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The Pandemic - Canadian Politics and Public Policy www.policymagazine.ca - Policy Magazine
www.policymagazine.ca                                 May—June 2020

               Canadian Politics and Public Policy

                          The
                        Pandemic

$6.95                                                Volume 8 – Issue 3
The Pandemic - Canadian Politics and Public Policy www.policymagazine.ca - Policy Magazine
Essential to
the Economy
Serving exporters, importers, retailers, farmers
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services are integral to modern life, touching
the lives of millions of Canadians every day.

$250B
WORTH OF GOODS
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TRANSPORTED               IS EXPORTED

16,500
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EMPLOYED IN CANADA         INVESTMENTS IN
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The Pandemic - Canadian Politics and Public Policy www.policymagazine.ca - Policy Magazine
Canadian Politics
                                          and Public Policy
      Canadian Politics and
         Public Policy
        EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
           L. Ian MacDonald
    lianmacdonald@policymagazine.ca
           ASSOCIATE EDITOR
             Lisa Van Dusen
      lvandusen@policymagazine.ca              Adam Scotti photo

         CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
            Thomas S. Axworthy,
      Andrew Balfour, Yaroslav Baran,
    Derek H. Burney, Catherine Cano,
                                               In This Issue
      Margaret Clarke, Rachel Curran,
     John Delacourt, Susan Delacourt,          2        From the Editor / L. Ian MacDonald
                                                        The Pandemic
       Graham Fraser, Dan Gagnier,
    Helaina Gaspard, Martin Goldfarb,
     Sarah Goldfeder, Patrick Gossage,         3 	Robin V. Sears
                                                    Why is This Crisis Different From all Other Crises?
 Frank Graves, Shachi Kurl, Brad Lavigne,
      Kevin Lynch, Jeremy Kinsman,
   Peter Mansbridge, Carissima Mathen,         6 	Lori Turnbull
                                                   Democracy Locked Down: Canada’s Institutions Respond
       Elizabeth May, Velma McColl,
    David McLaughlin, David Mitchell,
      Don Newman, Geoff Norquay,
                                               8	
                                                 Jeremy Kinsman
                                                 Canada’s Leadership Challenge
     Fen Osler-Hampson, Kevin Page,
         Robin V. Sears, Brian Topp,           11 Kevin Lynch
                                                   Beyond the Shutdown: The Prognosis for a Post-Pandemic Recovery
         Lori Turnbull, Jaime Watt,
           Anthony Wilson-Smith
              WEB DESIGN
                                               15	Perrin Beatty
                                                    Managing Change Amid a Pandemic
              Nicolas Landry
         policy@nicolaslandry.ca               17	
                                                  Guest Column/Mike Rencheck
                                                  Being There for Our People
        SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
           Grace MacDonald
     gmacdonald@policymagazine.ca
                                               18        evin Page
                                                        K
                                                        The Lockdown Recession and the Federal Response:
   GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION                          $100 Billion and Counting
           Monica Thomas
      monica@foothillsgraphics.ca              21	
                                                  Karl Moore
                                                  Canada’s Airlines Are an Essential Service
                 Policy                        23        elaina Gaspard and Valencia Gaspard
                                                        H
   Policy is published six times annually               A Tale of Two Responses:
   by LPAC Ltd. The contents are                        Canada-U.S. Neighbouring in the Time of COVID-19
   copyrighted, but may be reproduced
   with permission and attribution in          26	
                                                  Sarah Goldfeder
                                                  Inequality in the Time of COVID-19: A Narrative of Two Americas
   print, and viewed free of charge at the
   Policy home page at policymagazine.ca.
                                               29	
                                                  Lisa Van Dusen
                                                  Oh, America: The Wartime Election
   Price: $6.95 per issue
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                                                         Only Connect: The Politics of COVID-19 Crisis Management
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   Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 1A4
   Available in Air Canada Maple Leaf
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                                               35       Paul-Émile Cloutier
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   VIA Rail Lounges in Montreal, Ottawa                 What We’ve Already Learned about Pandemic Response
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                                               37	
                                                  Shachi Kurl
                                                  What a Difference a Crisis Makes:
                                                        How Canadians are Uniting in a Pandemic
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                                               40       Column / Don Newman
                                                        Towards a New Normal

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The Pandemic - Canadian Politics and Public Policy www.policymagazine.ca - Policy Magazine
2

                             From the Editor / L. Ian MacDonald

                             The Pandemic
    W
               elcome, if that’s the right    ous national timetables and trajecto-      the United States. “The comparative
               word, to our special issue     ries, it wraps the crowded globe in a      management of the COVID-19 cri-
               on The Pandemic, the           shared fearful narrative that will like-   sis,” they write, “is a case in point.”
    COVID-19 coronavirus contagion that       ly alter the way we all live.”             Sarah Goldfeder is also an Ottawa
    has swept into our lives this winter      Kevin Lynch, who was Clerk of the          policy specialist on Canada-U.S. files
    and spring, leaving death and de-         Privy Council during the financial         at Earnscliffe, but grew up on the
    struction worldwide like nothing          crisis of 2008-09, says there’s real-      American side and served as a State
    seen in a century.                        ly no comparison between then and          Department adviser to two ambassa-
    How to measure it, how to get over        now. “The COVID-19 global reces-           dors to Canada. She sees COVID-19
    it, how to move beyond it, are glob-      sion is significantly worse than the       as a narrative of two Americas, the
    al themes explored by our writers         global financial crisis, which severely    haves and have-nots.
    amid this devastating health and eco-     traumatized Western economies,” he         Our associate editor, Lisa Van Dusen,
    nomic crisis. And all we know about       writes, adding: “This is the first truly   has lived and worked as a journalist
    a post-recovery world is that it will     global recession since the 1930s.”         in Washington and New York, and
    likely be different from the one we       Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of        sees the COVID-19 storyline as just
    knew. Abnormal is the new normal.         the Canadian Chamber of Commerce           the latest crisis further catastrophized
    Our extraordinary team of contribut-      suggests that “After the immediate         by Donald Trump’s leadership.
    ing writers, as well as guest contrib-    dangers have passed, we will need to       The streets of Ottawa have been de-
    utors, have brought the best of their     take stock.” How so? “Every institu-       serted for months as part of the social
    talents to this story: how it has un-     tion will have to ask whether it was       distancing lockdown, but John Dela-
    folded in Canada and elsewhere; how       prepared to deal with the pandemic.”       court has been working his high-level
    it has changed our lives; and in many     In a guest column, Bruce Power Presi-      Liberal and government sources and
    cases brought out the best of Canadi-     dent Mike Rencheck writes of business      shares his impressions of how they’re
    ans being there for each other.           giving back to communities, such as        running the country.
                                              the ones served by his company in          Canada’s health care providers are al-
    Robin Sears begins our journey by
                                              Ontario. “These are difficult times,”      ready absorbing the lessons of suc-
    borrowing the question asked at fam-
                                              he writes, “and they bring out the         cess and failure from the COVID-19
    ily Seders: “Why is this night differ-
                                              very best in our people.” Well said.
    ent from all other nights?” He asks:                                                 pandemic. McGill’s Dr. Tim Evans, a
    “Why is this crisis different from all    Kevin Page, Canada’s first Parliamen-      leading authority, was appointed by
    other crises?” In Canada, Sears sug-      tary Budget Officer and founder of         the prime minister to the COVID-19
    gests the pandemic has brought us         the Institute for Fiscal Studies and       immunity task force as we were go-
    together as never before, even across     Democracy, looks at the numbers,           ing to press. A key source of exper-
    the partisan lines of politics. “There    and doesn’t like what he sees. “It is      tise in the recovery process will be
    has been an outbreak of political co-     the perfect storm that depresses both      HealthCareCAN President Paul-Émile
    mity,” he writes, “unseen even during     demand and supply,” he writes.             Cloutier, who shares his immediate

