Since COVID-19 established itself in Canada, our governments have bent over backwards to keep us healthy. It’s meant sacrifice on our part, staggering debt and economic pain we haven’t yet fully come to understand.
Our reward has been a flattened curve and a good footing for returning to normal, whatever that may look like.
It’s also come with expansions of government powers without commensurate levels of transparency and accountability. In order to remain healthy and pink-cheeked, our democratic system of government needs a checkup and some TLC it is currently not getting.
To a large extent, the opposition parties have taken a break from chucking rocks from the sidelines. It’s been six weeks since there was a question period in the B.C. legislature and there are no plans to have another one before October.
Communications from the government have become so centralized, if you aren’t one of the lucky few to have your name called during the daily press briefing, your questions have to go unanswered. We want to tell you more about the outbreak at Lions Gate Hospital but getting anything more than the basics requires an endless runaround.
Local governments too have seen their powers to manoeuvre grow while opportunities for public scrutiny have been reduced.
News reporters have traditionally been vanguard of accountability, but since COVID-19 struck, Canada has lost 50 publications and hundreds more have been forced to lay off staff.
As our government leaders remind us, we will get through this. Let’s make sure our systems of government come back even healthier than they were pre-pandemic.
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
