{"id":3135,"date":"2020-04-01T13:35:50","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T16:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/?p=3135"},"modified":"2020-04-01T18:11:03","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T21:11:03","slug":"have-our-jet-set-federal-politicians-ever-heard-put-on-your-oxygen-masks-first-before-helping-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/2020\/04\/01\/have-our-jet-set-federal-politicians-ever-heard-put-on-your-oxygen-masks-first-before-helping-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Have our jet-set federal politicians ever heard \u201cput on your (oxygen) masks first before helping others\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The title of this post refers to airlines\u2019 wisdom. When\nwe are in a survival mode (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic or airplane emergencies,\nwars, etc.), if we do not put ourselves first, we die. This would be especially\ntragic, if we want to keep living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This does not mean we do not think or love others.\nThis does not mean we cannot be human toward other countries. We have a human\nresponsibility, for sure. However, we must be \u201csmart\u201d, to use Mr. Trudeau\u2019s own\nwords today (Bambi\u2019s word for this is \u201ccoviwise\u201d ?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Trudeau, you are asking Canadians to be smart (\u201cyou\nare serving by staying at home\u201d, well said again, as usual). The problem is not\nthe beauty of your words, it is rather their emptiness or their disconnect with\nyour people.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This being said, Mr. Trudeau is absolutely right. Thanks for the smart advice. However, Bambi wonders why our federal government is not acting \u201csmartly\u201d as well, in order to protect our first-line health workers, and by extension all of us!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This brings Bambi to Dr. Tam (Canada Chief Public Health Officer). Too much on her shoulders\u2026 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Bambi, Dr. Tam seemed, from the beginning, the most\ncompetent in this ministry. Sadly, she is not the Health Minister herself. Despite\nBambi\u2019s latter remark, Dr. Tam seems to be limited with what to say or not to\nsay (normal after all, despite her intelligence, she is being respectful to her\nbosses). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that our federal government woke up (bravo, it is a start!), everyone in that government seems to be relying on Dr. Tam. Let\u2019s hope she will keep on being wise and honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, one of our federal ministers said that \u201cwe do not just protect Canadians but we also have a responsibility toward other countries\u201d. Although he is absolutely right about our collective responsibility to humanity, Canada should be concerned about Canadians\u2019 safety BEFORE anything or anyone else in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where are the masks, Mr. Trudeau, that will protect\nour first-line health workers? Where are they also to protect border agents at\nour still-open airports? Why aren\u2019t we distributing them to travellers who may have\nsymptoms, as your health minister has stated, and as written in the government\u2019s\nofficial documents?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a different topic bur related to COVID-19, Mr.\nTrudeau (or his helping staff) tweeted yesterday the following: \u201cWhile many of us are\nworking from home, there are others who aren\u2019t able to do that – like the truck\ndrivers who are working day and night to make sure our shelves are stocked. So\nwhen you can, please <\/em>#ThankATrucker<\/a><\/em> for everything they\u2019re doing and help them however you\ncan<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nCanada’s carbon tax increasing April 1 despite coronavirus economic crunch<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As explained in the\nGlobal News article above:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat scheduled rise from $20 per tonne to $30 per tonne is in keeping\nwith the plan to raise it by $10 per tonne each year until 2022. For consumers,\nthat translates to roughly an extra 2.5 cents per litre of gasoline at the\npumps.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime minister repeatedly refused to give a yes or no answer to\nwhether the increase would go ahead during days of recent questioning by\njournalists\u201d<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When dealing with journalists\u2019 amazing efforts to get transparency for all\nof us, Mr. Trudeau showed an ability to admit that some questions are\ndifficult. This is a new start for him. Journalists managed to \u201ccorner\u201d him on\nthe mask issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s give them this credit, for once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are considering building field hospital for Syrian refugees, in coordination\nwith the UNHCR\u2026 because \u201cthe virus’s spread within\nrefugee communities “would be a catastrophe for both, the displaced and\nthe Lebanese population” (Orient Le Jour<\/em>, March 31, <\/sup>2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Trudeau, we are all being as smart as we can to protect ourselves AND\nothers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are you doing to protect us when it comes to masks and medical equipment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For an earlier post on the topic, please read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canada & China: Sometimes too much “generosity” can literally kill<\/a><\/blockquote>