                                              O
    the two world wars.”                                                                 recommendations.
                                                      ne of the biggest shocks has
    Donner Award-winning Lori Turn-                   been to the airline industry,      Finally, on the mood of Canada in the
    bull looks at Ottawa and concludes                in Canada and worldwide.           pandemic, Shachi Kurl checks in from
    both politicians and public servants      McGill University’s Karl Moore notes       the Angus Reid Institute with new data
    have stepped up, but adds: “There         that “Even when the crisis has passed,     on how Canadians are faring, and how
    is no substitute for Parliament. The      people will be reluctant” to fly again.    they are feeling about all this.
    elected legislature is the link between   Helaina and Valencia Gaspard grew          And columnist Don Newman looks
    the governors and the governed.”          up in southern Ontario with Detroit        ahead to the so-called new normal
    Looking globally, our lead foreign af-    in their backyard. Now public policy       after the crisis passes, but concludes
    fairs writer Jeremy Kinsman observes      practitioners in Ottawa, they have an      that “normal won’t be the same nor-
    that as “the coronavirus pandemic         instinctive understanding of differ-       mal as it was before.”
    cuts a traumatic swath through vari-      ing governance issues in Canada and        Be well and safe.

    Policy
The Pandemic - Canadian Politics and Public Policy www.policymagazine.ca - Policy Magazine
3

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the House and the country during an unprecedented sitting Easter Saturday on the government’s emergency
job legislation. By all-party agreement, only 30 MPs attended for a bare quorum necessary to pass Bill C-14. Adam Scotti photo

Why is This Crisis Different
From all Other Crises?
Humanity has endured and prevailed over catastrophes Robin V. Sears

                                                                                                   O
both man-made and natural since the dawn of time. In                 ne of the most powerful mo-
a chapter of that saga when both the management and                  ments in a family Seder
                                                                     comes when the youngest at
repurposing of crisis as opportunity have become policy art the dining table asks before the group
forms, how will we learn from the mistakes of this pan- begins to eat, “Why is this night dif-
                                                            ferent from all other nights?” The
demic to create a better world than the one it ravaged?     child then runs through four ques-
                                                                                                   tions that define the painful his-
                                                                                                   tory of the Jewish people in Egypt
                                                                                                   and their celebration at winning
                                                                                                   their freedom. They are a powerful
                                                                                                   teaching moment, in an emotional
                                                                                                   night of bonding. A “lest we forget”
                                                                                                   moment. That happened only on
                                                                                                   screens during this somber Passover
                                                                                                   season, but under the shadow of the
                                                                                                   pandemic, many of these Seders have
                                                                                                   had even greater emotional impact.
                                                                                                   We might well all ask ourselves,
                                                                                                   “Why is this crisis different from all
                                                                                                   other crises?”

                                                                                                                               May/June 2020
The Pandemic - Canadian Politics and Public Policy www.policymagazine.ca - Policy Magazine
4
    One answer might be: “We have               cut, its independence from the oth-          wine, rape and debauchery. Plagues
    never had a pandemic globally in a          er giants of the health care sector was      throughout history have typically
    few days, overwhelming the entire           undermined. It became the victim of          brought out the best and the worst
    world.” At a deeper level, we must ex-      what public health advocates call the        of humanity. We always recover, but
    amine how and why this epidemic             “tyranny of the acute.” A heart attack       sometimes it takes decades, and some-
    became more broadly tragic in more          is highly visible and a successful in-       times it leaves scars for generations.
    places, than any before it. We need         tervention must come within min-             So far, we can be grateful that the he-
    to remember this pandemic’s lessons,        utes. A long-term campaign’s success         roes far outnumber the fools. The mil-
    and ensure that we never forget them.       against childhood diabetes is mea-           lions of front-line workers, too many
                                                sured in years, even decades, and is         of whom have died on the job due to
    Four specific crisis questions might be:
                                                mostly invisible.                            inadequate preparation and protec-
    1. W e had several smaller crises in the
        past two decades, from the same         So, the health care sector in Cana-          tion, have not quit. The hostile idi-
        source, with the same method of         da, always pressed for adequate levels       ots who deliberately endangered the
        attack, why was the whole world         of funding to heal the sick, found it        health of friends and neighbours have
        caught flat-footed—again? Why did       much easier to cut the champions of          been mercifully few. With the excep-
        we not listen to all the warnings?      public health rather than trim fund-         tion of the usual oligarchs, who have
    2. How can we use this painful             ing for the acutely ill. The giants in the   used the crisis to seize ever more pow-
        experience to build bridges across      sector—hospitals, drug companies and         er, most democratic governments
        partisan, ethnic, religious and         doctors’ unions—fell victim to one of        have honoured the values of the En-
        national divides—not allow the          Henry Kissinger’s favorite cautions to       lightenment—that their first obliga-
        suffering to become an excuse for       new political leaders: “Never let the ur-    tion is to the protect the safety and
        cementing divisions more deeply?        gent drive out the important.”               freedoms of their citizens.
    3. What innovations and learnings          That tale of the world forgetting the        As Angela Merkel, using her powerful
        should be made permanent? Which         three virus threats we have already          credentials as a physicist, as a survivor
        of our former foolish behaviours        faced in this century—SARS, H1N1,            of tyranny, and as the most respected
        should be forever banished?             MERS—is how and why the whole                leader of her nation in half a century,
    4. How can we build a better Canada        world paid no attention to the worst         said as she resisted demands for the use
        in a better world as a result of the    health crisis in a century until the         of the military to enforce social con-
        lessons we have learned?                middle of March this year. Where             trol, and rallied her country one more

    P
                                                China—the source of this virus and           time, “We are a democracy. We don’t
          erhaps, as we commemorate
                                                several predecessors—is concerned,           achieve things by force, but through
          wars and other emotional an-
                                                they knew of their explosion in Wu-          shared knowledge and co-operation.”
          niversaries, we should develop
                                                han in November, but only revealed

                                                                                             I
    a ceremony to those whom we lost to
                                                it in late January.                               n Canada, there has been an out-
    during this awful assault. Each year,

