City Notebook: Who’s open and who’s not? Who’s ready and who’s not?
By COLLIN GALLANT on June 13, 2020.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant Alberta moved to Part 2 of the “relaunch” plan on Friday … or is it “Phase 2A” of the “reopen” plan? Actually it’s “Stage 2” with a bit of Stage 3 mixed in, and it happened a week earlier than expected, which itself is a statement considering there was no set timetable. Saskatchewan, for example, is preparing for Phase 4, which sounds great until you realize it’s got a lot of the stuff already happening in Alberta at Stage 2. It’s not a competition, of course, but it is fuel on the fire for what’s been an already frustrating, confusing spring. Health is a provincial responsibility in Canada and 10 provinces, three territories as well as the federal government all have a hand in the pandemic response, and a legion of officials have drafted up as many action plans. For those who have tired of watching reruns of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts or running vinegar through the coffee pot, keeping track of what’s happening where, or even in local communities, presents quite a challenge. And despite being in the very model of a national health emergency there’s no standard system in place to explain all this to people – many of whom have nothing better to do than wait for good news. For example, Ontario uses the term “social circles” to describe people you might get together, while Alberta uses “cohorts” though they mean basically the same thing. The nature of the pandemic, demographics, population concentrations and local conditions, perhaps leave no option but an uneven, staggered response and piecemeal lifting of restrictions. So, schools reopen here, but not there. But when cops in Ottawa hand out tickets for neighbours chatting over the back fence, the outrage is expressed locally all over. And plans developed by government are dependent on private enterprise execution, meaning certain venues can open “as soon as” whichever date, but check your local listings. It’s about to get more confusing as Alberta begins assessing more localized conditions and provide regional guidance ongoing basis. People hear about playgrounds opening in Vauxhall or Halifax and wondering what’s taking the City of Medicine Hat so long. In a sociological sense, we’re all as “local” as we’ve ever been, and you’d think that our immediate physical surroundings, houses streets and cities, would be foremost and forefront in our minds. But, we’re all still hyperconnected with what’s happening locally around the wider world. We’ve all heard that New Zealand is setting the standard for reopen thingies, and first lifted restrictions on April 25. That caused some eyes to pop open in North America, but many didn’t realize that particular measure only allowed restaurants to begin offering take-out service – something that was never in jeopardy here. New Zealand also counts backwards in its planning (perhaps owing to its location in the Southern Hemisphere), and over the months has moved from Alert Level 4 down to Alert Level 1 today. The inbox Two press releases this week suggest that those seeking greater autonomy for the province are back at it. Albertans4All will hold a rally at the legislature on June 19. The same group is suggesting the provincial government should build new coal plants to end the practice of importing power across provincial boundaries. As well, “The Buffalo Project” released some poll numbers late in the week and is calling on the province to release its “Fair Deal” panel report. A look ahead City council will again meet in the studio theatre of the Esplanade on Monday evening. That building is set to reopen to the public that day, but council meetings are still restricted access to elected and administrative officials. Media will still attend via tele-conference and the proceedings are available to watch on Shaw-TV and the city’s website. CollinGallant covers city politics for the News and a variety of topics. Contact him at 403-528-5664 or via email at cgallant@medicinehatnews.com 28-27
