When the pandemic is finally over, Bruce Stanton expects the nation to take stock and move forward with some valuable lessons learned.
While the tunnel is now showing some light, the Simcoe North MP says Canada needs to ensure it is better prepared for the next possible pandemic or other catastrophe moving forward.
“We need to learn from the mistakes that have been made,” Stanton said during an interview. “We have to be better prepared.”
In particular, Stanton said the handling of vaccine delivery by the federal government shows there’s a lot of room to improve the situation down the road.
“I think that we’re certainly seeing that now,” he said, noting February’s unexpected vaccine shortfalls were evident for all to see. “That was a big shocker. Canada is behind other countries. For the provinces, it was a real disappointment and it put us further behind.”
And when push comes to shove, Canada has seen that other countries aren’t anxious to share the vaccine until all of their citizens have been vaccinated.
As an example, Stanton looked stateside where, on Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden’s press secretary told reporters Biden “has made clear that he is focused on ensuring that vaccines are accessible to every American. That is our focus.”
Stanton said that kind of nationalism, even when dealing with a close ally like Canada, shows the need for the county to ensure it can better produce vaccine doses in the future.
“Canada should have vaccine production here at home,” he said, noting the country has many great medical and scientific minds who could help in that regard. “We need to build up our capabilities for production. The same can be said for PPE (personal protective equipment).”
As well, Stanton discussed the significant impact the pandemic has had on local businesses and residents, including the decision to again place more stringent lockdown conditions on the region.
“I think this going back into the grey zone was a bit of a disappointment, especially for business owners who find themselves back in the grey zone,” he said, adding the move seemed necessary given the fact the dominant strain of new COVID-19 cases is the more contagious UK variant.
“The pandemic has hit small businesses in our community especially hard. Too many have had to close their doors and others worry about whether they’ll even be able to survive this.”
That said, Stanton added that he’s not expecting the latest setback to last as long as previous visits to the grey zone.
“I’m optimistic that this is only a seven-day ‘emergency brake' as the province calls it,” he said. “It does look like it (case numbers) is trending downward. The other reason for optimism is an increase in the number of vaccines available; it’s a harbinger of more broad-speed immunization.”
In spite of everything, Stanton said local residents also deserve a pat on the back for how well they’ve handled the past 12 months.
“Across our region, hundreds were hospitalized and 189 have died from COVID-19,” he noted. “Through it all, our community has stepped up to help each other, followed public health guidelines, and businesses have undertaken extensive modifications to their operations to keep one another safe and healthy.”
And as an MP known for being out and about in the community and meeting constituents, Stanton said that’s been one of the pandemic’s biggest challenges.
“It’s hard not to be able to meet people in person,” he said, pointing out he will also continue to call on the federal government for the tools needed, including a steady vaccine supply, improvements to the wage and rent subsidy programs, and a delay on the tax increases planned for later this year so the country can “get back to normal and focus on rebuilding our economy, getting people back to work, and securing our future.
“We’re trying to do our part to help where we can.”