                                                A
                                                                                                  break of political comity unseen
    we would honour their memory in                      merica will have the high-               even during the two world wars.
    ceremony and by ensuring our de-                     est death tolls in the world,       Our leaders have responded too tim-
    fences are in place and ready at the                 mostly a result of a late and in-   idly and too slowly in some cases, but
    push of another pandemic button.            competent response to the epidem-            were wisely open to quick course cor-
    It is incredible to reflect that until      ic, one that President Trump declared        rection. More importantly, almost
    two decades ago, Canada—a nation            he took “no responsibility for,” jeering     without exception they have avoided
    overweeningly proud of its health           that the pandemic was a Democratic           partisan games or damaging attacks
    care system—did not even have a na-         “hoax” until the end of February. With       on opponents. How improbable was
    tional public health agency. Dr. Da-        less than five percent of the world’s        it for Deputy Prime Minister Chrys-
    vid Butler-Jones was its estimable first    population, by mid-April, the Unit-          tia Freeland, a Liberal, to declare that
    head for a decade following SARS. Dr.       ed States represented nearly one out         Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a Con-
    Carolyn Bennett was our first Minis-        of four deaths globally. It is surely not    servative, had become her “therapist”
    ter of Public Health, working closely       too harsh to ask how many thousands          in a marvelous exclusive by the To-
    with Butler-Jones to set up the Public      of American lives would not have been        ronto Star’s Susan Delacourt.
    Health Agency of Canada, and the Ca-        sacrificed if there had been a compe-
                                                                                             The public reaction to this dramat-
    nadian Public Health Network, con-          tent leader in the White House.
                                                                                             ic change in what was becoming far
    necting medical officers of health and
                                                Thucydides description of the impact         too regularly a pugilistic approach to
    related officials across the country.       of the worst plague Athens had until         politics has been enormously posi-
    Yet by the time of Butler-Jones’ de-        then faced is a tale of violence, cruelty    tive. Quebec Premier François Legault
    parture in 2014, public health was          and selfishness on the part of its citi-     has reached the stratospheric height
    sliding back down the policy agen-          zens in their panic to save themselves       of a 90 percent approval rating. Let
    da across the country, funding was          or to die in a last indulgent night of       us hope that we can preserve at least

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The Pandemic - Canadian Politics and Public Policy www.policymagazine.ca - Policy Magazine
5
some of this new civility, this focus       London commissioned from Sir Chris-         thousands of miles away to come to
on policy, not personal attack. And         topher Wren. It is a vision for the city    our rescue in a crisis when their own
that it is matched by a sense of unity      after the massive destruction of the        citizens need supplies just as badly.
in Canada across regional, racial and       Great Fire of 1666. It included broad       This crisis was unlike any other. It
religious lines.                            sweeping avenues, many new public           skipped from Wuhan, to Shanghai,
Perhaps the most startling aspects          squares and parks. It also recommend-       to Los Angeles, to London in the time
of global responses to the pandemic         ed the beginning of new garbage, san-       it took to fly a virus-afflicted passen-
have been in the domain of upended          itation and water treatment systems,        ger. It will happen again, and our re-
mythologies and the death of sacred         partly to prevent a return of another       sponse must be faster, more compe-
cows. Worrisome national debt ceil-         massive fire and subsequent epidemic.       tent, and more universal as a result.
ings—pshaw! We have a nation, an            Instead, the city was rebuilt much as       But, hopefully, there is another
economy, a world to rebuild. Thou-          it was. Few of the public engineering       truth. That we can rebuild a better
sand-dollar cash gifts with few lim-        recommendations were implement-             Canada and a better world out of the
itations on who can qualify? Do it,         ed, and less than two centuries later,      pain of this experience. In the par-
now! Governments triaging who will          the city was devastated by a rat-fed        liamentary showdown over tweak-
get taxpayers’ money by sector, by          cholera plague.                             ing the various relief packages, NDP
company, by province—even Con-
                                            When I first walked down the con-           Leader Jagmeet Singh laid out such
servative politicians and commenta-
                                            gested, narrow streets of older parts of    a vision and once again offered the
tors are demanding such surgical in-
                                            Tokyo, framed on all sides by wooden        core of his political values:
tervention in the economy.
                                            buildings, I imagined they must have        “The decisions we make in the next
Will this lead to permanent chang-          been relics from another century, be-       weeks and months will be some of the
es in monetary, fiscal, and econom-         fore the Great Kanto earthquake or          most important of our lives—some of
ic policy? Maybe. Blue ribbon panels        the firebombing of the Second World         the most important that any Canadian
are being assembled, wise policy vet-       War. But no, many of them were few-         government has been faced with…
erans are coming out of retirement to       er than 50 years old.
offer their counsel. Canadians of all                                                   I hear a lot of people talking about
                                            Crises define leaders and reveal na-        ‘when will things return to normal?’
types are beginning to listen to advo-
                                            tional culture. America has a new hero      But I believe we need to do far better
cates of a universal basic income, of
                                            in Andrew Cuomo as the epitome of           than normal.
the importance of teaching wellness
                                            a wartime leader—conveying compe-
and not merely treating sickness, of                                                    Normal is workers not having paid sick
                                            tence, confidence and empathy ev-
the role of governments in the econ-                                                    leave. Normal is families struggling on a
                                            ery day. In Florida and Australia, too
omy, with a more open mind.                                                             minimum wage. Normal is people who
                                            many young people—with the com-
                                                                                        are essential to health and safety not

W
            ill we travel less? Certain-    plicity of local politicians, indulged in   getting paid enough to live.
            ly, business travel seems       the same behaviours that Thucydides
            unlikely to rebound giv-        warned Athenians against. Many of           Normal is a public health care system
en the immersion we have all had in         them carried the virus back home            that has been starved of funding.
the power of a variety of communi-          with them, as we now know.                  Normal is a society that is neither fair
                                                                                        nor resilient. We can’t ever go back to

                                            A
cation technologies. Will we demand
                                                    s in most arenas, Canada sits       normal. Canadians are showing their
more local food, local products, even
                                                    somewhere between those             compassion. They’re showing their desire
at higher prices? Probably, but it may
                                                    poles. We have been good at         to care for one another…Let’s not return
not last unless legislation and regu-
                                            physical distancing and hygiene. But        to the old normal. Let’s build a new
lation support the changes. Will re-
                                            we came to it a month later than our        normal where we take better care of each
gionalization supplant globalization?                                                   other. Where we have a strong social
                                            political leaders should have prescribed.
Again, probably and along continental                                                   safety net that lifts us all up together.
lines immediately. The NAFTA coun-          Some will argue that permanent
tries, the EU and the members of the        changes have now been ingrained             Let’s build a Canada that is fair and
Asian trade agreements, are all likely to   into the social fabric: working from        resilient. Canadians are counting on us.
see their fellow trade pact members as      home, telemedicine and schooling,           They’re counting on us to learn from
partners, and others, not so much.          better general hygiene, tougher hy-         this crisis, to build a better Canada for
                                            giene rules for nursing homes and           all of us.”
But as the history of the past two de-
                                            prisons, a greater civility in public       Contributing Writer Robin V. Sears is
cades, even the past two millennia,
amply demonstrates we all have a            discourse. Perhaps.                         a Principal of the Earnscliffe Strategy
strong tendency to recidivism, unless       One thing is indisputable, if we work       Group in Ottawa, and has lived and
we take strong measures against it. I       at it, we need never return to some of      worked in London, Tokyo and Hong
have a large print of a London we will      the foolishness of our past: deep in-       Kong. He was national director of the
never see. It depicts what the City of      equalities, dependence on suppliers         NDP during the Broadbent years.

