the economic recovery from the pandemic and a possible recession will stand out as major issues for governments and businesses.  Lower income and blue collar workers have been particularly affected and wages have not kept up with the current cost of living increases.  Whether a new protest movement results from the new socioeconomic and political circumstances, only time will tell?  Given past history, I would see future protest movements as being entirely inevitable, in one form or another.

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Mar 9

Who Declared That COVID Vaccines Don’t Work Should Check Out Hong Kong

by bcurry

If there was ever a concrete example of the effectiveness of COVID vaccines, it is the current situation unfolding in Hong Kong.  Today, Hong Kong — a wealthy and modern financial center — now has the highest COVID-related death rate in the developed world.  Overwhelmingly, the elderly, unvaccinated residents, including toddlers and children too young to be immunized, have been hit hardest by the most recent Omicron variant outbreak.  This past January, less than 1 in 5 Hong Kong residents above the age of 80 had been fully vaccinated with two doses, and almost none had three.  That percentage has risen since then, but experts say it is still too little, too late, especially compared with Singapore, South Korea and Japan, where the elderly were a priority for vaccinations.  I find this statistic incredible given that public health officials in both the U.S. and Canada recommended late last year that anyone over sixty-five should get a booster vaccine shot in light of the Omicron variant, bringing the total to at least three doses.  In Ontario, Canada, for example, seniors in long-term care and in senior residences were even given a fourth shot to ensure that their immune systems could better resist the Omicron variant.  As a result, the number of deaths among seniors has significantly and steadily declined since the vaccines were first introduced in both countries.

Since the air-born Omicron variant is highly contagious, almost 90 percent of elderly care facilities in Hong Kong have COVID cases, and to date about 4,700 care home workers have tested positive.  On the other hand, the number of new COVID cases in Ontario remains low, especially as residential staff had been mandated to have at least two doses of the vaccine since the summer of 2021.  Workers in long-term care homes are currently required to have two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to stay on the job, and they have until March 14th to get third shots.  For obvious reasons, this is the only sector in which the Ontario provincial government has made COVID-19 vaccination a requirement for employment.

When it comes to children aged between the ages of 5 and 12, both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Canada Public Health Agency recommended that COVID vaccines be given.  Both public health agencies concluded that the benefits of protecting children against COVID-19 are seen as far outweighing any risk.  Yet, here you have Florida’s Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo in a recent press conference, recommending that healthy children not receive the coronavirus vaccine.  Florida became the first state to officially recommend against COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children.  Dr. Lapado however did not outline any specifics or rationale behind this recommendation.  Of course, such positions have been behind the COVID-related policies of Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis, who has previously resisted the implementation of several public health measures.  Even officials in the state’s Department of Health and Human Services have asserted that unvaccinated teenagers are much more likely to end up in the hospital with COVID-19 than are vaccinated ones.

Interestingly, Florida ranked 19th among states in terms of the share of people receiving at least one vaccine shot, with about 78 percent of its residents at least partially vaccinated.  According to the CDC, the national vaccination rate is 76.5 percent.  However, when it comes to COVID-related deaths per 100,000 population, Florida ranks fifth in the country, just behind West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and South Carolina.  In the past week ending March 6th , Florida reported 1,207 deaths from COVID-19.  In the week before that, 888 deaths were reported.  In total, Johns Hopkins University data shows that almost 71,000 Floridians have died from the disease since the pandemic began or 330 for every 100,000 people.  To date in the U.S., 958,621 people have died since the pandemic began, with the national COVID-19 death rate standing at 288 per 100,000 Americans.

Although the Omicron variant appears to have peaked, the virus is still spreading.  In Florida, the infection rate is still far higher than the national average.  It’s one thing to prevent children from wearing masks in school, but it’s another for the Governor of Florida to suggest that there is no need to vaccinate children!  Maybe, the Governor should spend some time in Hong Kong?

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Mar 6

Truckers’ Convoy in U.S. Aspires to be More Calm Than Canadian “Freedom Convoy”

by bcurry

On February 23rd, taking its cue from demonstrations that paralyzed the downtown of Canada’s capital city of Ottawa for over three weeks, U.S. truckers embarked on a 2,500-mile (4,000-km) cross-country drive towards Washington, D.C., to protest coronavirus-related mandates and restrictions.  Having arrived in Maryland, organizers of the so-called “People’s Convoy” say they are planning to circle their armada of trucks, cars and SUVs around the Beltway on the morning of March 6th and into the following workweek at the minimum speed limit to slow traffic and get their message out to lawmakers.  The convoy, which recently numbered about 1,000 vehicles, intends to repeat that ritual each day this week until the group’s demands are met.  Organizers have proclaimed that they are law-abiding citizens who are simply exercising their rights to protest.  Unlike in Ottawa, they don’t want to shut anything down and they’re not planning to come into downtown Washington.

However, as in the case of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” in Canada, it’s not exactly clear just what are the ultimate goals of the American protesters.  As in the Canadian case, the convoy also involves a number or representatives of fringe groups, often with far-right links and other unrelated causes.  It seems apparent that there are a number of Trump supporters still asserting that the presidential election was stolen, as well as those from the anti-vaccine movement.  As in the Canadian case, many of the signs and messages can be seen referencing far-right political views and conspiracy theories.  A list of organizations supporting the convoy include those led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leader in the anti-vaccine movement, Gen. Michael Flynn, the former Trump administration national security adviser, and Rob McCoy, a Republican politician and Southern California evangelical pastor.  In general, the convoy participants do push for an end to government health rules requiring masks and vaccinations, a move that has already begun by governments as new COVID-19 cases have ebbed.  However, as in the case of Canada where provincial governments were responsible for implementing most public health restrictions during the pandemic, many of the mandates were implemented by individual states in varying degrees.

