FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Jul 26

Why Canada’s Infatuation With Public Inquiries Is Flawed

by bcurry

Recently, opposition parties in the federal legislature have been demanding that the federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau create a public inquiry into the matter of Chinese and other foreign interference in our national security scene.  I touched on this issue in a recent blog: Why would the Canadian government need a public inquiry on national security matters. 

Now, we have several health and medical related bodies asking the federal government to have a public inquiry into the handling by governments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. On July 24th, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a letter by more than a dozen Canadian physicians and health advocates shining a spotlight on what they’ve dubbed the country’s “major pandemic failures,” from the devastation in long-term care homes, to vaccine hoarding, to higher death rates among lower-income communities.  Why would one need a public inquiry when there are already a number of federal and provincial bodies, such as Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), which were directly involved in the coordination of policies and actions in response to COVID-19?  Indeed, Health Canada has already indicated that there are a number of audits and studies underway, including the launch of an independent public health review panel and a series of comprehensive audits on the agency’s pandemic response being undertaken by the federal Office of the Auditor General. 

The difficulty in Canada is that the responsibility for health matters is a shared one between the federal government and thirteen provincial/territorial governments.  The implementation of a national COVID-19 strategy had to be coordinated among the provinces which for the most part were responsible for the actual implementation of actions on the ground, including the eventual mass vaccination of Canadians across the country.  In addition, the on-going responsibility for long-term care residences lies with the provinces, and these facilities were known prior to COVID-19 to have major resource issues, including health care personnel shortages.  The unfortunate high level of pandemic-related deaths at the outset was largely due to numerous systemic problems in long-term care residences in several provinces.  As a result, plans are already underway by the provinces to attempt to correct these problems, especially when it comes to health care resources.  The state of our hospitals and emergency services are also the responsibility of each province, and would require a thorough investigation of problems arising during the pandemic with respect to the handling of patients.  There have already been several studies as to why communities with low incomes, immigrants and essential workers were hardest hit by COVID-19.

In addition, this past spring it was reported that there is a citizen-led, cross-Canada inquiry, the National Citizens Inquiry into Canada’s Response to COVID-19, which aims to examine how governments and institutions reacted to the pandemic. This appears to be a unique inquiry in many ways since it is citizen run and citizen funded.

Yes, there is little doubt that there were frustrations and concerns about the impact of existing complexities within the Canadian health care system, with its joint responsibilities between the two levels of government.  Some, like the physicians and health advocates, might conclude that Canada was ‘ill-prepared’ and ‘lacked coordination’ in the COVID-19 pandemic.  However, the same could be said for most Western countries, including the U.S. and Britain.  No one disagrees that it is time to investigate what happened and learn how to prepare for the next pandemic.  Having another full-scale public inquiry is probably not the best way to go.

There are enough expert organizations already out there, both federally and provincially, which need to examine their roles and resources when it comes to meeting the challenges associated with pandemics.  By doing so, each of the necessary blocks can be strengthened and improved so as to develop more coherent and appropriate policies and actions in the future.  In the past, Canada was infatuated with so-called royal commissions related to economic and social matters.  However, they were top-heavy in resources and took a very long time to complete.  In most cases, the resulting reports were simply shelved and forgotten about until the next crisis occurred.  I truly believe that our existing institutions can carry out their post-mortem studies in a lot faster and more efficient matter.  This way, they each will ultimately be accountable for the results, especially when it comes to carrying out any subsequent recommendations in a timely manner.

Canada COVID-19 Health Care Systen

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Jul 21

Sensationalist Reporting of Paul Bernardo’s Prison Change Overlooks Major Problems in Canada’s Correctional System

by bcurry

Recently, serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo was transferred to a medium-security prison from a maximum-security prison, drawing the ire of numerous mainstream media sources.  Bernardo is serving an indeterminate life sentence — the harshest sentence possible in the Canadian criminal justice system — for the kidnapping, torture and murders of two teenage women in the early 1990s in Ontario, Canada.  Bernardo’s security classification was reviewed 14 times between 1999 and 2022, and each time he met the criteria to be moved to a medium-security institution as confirmed by a recent review by the independent Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada.  When the public became informed via the media, this case naturally raised the anger of the victims’ families and various federal and provincial politicians.  However, the institution was simply following the law in place at this time.