                                                                                                                May/June 2020
The Pandemic - Canadian Politics and Public Policy www.policymagazine.ca - Policy Magazine
6

    Deserted downtown Ottawa on April 20 in the Byward Market at the corner of York and Sussex Drive, with Parliament up the hill. Asif A. Ali Flickr photo

    Democracy Locked Down:
    Canada’s Institutions Respond
    The combined public health, social, political, geopolit- Lori Turnbull

                                                                                                           W
    ical and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic                 hatever the social, eco-
    present unprecedented challenges to Canada’s democrat-             nomic and public health
                                                                       prognoses may be for our
    ic institutions at a moment in history when democracy post-pandemic    future, COVID-19 has
    worldwide was already under attack. So far, those in- already transformed how we live.
    stitutions—including Parliament and the federal public Non-essential businesses are closed,
    service—have risen to the occasion.                      parks and gathering spaces are emp-
                                                                                                           ty, pubs are shuttered, and classrooms
                                                                                                           and meetings have moved abrupt-
                                                                                                           ly into virtual spaces. Though public
                                                                                                           health officials and other leaders as-
                                                                                                           sure us that we will get through this
                                                                                                           period, particularly if we follow direc-
                                                                                                           tives to stay at home, there is no cer-
                                                                                                           tainty about when physical distanc-
                                                                                                           ing requirements might be lifted and
                                                                                                           when we might commence efforts to
                                                                                                           create a new normal.
                                                                                                           The response to COVID-19 in Canada
                                                                                                           has demonstrated strength, agility, cre-

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7
ativity, and commitment in all juris-      come a subject of debate and analysis.      It is possible that online sittings will
dictions and sectors. With the utmost      In the COVID-19 era, when gather-           generate a more collegial tone, which
gratitude, we celebrate public health      ings are prohibited, what does demo-        might carry over once physical dis-
professionals as heroes who are risk-      cratic accountability look like?            tancing is behind us. Admittedly, a
ing their own lives to keep the rest of                                                major concern with online sittings is
                                           It’s close quarters in the chambers,
us safe. Public servants have deployed                                                 the potential for problems with con-
                                           both in the House of Commons and
benefits programs both for individu-                                                   nectivity, which could undermine in-
                                           the Senate. And the thought of a
als and businesses with unprecedented                                                  clusiveness and equal representation.
                                           bunch of MPs flying back and forth
speed and continue to work on solu-
                                           between home and Parliament Hill             When it comes to the scrutiny func-
tions and bridges to get us through
                                           every week is completely offside with       tion, the most important consider-
the COVID-19 period. Businesses
                                           what governments are asking us to do.       ation here is that parliamentary com-
have demonstrated their capacity to
                                                                                       mittees are able to meet and work.
evolve and adapt operations to emerg-      Back in March, the decision was made
                                                                                       They have been doing so electronical-
ing COVID-19 realities, many of them       to adjourn Parliament until April 20,
                                                                                       ly, with some manageable hiccups. In
working with partners on innovative        due to physical distancing require-
                                                                                       the COVID-19 era, we have all found
strategies for delivering services and     ments. The media have certainly had
                                                                                       new ways of connecting with one an-
sharing risk. Charities and non-prof-      access to political leaders for question-
                                                                                       other. Parliament has no interest in
its are working to respond to an over-     ing, so it cannot be argued that leaders
                                                                                       being the exception.
whelming demand for their services.        haven’t been held to account. We’ve

                                                                                       I
                                           never seen the prime minister and               t is not clear when a post-pandemic
Political leaders are under enormous
                                           premiers with as much regularity as             restart will occur, or what it will
pressure to provide clarity and assur-
                                           we do now.                                      look like. There are serious dif-
ance amid increasing anxiety about
how difficult recovery will be.            That said, there is no substitute for       ferences between provinces in terms
                                           Parliament. The elected legislature is      of the spread of COVID-19, and so
During this period of isolation, we ac-
                                           the link between the governors and          economic recovery might happen at
tually see quite a lot of the prime min-
                                           the governed and, without parlia-           a sporadic pace across the country.
ister and provincial premiers, who give
                                           mentary accountability, our claim to        Sectors will reopen at different paces
press conferences almost daily. Some
                                           democratic legitimacy becomes ten-          as well.
of these briefings are substantive and
come with announcements about new          uous. Confidence cannot be mere-            Many Canadians will not be financial-
programs or updates in COVID-19 sta-       ly assumed, particularly in a minori-       ly able to be active consumers, as a re-
tistics and models, while others are       ty government context such as the           sult of the impacts of COVID-19, and
aimed primarily at checking in, pro-       current one at the federal level. The       so governments and businesses will
viding visibility and reassurance.         government is making the kinds of           have to be both patient and innova-
                                           decisions that would have been un-          tive in revitalizing parts of the econo-

P
       oliticians are making strategic     imaginable just months ago. Argu-           my and creating new areas for growth.
       choices about how to approach       ably, the confidence of the House in
                                                                                       None of this will be possible without
       crisis communications. For ex-      the government has never been more
                                                                                       immediate first steps, including in-
ample, the Prime Minister has posi-        vitally important.
                                                                                       creased testing and contact tracing
tioned himself as a Canadian work-

                                           P
                                                  arliament passed a motion on         so that the spread of COVID-19 can
ing from home. In the beginning, he
                                                  April 20 that will allow in-         be contained while physical distanc-
was self-isolating as a result of Sophie
                                                  person sittings on Wednesdays        ing restrictions are relaxed. Provinces
Grégoire Trudeau’s COVID-19 diag-
                                           (including a question period of over        are not all the same in their capacity
nosis. He has chosen to remain large-
                                           two hours) and virtual sittings on          for this.
ly at home, giving his press confer-
ences from his driveway, perhaps as        Tuesdays and Thursdays. The major           COVID-19 has shone a revealing
a way of reinforcing the importance        question is whether Parliament can be       light on inequities that exist in Can-
of the “stay at home” message. If the      effective virtually.                        ada and around the world, with its
prime minister can do it, you proba-       What is lost if Parliament works on-        most devastating effects felt by those
bly can, too. Premier Doug Ford has        line and what are the criteria by           who are already vulnerable. It is im-
been praised for his direct communi-       which we would judge its effective-         perative that, as we look toward re-
cation style and his authenticity. Pre-    ness? There is some appeal to hold-         building, we create the conditions for
mier Stephen McNeil has made inter-        ing virtual sessions. For instance,         inclusive, compassionate growth in
national headlines (and has inspired a     heckling and noise would not trans-         all parts of Canada.
line of merchandise) by telling Nova       late well to the online format. No one      Contributing Writer Lori Turnbull,
Scotians to “stay the blazes home”.        is going to heckle while sitting alone      a co-winner of the Donner Prize,
The role and relevance of Parliament       at their computer (at least one would       is Director of the School of Public
as a democratic institution has be-        hope not).                                  Administration at Dalhousie University.

