Most people today will recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic came at a heavy cost. More than 50,000 Canadians died because of it and for hundreds of thousands of others, if not millions, it was life-altering.
Financially, government spending during the pandemic went through the roof—$576 billion at the federal level and more than $14 billion by the Ontario provincial government. It will take generations to recover that.
As for the so-called Freedom Convoy, it wasn’t free. It cost Canadian taxpayers $44.8 million in extra policing costs, and convoy blockades at border crossings cost our economy more than $3.84 billion.
As we seem to be pretty well out of the pandemic stage of COVID-19 and its variants, although it certainly has not gone away, I wonder if the frustration, the anger, the inconvenience, and the restrictions on our lives have inexorably changed our society. Has the pandemic changed the way that we think and behave? I tend to believe that it has.
I can’t help but wonder if the pandemic created, if not accelerated, much of the wokeness and populism that we are experiencing today, fostering tolerance and normalcy for issues and policies we might have previously rejected. There seems to be a certain hypocrisy in what is okay these days and what is not.
For example, individual rights have become paramount, and yet many turn a blind eye to government attempts to legislate censorship or limit the human rights of minority groups. We also tend to be more accepting of misinformation and cancel culture. There seems to be a different weight given today to the importance of truth, and indeed, the rule of law.
There is also more anger and nastiness in our politics than I can remember prior to the pandemic. There has always been a level of combativeness between political parties in Canada and that is how it should be. But that used to be done with a certain amount of class and mutual respect that allowed dialogue and some compromise, leading to good government. Not anymore.
Nastiness in politics appears to be the order of the day. It almost seems like a contest to determine who can be the most alarming, the most degrading, and the best at character assassination. Watching Pierre Poilievre online, appearing to be looking through glass with a demented smile on his face saying something like “here I am again Justin”. To me, that was Peeping Tom creepy. And Trudeau’s feigned outrage and evasiveness on critical national issues through personal attacks, denigration, and mud-slinging is no better.
I also wonder if prior to the pandemic we would have been tolerant of even debating such issues as whether Medically Assisted Dying (MAID) should be extended to people who are mentally ill and even to young children under certain circumstances. Whatever has happened to our belief in the sanctity of life?
I agree with a person, for whom I have the highest respect, who posted in part, this online: “But the conversation (about Maid) is getting truly horrifying. I value preserving life. I value walking alongside people who are struggling. I reject a culture of death.”
It is hard for me to believe that any consideration at all is being given to ending an individual’s life who is not capable of giving informed consent. Who would make those decisions? Who SHOULD make those decisions? Would a parent whose child was born with a condition that they did not want to deal with, simply be able to end her or his life? Should others be deciding what mental capacity someone should have in order to stay alive?
To call this a slippery slope is an understatement. To me, it smacks of societal purism that has been abhorrent in the past, resulting in horrifying circumstances, and even the thought of which should be abhorrent now.
While there is much to respect about a populist movement, there is also much to be wary of. Respecting human life, respecting the right of others to express opinions, and respecting diversity is still very important.
I read with interest a decision by a Quebec Judge recently that it is okay for someone to give another individual the finger if they felt so inclined. I happen to agree with that. Not particularly polite perhaps, but surely we haven’t come to the point where we need to adjudicate every gesture of humankind to decide whether it is politically correct or not.
I also believe, however, that there are times, in this new society we live in when we bend over backward on issues in a manner that may be unfair to others. At the risk of being called homophobic, let me first say that I believe we generally do not choose our sexuality. We come the way we are wired and are fully entitled in our society to express ourselves accordingly.
That does not mean carte blanche, and however sensitive it is to speak about it, in my view, there must be some balance and some common sense applied to genuine concerns. For example, I have trouble with public washroom facilities that can be used by both women and people with male genitalia who identify as female. It just does not seem right and does seem potentially dangerous to me. As well, I also question the fairness of people genetically male, who identify as female, competing in athletic events with people who are genetically female.
Clearly, in my view, the world we live in has changed. Ideas and concepts that would not have been considered a decade ago are seriously on the table now. Populism is now a fixture in our public discourse and this may well be a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In my view, however, we must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Change of course is inevitable. But change without balance, without regard to humanity, without regard to fundamental principles of justice, fairness, and integrity, and centered primarily on self-advantage is dangerous.
It inevitably leads to chaos.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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