Unfortunately, while this emotional situation raised a number of potential issues regarding the correctional system, it again overlooks very serious questions about Canada’s prison system that have been around for decades.  According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada has one of the highest levels of recidivism, which is the act of re-offending after leaving prison, among western industrialized countries.  Remember that the Canadian correctional system is supposed to be fundamentally based on the rehabilitation of offenders, regardless if the nature of their crimes.  In 2015, one Canadian research effort, known as the national trajectory project, found that people who go through the prison system have a 40 percent chance of re-offending within three years of release. 

Then there are the working, health and safety conditions in the country’s 53 federal prisons, which have led to many concerns by prison guards and observers over many years.  The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers says many more guards are needed if they are to deal with harassment from inmates and to do their jobs in a safer environment.  Deaths and riots in prisons often don’t even make headlines in mainstream news, unless it involves the death of a prison guards or officials, or a family’s request for a public review of a family member’s death while in prison.  Prisoner abuse by guards has also been an ongoing issue.  Canada’s prison guards are essentially being left to their own devices when it comes to treating inmates with basic human respect.  It’s difficult to recruit qualified people for prison guard positions given the reputation surrounding working conditions and dangers within our prisons.

In addition, prisons are dealing with an increasing number of inmates suffering from mental health issues, including those determined to be “not criminally responsible” because of the state of their mental health when they have committed a crime.  Fortunately, those inmates having this designation apparently do receive more appropriate medical care and supervision, unlike those in the general prison population who may have less evident and underlying mental health concerns.  Lack of resources and guard training is a concern.  Studies have also shown that with such treatment, persons found to not be criminally responsible are far less likely to re-offend, especially if they continue to follow their treatment regime.

Unfortunately, during the conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the early 2000s, there was a shift toward punishment of prisoners and away from rehabilitation.  The current Liberal government under Justin Trudeau has taken a more liberal approach to dealing with prison reform and punishment criteria.  Needless-to-say, this has divided people between those wanting stronger punishment and those supporting more humane and rehabilitative approaches.  There is even a small minority that would like to see the death penalty brought back, similar to what exists in several American states.  Politically, a very unlikely possibility in Canada.

Whether one is in agreement or not, prisoners have rights and expect to be treated in a humane manner.  Basically, we designated the courts and an independent institution to oversee the rule of law, including that pertaining to penalties and terms of imprisonment.  Hopefully, this respects prisoners’ rights and reduces the chances of prison violence and inmate-related violations, while ensuring the public safety and reducing the level of offenders’ recidivism upon returning back into society.  Focusing on this one sensational case really doesn’t help when it comes to all of the other urgent issues that need our immediate attention.

Canada Federal Government

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Jul 14

Severe Weather Patterns Topping News Headlines This Summer

by bcurry

Never have I seen as many news headlines about the weather both in Canada and the U.S. then this summer.  Severe droughts in Arizona and California, flooding in the Northeast states, tornadoes throughout the mid-West, extreme heat waves through the southern states, extensive flooding in Vermont and New York State, etc., etc.  A day doesn’t go by when some form of extreme weather event occurs in both countries.  Dry conditions throughout British Columbia and Quebec led to a record number of wildfires during the spring, creating clouds of smoke which not only permeated Ontario and Quebec, but also as far away as New York and Chicago. 

For most governments — local, state/provincial and federal — the consequences of extreme weather events have been enormous.  Not only are people dying as a result of extreme heat, flooding and wildfires, but homes, businesses and infrastructure have been severely damaged or destroyed.  This has resulted in the insurance industry having to re-examine the impact of an increasing number of compensation claims, often in the billions of dollars.  In the near future, insurance companies will be withdrawing from more high risk areas.  Where insurance continues to be offered, the premiums will be such that few people will be able to afford them.

Most scientists are attributing the extreme patterns as being a consequence of “climate change” and the continued warming of the planet.  Most would also agree that it would take extraordinary measures by countries to slow down the current progression of subsequent impacts.  For the time being, societies will have to make significant changes in order to adapt to this new reality.  Such adaptation will not take months, but years and possibly decades.  Every day, targets developed through bodies such as the United Nations become less and less credible.  Rapidly moving away from our dependence on fossil fuels to more green energy sources is increasingly becoming an illusion. 