                                                                                                              May/June 2020
The Pandemic - Canadian Politics and Public Policy www.policymagazine.ca - Policy Magazine
8

    Justin Trudeau with Donald Trump at the 2019 G7 Summit in France. In the pandemic crisis, Jeremy Kinsman writes that “Trudeau remains focused
    on outcomes over attitude, biting his lip to avoid criticizing the mercurial American president.” Joyce N. Boghosian White House photo

    Canada’s Leadership Challenge
    As widely predicted so loudly, vehemently and repeatedly Jeremy Kinsman

                                                                                                     A
    by so many observers over the past three years, Don-              s the COVID-19 coronavirus
    ald Trump’s presidency has veered from preposterous               pandemic cuts a traumatic
                                                                      swath through various na-
    to downright dangerous—amid the crisis management
                                                              tional timetables and trajectories, it
    demands of a global pandemic. Canada has an imme- wraps the crowded globe in a shared
    diate responsibility to first do no harm to our bilateral fearful narrative that will likely alter
                                                              the way we all live.
    relationship, and then to help the global recovery, both
    economic and geopolitical.                                After the Berlin Wall fell on November
                                                                                                     9, 1989, Serge Schmemann of the New
                                                                                                     York Times wrote that “something es-
                                                                                                     sential had changed (and) that things
                                                                                                     would not be the same again.” This
                                                                                                     pandemic feels like the epidemiolog-
                                                                                                     ical version of that geopolitical be-
                                                                                                     fore-and-after moment. No question,
                                                                                                     COVID-19 will change how we live,
                                                                                                     travel, work, learn, and keep track of

    Policy
9
each other. On global cooperation,                Internationalist, multilateralist, but with national
French economist Thomas Piket-
                                                  interests intricately interlinked with the U.S.,
ty warns, we can’t just press the “re-
sume” key. International institutions      Canada must pursue two parallel tracks: re-building
and economic presumptions need             global cooperation, and sustaining efficient synchrony
reform.                                    with our neighbour.
Past seismic events have suddenly al-
tered the global agenda by episodes
of violent human disruption—world
wars, the Russian Revolution, or 9/11.
This pandemic has no human force           imperatives: strengthening national        ed health authorities. The consensus
or ambitions behind its global shock       self-reliance, while tightening the re-    commitment to flatten the curve and
wave, whose indifference to borders        liability of continental supply chains;    crush the virus through self-denial
should deepen essential international      internationally, deepening and ex-         reflects a stronger social contract and
cooperation. But retrograde national-      panding other bilateral partnerships;      degree of trust in government than
ist competition is instead thickening      while working multilaterally to sup-       exists in the U.S., where Trump’s
protective borders. If great powers        port forces of greater international co-   role as a daily lightning rod means
do not cooperate, the world econo-         operation. Globally, all governments       each and every public issue gets me-
                                           are scrambling to provide economic         dia-raked through the coals of seeth-
my will fail. We expect a hit to the
                                           and social relief for affected workers     ing political and social polarization.
U.S. and other economies as great as
                                           and businesses, printing money and
the Great Depression’s. Already-high                                                  Canadians reel from random, provoc-
                                           incurring massive public debt. Inter-
stakes for Canada are aggravated by                                                   ative presidential news-bursts that
                                           national cooperation is vital to miti-
the collapse of oil markets.                                                          the U.S. is about to station troops on
                                           gate public disarray.
Internationalist, multilateralist, but                                                the border, block contracted exports
                                           It is a stress test for democratic gov-    from a U.S. company of vital protec-
with national interests intricately in-
                                           ernance. All countries missed ear-         tive equipment, or unilaterally “open
terlinked with the U.S., Canada must
                                           ly warnings of the pandemic. But, as       the border.” Like a mongoose star-
pursue two parallel tracks: re-building
                                           World Policy Conference founder Thi-       ing-down a cobra, Trudeau remains
global cooperation, and sustaining ef-
                                           erry de Montbrial recently observed        focused on outcomes over attitude,
ficient synchrony with our neighbour.
                                           in this magazine, “populism is the         biting his lip to avoid criticizing the
Both have been disrupted by the U.S.       great beneficiary of inefficiency.” In-    mercurial American president. The
President’s mantra of “America First,”     deed, populist nationalists are ramp-      high-maintenance bilateral relation-
a deficient slogan intended to con-        ing up authoritarian control while         ship is similarly managed with skills
ceal America’s relative decline in the     disparaging inclusive liberal democra-     patience, tact, networks and tacti-
world order.                               cies as “ineffective.” German Chancel-     cal know-how that are NAFTA bat-
                                           lor Merkel points to the “democratic       tle-hardened by a disciplined team

W
            hile Donald Trump may          edge” of transparency that can suc-        under Deputy Prime Minister Chrys-
            be a one-term president,       cessfully mobilize social commitment       tia Freeland that manages to work
            the motif of “America          to rise to great challenges. Coming out    with practical Americans to put out
First” won’t entirely exit—it was a        of the crisis, democratic governments      the flames again and again.
popular theme of Pat Buchanan and          will face accountability for their man-
                                           agement, but with dependency on sci-       For Global Affairs, the extraordinari-
Ross Perot decades before Trump—
                                           ence and on collective action through      ly complex operation to repatriate
Canada needs a policy framework we
                                           essential services strongly reinforced.    as many Canadians as possible from
can count on for all kinds of weath-
                                           Leaders who have unified their coun-       shut-down locales around the world
er. Clearly, reliance on NAFTA to less-
                                           tries—Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Em-         has been its greatest effort in con-
en our vulnerability to abrupt unilat-
                                           manuel Macron of France, Giuseppe          sular crisis management ever. Trade
eral measures by Washington is not
                                           Conte of Italy, Pedro Sanchez in           commissioners have pivoted to solic-
enough. As Ontario Premier Doug
                                           Spain—are standing higher.                 it and screen almost 4,000 leads for
Ford—earlier, a Trump admirer—
                                                                                      supply, most of which were fanciful

                                           I
lamented recently, “I just can’t stress
                                               n Ottawa, and in provincial capi-      or phony, to enable urgent delivery
how disappointed I am in President
                                               tals, the health and economic          of life-saving equipment.
Trump … I’m not going to rely on
                                               crises are all-consuming. The

                                                                                      W
any PM or president of any country
                                           COVID-19 crisis is our national stress                hen the health crisis eases,
ever again.”
                                           test. We seem more united than we                     what will Canada do to
So, Canada needs an open-eyed stra-        thought via elected leaders deferring                 mitigate the longer-term
tegic plan that integrates our different   to science-based assessments of trust-     effects? The government counts on