Given what happened in Canada, the Defence Department authorized deployment of about 700 unarmed National Guard personnel from the District of Columbia and neighbouring states to help manage the expected traffic.  Capitol Police said that plans were being drawn up to reinstall the temporary fence that was erected around the Capitol after last year’s January 6th riots in the Capitol.  Like the Canadian protesters, the organizers claim that they just have a message that they want heard and they’re not going anywhere until it’s heard.  Unlike the Canadian truckers’ convoy, they have not also stated clearly any specific protest against the American and Canadian vaccination mandate requirements for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border.  The Canadian protest included blockages by vehicles of the Windsor-Detroit and Coutts, Alberta, border crossings that occurred in late January and mid-February.  The negative economic impact of the blockades on trade contributed to the Canadian federal government invoking the Emergencies Act in order to pressure the protesters to remove their vehicles and reframe from further illegal activities.

In Canada, many arrests of leaders and protesters were made both in Ottawa and at the affected border crossings.  In the case of Coutts, Alberta, several guns, body armour and ammunition were seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).  The seizure is attributed to militia-style right-wing fringe elements.  In the case of the American truckers’ protest, it is hoped that the organizers will maintain a more peaceful stance.  In light of the decline in new COVID-19 cases and related hospitalization rates, the irony is that both protests against government public health mandates are occurring at a time when many of the restrictions are in the process of being removed.  If the American protest resembles its Canadian counterpart, one will probably see no clear plan and a hodgepodge of multiple and diverse grievances.  Many grievances will once again reflect the general malaise within a large segment of the population, often compounded by a growing mistrust of government and the authorities.  Unfortunately, as illustrated in the Canadian truckers’ protest, these grievances can lead to illegal and sometimes violent actions.

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Mar 4

Comparison of Workers’ Wages and Benefits Between the U.S. and Canada

by bcurry

In recent months there has been a lot of discussion about the impact of the pandemic on the labour market in both the U.S. and Canada.  Much of the discussion has now evolved around the issue of hyperinflation in both countries and the resulting worker demands for increased wages.  In addition, there has been a shift in the labour market itself whereby many workers who worked in certain sectors, in particular retail, tourism, services and restaurants, were laid off due to COVID-19 for months on end.  Now that the economies are supposedly reopening in both countries, some of these workers have decided not to return to those sectors, but to seek other more reliable and better paying employment.  Indeed, according to recent stats, there have been record levels of workers switching jobs, a trend that picked up markedly in the second half of 2021.

However, there are still signs that wage raises are stopping fall short of compensating for all of the higher prices.  In some private sectors, unions are now taking advantage of the inequalities and have moved to organize disgruntled workers, offering better wages and benefits.  An example of this is the American United Auto Workers (UAW) that is looking to organize Tesla workers.  Several Starbucks workers have been seeking to organize unions in Buffalo, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Knoxville, Tallahassee, Florida and the Denver area.  The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers promoted a two-year-long push to unionize thirty Amazon facilities in the U.S.  Generally, such attempts have been unsuccessful.  In Canada, where unionization is easier in the private sector under industrial relations laws, certain unions have been more successful in organizing workers in facilities run by union-resistant companies such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks.

Among the major differences between the two countries is the fact that Canada has a universal health system in place and more labour standards laws offering such benefits as paid sick leave, maternity and adoption leave, paid vacation leave and higher minimum wages.  Canada’s federal unemployment insurance program is national in scope, unlike in the U.S. where states have a lot more leeway to differentiate in their qualifying requirements, amounts and duration of unemployment benefits.  Moreover, the Canadian safety net for the unemployed has been strengthened in recent years, playing an important part in allowing unemployed workers to do lengthier job search, provide additional economic security and keep their job protection guaranteed under the law.

On top of everything, workers are looking at the huge profits made by certain companies during the pandemic, such as Amazon, Wal-Mart, Loblaws Canada, etc., etc.  Many believe, and rightly so, that they have not received their fair share of the record profits in the form of increased wages and benefits.  Instead, they see companies buying back billions of dollars in stock from investors and increasing the dividend rates given to investors by large amounts.  With companies declaring the end of the worst of the pandemic, previous increases in the form of risk pay are also quickly disappearing — this despite the fact that many of the pandemic risks still remain.

Moreover, the pandemic has had a significant impact on the labour markets of both countries.  Employers in both countries are being forced to compete for scarce labour due to the shift in the bargaining capabilities of workers, especially in light of today’s hyperinflation.  Indeed, wage increases are just one of many sweeteners that hungry firms are offering.  Also on the rise are perks like a four-day workweek — offered by some eleven percent of companies surveyed recently by the Payscale data firm —  as well as remote work, flexible schedules, free college tuition and other attractive benefits.

All in all, current hyperinflation will continue to cut into workers’ pay cheques.  The coming months will be difficult ones for both employers and workers.  Both Canada and the U.S. have similar labour markets, suggesting that significant adjustments will have to be made in each country.

Canada Economy Economy Labor Force Labour Force US

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