By: Lorian Hardcastle and Naomi Lightman
PDF Version: A Balancing Act: Re-Opening Provincial Economies while Prioritizing Health Risks to Vulnerable Groups
Matter commented on: COVID-19 in Alberta and Canada
Despite calls that we are “in it together”, many of Canada’s most vulnerable communities are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes individuals living and working in long-term care facilities, factory workers, homeless and incarcerated populations, and some on-reserve Indigenous communities. In implementing public health measures, policymakers largely failed to prioritize these groups. Rather, many of the strategies for social distancing presumed individual family homes, nuclear family arrangements, access to private cars, workplaces that could transition to online formats, and living conditions where outdoor space was available. As a result, many groups outside this presumed norm were either left behind or inadequately protected during the spread of the virus. In this post, we argue that as provincial governments begin the process of re-opening their economies, policymakers must balance the interests of the broader public with those who live and work in conditions that put them at risk.