                                                                                                             May/June 2020
10

                                               O
     a healthy balance sheet to carry a re-             f the wider world on which        care and infrastructure. As ex-Pres-
     medial deficit unprecedented since                 we also depend, Foreign           ident Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Libe-
     the Second World War until eco-                    Minister Philippe Cham-           ria warned, if the world is too self-in-
     nomic recovery enables pay-down           pagne has already engaged interna-         volved to think of Africa, African
     over time. But as stated at the outset,   tional counterparts, in part via an        problems will become everybody’s,
     we need separate but interlocking ac-     ad hoc solidarity group, the “Alli-        for a world that is becoming phobic
     tion plans to reduce our current vul-     ance for Multilateralism” that Free-       about migration. Yet, internation-
     nerabilities—to the effects of “Amer-     land had initiated with France and         al financial and trade organizations
     ica First” on our border, and to the      Germany and other countries—mi-            are too hobbled by lack of political
     world’s current adversarial and frag-     nus the United States—to bolster           will from the competing great powers
     mented state.                             essential international institutions       and unremitting U.S.-China hostil-
                                               that Trump has repeatedly attacked.        ity to reform. Among political insti-
     Sometimes in our history, political       However, shifting from crisis man-         tutions, the United Nations Security
     shock has produced abrupt policy          agement to creative re-construction        Council has had no role in mediating
     change. In 1972, unilateral and high-     can be a challenge for organizations       this world crisis for the same reasons.
     ly damaging U.S. tariffs from Presi-      exhausted by the struggles to save         The G-7, and the G-20, have buckled
     dent Nixon persuaded Pierre Trudeau       ourselves from a plague, and to re-        under self-interested U.S. and Saudi
     to reduce our vulnerability to U.S.       knit our finances. There is a tempta-      chairs.
     political decisions over which we had     tion to relax.
     no control by strengthening our na-                                                  U.S. “continental drift,” its evacua-
     tional productive self-sufficiency,                                                  tion of world leadership, absolutely
     the “Third Option.” Later, Trudeau                 Canada needs to                   does not mean Canada should shel-
     struck the Macdonald Commission                    dialogue with                     ter in place.
     on the economy and, in 1985, Brian        everybody. In hoping the                   As the “other North America,” Cana-
     Mulroney happily accepted its major       U.S. will sort itself out,                 da needs to dialogue with everybody.
     recommendation of a free-trade pact
     with the United States. It later be-
                                               Canadians should keep the                  In hoping the U.S. will sort itself
                                                                                          out, Canadians should keep the faith
     came NAFTA.                               faith with supportive U.S.                 with supportive U.S. civil society.
                                               civil society. We must                     We must connect to China, despite
     The worldview of Ronald Reagan, who
     was indispensable to that bilateral
                                               connect to China, despite                  objections to the regime’s stance on
     boom, is nowhere in evidence in the       objections to the regime’s                 openness and human rights. The no-
                                                                                          tion that Canada today can deny
     Trump administration, but the ben-        stance on openness and
                                                                                          the need to interact with energy and
     efits of economic inter-dependency        human rights.                              ambition with the massive Chinese
     and productive cooperation remain
                                                                                          economy is delusional.
     valued by many Americans, provid-
     ed they are fair. We need our connec-                                                As an internationalist country with
     tions with state, local, and business                                                citizens from everywhere, that knows
     interests who support what Freeland                                                  the value of borders as well as the ex-
     defines as the long-haul defence of       After the Cold War, Western democ-
                                                                                          istential necessity of international
     such an essential relationship.           racies had the chance to reach out to
                                                                                          cooperation, Canada has to lead by
                                               consolidate an inclusive one-world
                                                                                          leaning into the project of making co-
     But concomitantly, we need an ambi-       spirit for the future that was fairer to
                                                                                          operative diversity work for human
     tious national effort to shore up our     all. But we complacently slipped into
                                                                                          survival. The project to define Cana-
     self-sufficiency. RBC CEO Dave McK-       the self-involved belief that democ-
                                                                                          da’s continental and global responsi-
     ay calls for a collective plan to make    racy, freedom and open markets had
                                                                                          bilities and opportunities is a partici-
     Canada more self-reliant—in capital,      “won” and would remain the uncon-
                                                                                          patory task for all Canadians. It equals
     trade, technology, and skills. BMO’s      tested way of the world.
                                                                                          our active engagement in the creation
     Darryl White sees an opportunity
                                               Again, the industrialized world man-       of the post-war world. It offers a ren-
     to “leapfrog” in productivity gains
                                               aged the 2008-09 financial crisis by       dezvous with human destiny.
     through innovation. Then, there
                                               saving Big Finance, but ignored the
     is the urgency of getting a nation-                                                  Let’s see if we’re up to it.
                                               destructive effects of monetized glo-
     al act together on the energy-envi-
                                               balization, unfettered capital flows,      Contributing Writer Jeremy Kinsman
     ronment swirl that threatens nation-
                                               and widening income disparity.             is a former Canadian Ambassador to
     al unity. Canada needs a new royal                                                   Italy, to Russia and to the European
     commission, on the consequences of        This pandemic’s effects and econom-        Union, and High Commissioner to the
     the COVID-19 crisis and how to face       ic costs will be especially grave for      U.K. He is a Distinguished Fellow with
     these national priorities.                Africans, without substantial health       the Canadian International Council.

     Policy
11

Beyond the Shutdown:
THE PROGNOSIS FOR A POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY

While there are aspects of this pandemic recession that                                ample, the IMF forecasts growth in
                                                                                       the advanced economies to rebound
echo the wreckage of the 2008-09 global financial crisis,                              4.5 percent next year, which sounds
the differences, including the uncertainty of having the                               robust, but after a 6 percent decline
                                                                                       this year this will still leave levels of
pace of containing its human and economic damage sus-                                  economic activity in 2021 some 2
ceptible to the whims of both a virus and unpredictable                                percent below 2019, and even fur-
policies in certain countries, are crucial. Outgoing BMO                               ther below (5-6 percent) where they
                                                                                       would have been in the absence of
Financial Group Vice Chair Kevin Lynch lays out the                                    the pandemic.
possibilities for a recovery.                                                          At the end of 2019, global debt across
                                                                                       all sectors was a whopping $255 tril-
                                                                                       lion, or 322 percent of global GDP.
                                                                                       This mountain of debt was $87 tril-
Kevin Lynch                                  brunt of the downturn while coun-
                                                                                       lion higher than at the onset of the
                                             tries like China and India main-

F
                                                                                       2008-2009 global financial crisis.
       or those who managed com-             tained growth of roughly 8 percent
       panies, steered financial insti-      and developing countries overall ex-      Governments have accounted for
       tutions and helped run govern-        perienced positive growth. This year,     the lion’s share of this increase in
ments during the global financial cri-       China and India will barely grow and      indebtedness since 2007, followed
sis of just over a decade ago, it is hard    developing countries overall will ex-     by non-financial corporate debt and
to imagine a more challenging time,          perience negative growth.                 then households, with financial in-
but we are in the midst of one now.                                                    stitutions being the virtuous excep-
As the new managing director of the                                                    tion. Emerging markets account for
International Monetary Fund (IMF),                   This is the first truly           almost a third of this total global
Kristalina Georgieva, noted without                                                    debt and, outside of China, there is
                                                     global recession since            significant foreign currency expo-
hyperbole at the first-ever global vir-
tual meeting of the venerable institu-
                                             the 1930s, unlike 2009 when               sure to this debt, which is problem-
tion, “this is a crisis like no other”.      advanced economies bore                   atic at a time of widespread flight to
And, as the political scientist Rob-         the brunt of the downturn                 safety among currencies.
ert Kaplan once observed, “crises put        while countries like China

                                                                                       T
history on fast forward.”                                                                     he global debt mountain is
                                             and India maintained                             about to get much higher.
Context is helpful in these circum-          growth of roughly 8 percent                      With massive new stimulus
stances. First, the COVID-19 global          and developing countries                  programs coming onstream and the
recession is significantly worse than                                                  worst of the downturn expected to
the global financial crisis, which se-
                                             overall experienced
                                                                                       hit in the second quarter, govern-
verely traumatized Western econ-             positive growth.                          ment debt will soar over the remain-
omies. Global growth in 2009 de-                                                       der of 2020 and into 2021. As a result,
clined by –0.1 percent whereas IMF                                                     the IMF expects a sharp upward tra-
estimates of the COVID-19 recession                                                    jectory in global debt-to-GDP ratios,
for 2020 are for a fall of –3 percent in                                               with long lasting implications.
global growth. This recession will be
                                             And third, with such volatility in eco-   Prior to the pandemic, Canada stood
the worst since the Great Depression.
                                             nomic statistics, it is important not     out globally for a highly indebted
Second, this is the first truly global re-   to confuse growth rates and levels of     household sector and high nonfinan-
cession since the 1930s, unlike 2009         economic activity: simply put, recov-     cial corporate debt-to-GDP ratios but
when advanced economies bore the             ery does not mean recovered. For ex-      with a relatively low government net

