After nearly two years of listening to press conferences, one tends to pick up on a few patterns. One in particular that I’ve noticed is that 5PM announcements from the government are never good news, and here we are again. Quebec will be giving a televised press conference at 5PM today, and I don’t have a very good feeling about it.
I’ve come to despise these press conferences almost as much as I despise the phrase “unprecidented times”. Quebec has shown in the past that they have no fearof bringing in the most restrictive measures during this pandemic. Schools were closed, non essential businesses were closed, they even went so far as to impose a cerfew. Heck, if you listen to what they’ve been saying lately, they even admitted that they would be willing to impose mandatory vaccinations. That’s right, you heard that correctly…MANDATORY VACCINATIONS.
Today, rumor has it that the curfew will be imposed once again, likely starting tomorrow. Keep in mind that these rumors usually come from leaked information from government sources. One might even begin to think that someone in the know is being paid by the media for advance info. The only personal upside that I can see from that is a drop in gas prices.
The repercussions of another strict lockdown will be far and wide. Many bussinesses that are closed due to being considered non essential simply won’t survive this round. Bars and gyms have already been closed here for a couple of weeks. Schools we let out for the Christmas break early, and in my opinion, won’t be reopened until sometime around spring break. I guess it’s back to online learning, which was a joke last time around. In fact, last time classes went online my kids got MAYBE two hours of education per day…most times not even that.
The real consequences of harsh lockdowns will of course be financial. Yes, there will be businessses going bankrupt, but that’s not the only issue. Governments will have no choice but to support the newly unemployed my sending out checks written on more borrowed money. If you think inflation is bad now, give it a few months and have another look.
Now, none of us like this one bit, but honestly, what choice is there? It is true that Omicron causes less hospitalisations and deaths than previous variants, but it is making up for that by infecting that many more people. The straiin on the health case system will return. Already, seniors residences are seeing outbreaks and staffing shortages. Let’s not forget that the more cases that are out there, the faster this will develop the next variant of concern. It’s always been a race to get it under control before it mutates into something we can’t get under control…and we’re losing the race.
If I were a betting man, I would put money on the table that there are more than a few of you reading this and thinking “who cares about Quebec”. Let’s face it, the past separatist governments haven’t given that province the best reputation. However, there are a lot of other provinces that are hesitating on these kinds of restrictions and mandates, just waiting for someone else to be the first to pull the trigger. Like it or not, the cerfew Quebec imposed last time worked, and all other governments took notice. It’s going to be somewhat of a monkey see, monkey do scenario.
So, to sum it up, go get prepared. Lineups at the grocery store to get your one package of toilet paper and pick through the remenants at the meat counter are coming back…again. Prices on goods are going up…again. Shortages on products are coming back…again. Home hair styles are coming back…again. Restrictions on travel are coming back…again. Something tells me that some new restrictions or mandates are just around the corner. At 5PM today, Quebec is going to give all the other provinces a whole bunch of ideas…and this time around mandatory vaccines are NOT OFF THE TABLE.