Countries continue to argue that the transition can only be made if economic impacts are taken into consideration.  However, they also continue to understate the costs associated with weather extremes, especially when it comes to assessing those associated with such sectors as agriculture, tourism, transportation, housing, etc., etc.  The costs of many essential inputs to maintain a viable industry are going to keep on increasing exponentially.  One only has to look at the impact on freshwater sources due to annual droughts.  Demand is outstripping supply in several regions.  Access to water is critical to one’s survival.

There are those who argue that new technologies need to be factored into future adaptations.  However, there are those who believe that the introduction of new technologies may not be adequate and timely enough.  In the meantime, news headlines about severe weather patterns and their impact on affected communities and scarce resources will continue to appear on an almost daily basis.  Whether we react in a constructive manner and on an urgent basis, only time will tell?  Whether such regular reported events will change the minds of the ‘Nay Sayers’ is another matter.  Is humanity prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to effectively tackle the enormous challenges before us, is the biggest question of them all?

Canada Cimate Change Climate Change Climate Change US

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Jul 6

Technology Is Great, Except When It’s Abused

by bcurry

Having followed the growth of new technologies during the last four or so decades, it’s hard to believe how fast things have changed.  Perhaps too fast!  All aspects of modern society are affected — everything from communications, transportation, medical practices, banking, employment, data storage, etc., etc.  However, with new technologies there are also opportunities for such innovations to be abused, for all the wrong reasons.

Let’s start with hacking.   The Internet and World Wide Web allows governments, corporations and individuals to communicate and interact in a timely fashion.  However, having so many critical infrastructure computerized, it also allows for potential hacking.  We unfortunately have seen increasing incidents of malware and other hacking tools affecting the security of institutions such as hospitals, municipalities, and airports for example.  In addition, data being collected by different organizations needs to be protected from outside hacking.  Today, our personal information is being gathered and kept in a multitude of sites.  The question of the privacy and security of such information can often be suspect.  Such info can give criminals and others a substantive amount of personal data which can then be used for nefarious purposes such as ID theft.  In some cases, there are criminals who use the technology, including artificial intelligence, to blackmail institutions and individuals.  This growing risk has led to a whole new industry providing high-tech security measures, another major cost to all of us. 

Then there is the case of an increase in the theft of high end vehicles.  Today, there are literally hundreds of microchips in our vehicles.  Some vehicles don’t even need a key to enter or start their ignition, and simply have a start button.  However, despite the fact that manufacturers have introduced some technology to prevent unlawful entry, the crooks appear to have caught up by using new digital means.  With computer devices and mobile apps, they can access and start most makes of newer high end vehicles, while overriding tracking devices used by the police to locate stolen vehicles.  There is plenty of evidence that these crimes involve highly organized criminal groups, both national and international.  Many stolen vehicles end up in Asian and African countries, and are never recovered.  Of course, this adds to the insurance costs associated with vehicles in general.

Now, we have the growing field of artificial intelligence (AI) which again has introduced new concerns about unlawful use.  The use of AI to imitate a person’s voice patterns is an interesting development.  It has already created a stir in the music industry.  For example, it was announced that Sir Paul McCartney says he has employed AI to help create what he calls “the final Beatles record”, including a song by John Lennon.  However, it has also brought about scams and more scams.  For example, someone using AI could duplicate the voice patterns of a loved one, using it to convince someone that the person is in trouble with the law and needs a transfer of money.  Seniors, as in the past, are particularly at risk.

Then there is the question of the increasing use of AI in one’s work, especially affecting white collar workers.  Employers could use the threat of displacing workers through the introduction of AI, notably with respect to productivity and compensation matters.  Research conducted in recent years varies widely on how many jobs will be displaced due to AI.  A 2016 study from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimated that 9 percent of jobs would be completely displaced in the next two decades.  Many more jobs will be transformed, if not eliminated.  AI is increasingly making its way across industries, changing jobs from retail to medicine to marketing.  However, there are those that believe that such technology is also essential to improving the country’s productivity growth, a key measure of how efficiently the economy produces goods.  That could ultimately lead to higher average wages and fewer work hours.  For that reason, they argue that our economy actually needs more AI, not less.  Time will tell.

Everyday there are new studies that dwell on the impact of new technologies such as AI, now and in the near future.  Like with any new technology, there are risks.  It is up to researchers to explore the potential risks and recommend how one can eliminate or at least reduce the risks.

New Technologies

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