                                                                                                               May/June 2020
12
     debt-to-GDP compared to other G20               At the end of 2019, global debt across all sectors was
     countries. Large and lasting increas-           a whopping $255 trillion, or 322 percent of global
     es in Canadian government, central
     bank and private sector debt will be a
                                              GDP. This mountain of debt was $87 trillion higher than at
     consequence of measures to respond       the onset of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
     to the COVID-19 pandemic and re-
     cession. Once the recovery is firmly
     underway, governments (and firms)
     will need determined strategies to
                                              In this environment, forecast-          Drawing on this analysis in develop-
     address this surge in debt in order to
                                              ing must include epidemiological        ing its baseline forecast, the IMF as-
     protect longer-term growth, compet-      modelling on the effectiveness of       sumes that the shutdowns result in
     itiveness and living standards.          COVID-19 containment measures           the loss of up to 8 percent of work-
     Economic forecasts typically have a      such as social distancing, travel       ing days in affected countries, that
                                              bans and curtailment of non-essen-      the pandemic fades in the second half
     number of core underlying assump-
                                              tial business, estimates of the tim-    of the year as the result of contain-
     tions, usually about monetary and fis-
                                              ing of the development of new ther-     ment measures and shutdowns are
     cal policy, perhaps commodity pric-
                                              apeutics and vaccines and, finally,     significantly unwound by the end of
     es, sometimes geopolitics affecting      projections on when and how the         the second quarter, that governments
     confidence, and recently U.S. trade      shut-downs will be lifted. In addi-     protect lives through investments into
     and tariff actions. Never before have    tion, forecasters have to come to a     public health systems and livelihoods
     global economic forecasts confronted     behavioural view on how lingering       through income support to house-
     today’s range of unknowns and the        health concerns of citizens may al-     holds and liquidity support to firms,
     intersection of a public health crisis   ter their normal patterns of working,   that stimulus measures targeted to
     and an economic crisis.                  buying, saving and leisure.             rapid recovery are implemented when

     World Economic Outlook April 2020 Growth Projections
     (real GDP, annual percent change)

                                                  ACTUAL FORECAST                                REVISED FORECAST

                                                                                              Forecast change for 2020
                                     2019                2020                2021
                                                                                                from January forecast
      World output                    2.9                –3.0                 5.8                        –6.3
      Advanced economies              1.7                –6.1                 4.5                        –7.7
      United States                   2.3                –5.9                 4.7                        –7.9
      Euro area                       1.2                –7.5                 4.7                        –8.8
      Germany                         0.6                –7.0                 5.2                        –8.1
      Japan                           0.7                –5.2                 3.0                        –5.9
      United Kingdom                  1.4                –6.5                 4.0                        –7.9
      Canada                          1.6                –6.2                 4.2                        –8.0
      Emerging markets
      and developing
      economies                       3.7                –1.0                 6.6                        –5.4
      China                           6.1                 1.2                 9.2                        –4.8
      India                           4.2                 1.9                 7.4                        –3.9
      Other
      Russia                          1.3                –5.5                 3.5                        –7.4
      Brazil                          1.1                –5.3                 2.9                        –7.5
      Mexico                         –0.1                –6.6                 3.0                        –7.6
     Source: IMF

     Policy
13
the shutdowns unwind, and that ade-         For Canada, the forecast projection        lor of Exchequer Gordon Brown elo-
quate monetary stimulus and support         is a dramatic decline of –6.2 percent      quently set out in The Guardian, un-
to financial markets are provided.          in growth this year. Underlying this       less we tackle the pandemic with a
                                            is a huge decline in economic activ-       coordinated global approach utiliz-
The key risk to this forecast is non-eco-   ity during the first half of this year     ing the G20 and the WHO, we risk
nomic: namely, the duration and in-         followed by a fairly sharp rebound         second and third waves of the virus
tensity of the pandemic. Michael Os-        from these historic lows in the sec-       rolling around the world. And un-
terholm, a leading researcher in the        ond half. For 2021, a recovery in
field, has cautioned that pandemics                                                    less we respond to the recession in
                                            growth of 4.2 percent is projected         developing economies through G20
typically come in waves and the ul-         but this still leaves activity levels
timate public health response is not                                                   and IMF leadership, we run the risk
                                            next year below those of 2019. Re-         of an emerging-markets sovereign
social distancing but a vaccine and         cent Canadian private sector fore-
effective therapeutics which could be                                                  debt crisis washing into internation-
                                            casts are in the same ballpark—RBC
up to 18 months away. The alterna-                                                     al capital markets.
                                            projects a decline in growth of –5
tive scenarios considered by the IMF        percent, BMO forecasts –4.5 percent        The second is what will happen to
reflect these cautions.                     and TD estimates a –4.2 percent—           global supply chains, and the likeli-
                                            and all stress these are moving tar-       hood that companies will be increas-
        Never before have                   gets given the uncertainty surround-       ingly required, by markets or regula-
                                            ing the path of the pandemic.              tors, to map out their supply chains,
        global economic
                                                                                       accompanied by pressures for “re-lo-
forecasts confronted today’s                Underscoring this uncertainty, the
                                            Bank of Canada stated in its recent        calization” beginning with health
range of unknowns and the                                                              care supply chains. Third, moves to-
                                            Monetary Policy Report that “it is
intersection of a public                    more appropriate to consider a range       wards greater corporate concentra-
health crisis and an                        of possible outcomes, rather than          tion may be a structural consequence
economic crisis.                            one base-case projection.” In one          of a deep recession and a shift to
                                            Bank scenario, very much mirror-           more online commerce. The fourth
                                            ing the IMF baseline forecast, Can-        is inequality, which was a concern in
                                            ada experiences a recession in 2020        most countries before the pandemic
                                            that is abrupt and deep but relatively     and the recession, and we now face
                                            short-lived, with a robust rebound in      the additional risk of “COVID-19 in-

G
       lobally, after an expansion          growth, particularly if oil prices firm.   equality” with respect to economic
       of 2.9 percent last year, most       A second scenario, characterized by        and health impacts during the crisis.
       forecasters as recently as           the pandemic and shutdowns last-
January expected relatively smooth          ing longer, loss of productive capac-      And finally, the general theme with
growth for the world econo-                 ity due to bankruptcies and linger-        respect to policy at these virtual
my in 2020. How quickly things              ing low oil prices, would see a deeper     meetings of the Bretton Woods in-
can change.                                 and longer recession, a less robust        stitutions was “we need to do what
                                            recovery and longer-term structural        we need to do.” There was wide-
The revised world economic outlook                                                     spread praise for the actions of cen-
                                            damage to the economy.
of the IMF suggests the global econo-                                                  tral banks and a generally support-

                                            W
my will sharply contract this year, by                                                 ive view of fiscal actions to date.
                                                       hile the immediate pri-
some –3 percent, before recovering at                                                  But, as was frequently stressed,
                                                       orities for all countries are
a 5.8 percent pace next year. In this                                                  health care systems are as critical
                                                       slowing the spread of the
global forecast (see Table 1), the U.S.                                                as macroeconomic policy in a pan-
                                            coronavirus among their populations
economy declines by –5.9 percent in
                                            and providing liquidity and income         demic-induced recession. And here,
2020, Japan by slightly less, Canada
                                            support to firms and households            concerns were raised about the abili-
and Britain by slightly more and the
                                            during these unprecedented shut-           ty of countries to effectively unwind
Euro area by more still. China ekes out
                                            downs, there are other policy matters      shutdowns and restart economies
small positive growth (1.2 percent) as
                                            that we ignore at our peril.               without significantly allaying pub-
does India, but overall, the emerging/
                                                                                       lic concerns of contagion and per-
developing world contracts. Not sur-        The first is the importance of inter-
                                                                                       sonal fears of contracting the virus
prisingly, world trade volumes tum-         national coordination since the pan-
ble by double digits (11 percent). For                                                 as work resumes.
                                            demic is, by definition, global and
2021, there is a recovery forecast in the   the resulting economic recession is        Contributing Writer Kevin Lynch,
range of 4-4 ½ percent for advanced         also pervasively global, something         former Clerk of the Privy Council,
economies and somewhat stronger for         we have not experienced since the          is retiring as Vice Chair of BMO
emerging/developing markets.                1930s. As former British Chancel-          Financial Group.

                                                                                                               May/June 2020
14

     Downtown Toronto, heart of the Canadian business community, which is essential to leading the country out of the deepest recession since the
     Great Depression. Daryan Shamkhali, Unsplash photo

     Managing Change Amid
     a Pandemic
     As the world has learned from previous crises, society’s re- Perrin Beatty

                                                                                                        T
     sponses to catastrophe can range from adaptation to in-            he COVID-19 tsunami is far
     novation to over-correction. In Canada, so far, our gov-           from over. But even as lives are
     ernments have managed the pandemic response as well lies arestill       being cut short and fami-
                                                                         reeling, we must start looking
     as could be expected given the uncertainty involved. But for lessons from this disaster.
     what can we learn about how to make Canada better as Crises remake societies. The Great
     we move from crisis to aftermath?                            Depression led to the New Deal and
                                                                                                        taught a generation about frugality.
                                                                                                        The Second World War ended Ameri-
                                                                                                        can isolationism and led to seven de-
                                                                                                        cades of international collaboration
                                                                                                        and institution-building. The events
                                                                                                        of September 11, 2001 destroyed old
                                                                                                        assumptions of international security
                                                                                                        and diplomacy and refashioned how

     Policy
15
we saw privacy and security here at                After the immediate dangers have passed, we
home. The Fukushima disaster led Ja-
                                                   will need to take stock. Every institution will have
pan and Germany to pull back from
nuclear power to meet their energy          to examine whether it was prepared to deal with the
needs. And the SARS outbreak here in        pandemic and if its response met the need.
Canada 17 years ago forced large busi-
nesses and public institutions to cre-
ate business continuity plans to pre-
pare for future outbreaks of disease.

                                                                                       A
As the present crisis continues, we im-     ments strain to implement them with               t some point, the disease will
provise. Businesses and governments         the speed that’s needed.                          subside to the point where we
alike are piecing together solutions                                                          can restart our lives and our

                                            A
based on partial information, with-                 fter the immediate dangers         economy, but the world into which
out the time needed to understand                   have passed, we will need to       we emerge will be different from
the implications of the options they                take stock. Every institution      the one where we lived just a few
choose. In normal times, our goal           will have to examine whether it was        weeks ago.
might be perfection. In a crisis, it’s to   prepared to deal with the pandemic
find something that’s good enough           and if its response met the need.          Some changes are already evident,
under the circumstances. Surgical                                                      starting with the nature of globaliza-
masks don’t deliver the protection of       In addition, Canada should launch a        tion itself.
N95 respirators, but they beat having       much broader review, at arms-length
                                            to governments, run by leaders from        Since the Second World War, Cana-
no protection at all.                                                                  dians have been resolutely interna-
                                            medicine, science, business, labour
                                            and technology, to consider our over-      tionalist. We should remain so. The
        The lessons of                      all response as a society. Its purpose     lessons of fascism, of terrorism, of cli-
        fascism, of terrorism,              should not be to assign blame, but to      mate change, of the 2008 economic
of climate change, of the                   examine what we did right and what         crisis, of AIDS and of COVID-19 all
                                            we did wrong, so we can save lives         teach us that the best way to combat
2008 economic crisis, of AIDS                                                          international threats is through inter-
                                            and avoid the immense human and
and of COVID-19 all teach us                economic cost of future crises.            national collaboration. None of these
that the best way to combat                                                            issues can be adequately addressed
                                            What we don’t need is to simply
international threats is                                                               by even the richest and most pow-
                                            prepare better for a recurrence of         erful countries acting alone. More
through international                       COVID-19. Instead, we must learn           than ever, we need global solutions
collaboration. None of these                the lessons that will prepare us in        to global problems.
issues can be adequately                    an increasingly connected world to
                                            overcome crises we haven’t had to          But supporting internationalism does
addressed by even the richest                                                          not require abandoning national strat-
                                            face before now: pandemics that take
and most powerful countries                 a different and even more menacing         egies. In ordinary times when supply
acting alone.                               course, cyberterrorism that collapses      chains remain open, it’s simple logic
                                            our economic and administrative in-        to allocate production to the least-ex-
                                            frastructure or devastating natural di-    pensive locations. N95 respirators
                                            sasters that could threaten hundreds       would be an obvious candidate for
                                            of thousands of lives.                     global supply. They are comparative-
The same applies to hard decisions                                                     ly low-value products. A small number
                                            It’s important not to simply refight the   of manufacturers can produce them at
now being made by all levels of gov-        current battle but to prepare for ones     the scale needed, they don’t spoil and
ernment. Societal lockdowns are             that seem inconceivable today. After       they are light and cheap to ship. Hand
crude and often cruel instruments, but      our experience at the epicentre of SARS    sanitizer and simple protective equip-
they are the tools we have. The lists       in 2003, we were in good shape to re-      ment like face shields and gowns can
of essential businesses we need to keep     spond to a health crisis on the same       also be easily be supplied in the quan-
open are a rough form of triage. Gov-       scale, but we remained unaware and         tities needed in ordinary times.
ernment aid programs that would or-         unprepared even as we watched this
dinarily take months to design are now      new virus ravage the Wuhan region of       Sadly, these are not ordinary times.
conceived in days or hours and may          China. We hoped the stringent mea-         Global demand for these products
need to be redesigned several times         sures imposed by the Chinese would         has skyrocketed and governments
when we discover problems they miss.        contain the disease. Unfortunately,        around the world are engaging in
And once they are unveiled, govern-         hope is not a strategy.                    pandemic protectionism that, cou-

                                                                                                               May/June 2020
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