Spring has sprung.
It was the first weekend in a while to feature multiple in-person events, as Pontiacers emerged from their hibernation spots to celebrate Easter.
Even outside of organized fun or religious services, there were plenty of . . .
people out just enjoying the beautiful weather that will hopefully stick around. There’s nothing like going from wearing a winter coat one day to donning shorts and getting some sun the next.
And it wouldn’t be a major holiday without the provincial authorities flip-flopping on the public health rules to follow at the last minute. Why is it so hard to give more than a couple days notice that some schools are closed and certain businesses shuttered? This situation isn’t new, so why does it always seem like the government is reacting like this is the first wave? You would think that the third time would be the charm, but no luck.
There is another 5 p.m. press conference scheduled for April 6, a few hours after this editorial is sent to the printer, and if the tradition of late afternoon conferences holds, it won’t be good news.
A little bit of proactive communication and planning would go a long way to assuring citizens that their government is handling this file with care.
One area in particular that’s getting a lot of scrutiny is the province’s school system.
The CAQ’s Education Minister, Jean-François Roberge assured staff and students that their poorly ventilated classrooms were perfectly safe during an airborne pandemic, stating that the methods that they used to test air quality in classrooms were approved by public health. Turns out they were not, according to a story by Radio-Canada on April 1.
Both Roberge and even Premier François Legault doubled down on their false narrative, like a couple of children insisting that they had really done their homework, but it got eaten by a flock of geese on the way to the bus stop.
Roberge put out a series of tweets trying to contradict the reporting by Radio-Canada, but the documents he offered as exculpatory evidence proved that public health officials had significant reservations about the test’s methodology and had stated so plainly. The fact that this miraculous blunder took place on April Fool’s Day is a compelling argument for the existence of a higher power with a sense of humour.
But it’s not really a laughing matter. A high-ranking minister openly fudged the numbers regarding the safety of Quebec’s schools. When caught, the premier himself went on the attack to defend his colleague, even going so far as to call what was said in the article “false.”
No one is expecting their leaders to get everything right the first time. This is a new situation that’s got a lot of moving parts. However, we’re now a year into this nightmarish see-saw of half-measures and hygiene theatre and any semblance of restrictions are going to fall by the wayside as soon as the summer weather hits. Even with all these new viral mutations going around, people have been cooped up too long and the most vulnerable populations have been vaccinated or will be shortly. There needs to be a public accounting of how this government responded to the pandemic and serious thought put into how to prevent such catastrophes in the future. This applies not only to our schools, but also to the treatment of our elderly and disabled, who have died by the thousands in Quebec’s long-term care facilities. Only when the authorities admit where they went wrong can we begin to work towards solutions.
Caleb Nickerson
