The title of this post refers to airlines’ wisdom. When we are in a survival mode (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic or airplane emergencies, wars, etc.), if we do not put ourselves first, we die. This would be especially tragic, if we want to keep living.
This does not mean we do not think or love others. This does not mean we cannot be human toward other countries. We have a human responsibility, for sure. However, we must be “smart”, to use Mr. Trudeau’s own words today (Bambi’s word for this is “coviwise” ?).
Mr. Trudeau, you are asking Canadians to be smart (“you are serving by staying at home”, well said again, as usual). The problem is not the beauty of your words, it is rather their emptiness or their disconnect with your people.
This being said, Mr. Trudeau is absolutely right. Thanks for the smart advice. However, Bambi wonders why our federal government is not acting “smartly” as well, in order to protect our first-line health workers, and by extension all of us!?
This brings Bambi to Dr. Tam (Canada Chief Public Health Officer). Too much on her shoulders… Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister) both keep referring journalists to her, when they do not want to answer or when they do not have any clue what to say.
For Bambi, Dr. Tam seemed, from the beginning, the most competent in this ministry. Sadly, she is not the Health Minister herself. Despite Bambi’s latter remark, Dr. Tam seems to be limited with what to say or not to say (normal after all, despite her intelligence, she is being respectful to her bosses).
Now that our federal government woke up (bravo, it is a start!), everyone in that government seems to be relying on Dr. Tam. Let’s hope she will keep on being wise and honest.
Yesterday, one of our federal ministers said that “we do not just protect Canadians but we also have a responsibility toward other countries”. Although he is absolutely right about our collective responsibility to humanity, Canada should be concerned about Canadians’ safety BEFORE anything or anyone else in the world.
Where are the masks, Mr. Trudeau, that will protect our first-line health workers? Where are they also to protect border agents at our still-open airports? Why aren’t we distributing them to travellers who may have symptoms, as your health minister has stated, and as written in the government’s official documents?
On a different topic bur related to COVID-19, Mr. Trudeau (or his helping staff) tweeted yesterday the following: “While many of us are working from home, there are others who aren’t able to do that – like the truck drivers who are working day and night to make sure our shelves are stocked. So when you can, please #ThankATrucker for everything they’re doing and help them however you can”.
Beautiful words, as usual. Sadly, they are not just empty. They sound hypocritical, especially to our truck drivers, given the carbon tax increase on April 1, despite the pandemic.
As explained in the Global News article above:
“That scheduled rise from $20 per tonne to $30 per tonne is in keeping with the plan to raise it by $10 per tonne each year until 2022. For consumers, that translates to roughly an extra 2.5 cents per litre of gasoline at the pumps.
The prime minister repeatedly refused to give a yes or no answer to whether the increase would go ahead during days of recent questioning by journalists”.
When dealing with journalists’ amazing efforts to get transparency for all of us, Mr. Trudeau showed an ability to admit that some questions are difficult. This is a new start for him. Journalists managed to “corner” him on the mask issues.
The truth of the matter is that we are not prepared for the pandemic, as we should have been, as a G7 country. We have the scientific capacity and the economic means. We have NO EXCUSE like other bankrupt countries, like Lebanon. In all honesty, the latter country seems to be behaving now more wisely AND honestly. Let’s give them this credit, for once.
They are considering building field hospital for Syrian refugees, in coordination with the UNHCR… because “the virus’s spread within refugee communities “would be a catastrophe for both, the displaced and the Lebanese population” (Orient Le Jour, March 31, 2020).
Mr. Trudeau, we are all being as smart as we can to protect ourselves AND others.
What are you doing to protect us when it comes to masks and medical equipment?
For an earlier post on the topic, please read:
