COVID unmasks the vulnerabilities and inequalities in our system

In a span of weeks, the Covid19 crisis has wreaked havoc on our health systems, communities and economy.  In reading the news and seeing the impacts, one cannot help but feel that COVID has also unmasked the pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequalities in our system.

It is clear that both the risks of contracting the virus and the individual impacts of the collective crisis vary greatly.  At one end of the continuum, you have individuals and families, ours included, who can safely work from the comfort of their homes and or have the financial means to isolate themselves, get groceries delivered, order Uber Eats, and wait out the crisis. 

At the other end, you have 53% of Canadians who live paycheque to paycheque.  This group is over half of Canadians.   It includes low wage workers on the front lines who need to continue working in order to pay their bills, ensure that care facilities can continue running, stores are stocked, and goods are transported.  It encompasses small businesses employers, employees and gig economy workers whose livelihoods have disappeared.  It includes those Canadians who were already struggling to survive, those receiving inadequate income supports, those with disability and those grappling with homelessness.

There is no doubt that these groups are and will be more severely impacted by the pandemic.   Their exposure rates will be higher as they are less able to hibernate for the crisis.  They also have to deal with lower income levels, limited to no savings, a build-up of bills, and a possible reliance on credit cards with high interest.  They will struggle to afford their rent, food and existing bills. 

Recognizing the seriousness of the issue, the federal government has introduced an Economic Response Plan with a variety of new supports.  Although these are much needed and appropriate measures that provide some relief during the current crisis, they do not address the core systemic issues that have created the vulnerabilities in our system. 

For years,  leading thinkers and activists have been calling attention to and for supports to address concerning trends including growing inequalities, the transition to precarious employment, increasing debt levels, stagnation of wages, and increases in housing and education costs as well as the erosion of public assistance.  Covid19 is enabling us to clearly see the impacts of these trends. 

Once the most urgent part of this crisis has passed, we need to examine and address the core vulnerabilities and inequalities in our system.  We need to ask ourselves critical questions.  What do we value?  What kind of society do we want to be?  How might we move from where we are today to a future that is resilient and socially just? 

Mechanisms like universal basic income, raising existing social supports and fair wages and benefits highlight possible solution areas.  Independently, they have the potential to address some of the issues.  Together and with other mechanisms and tools, they can be components in a strategy to build a resilient and socially just society. 

Meaningfully addressing our vulnerabilities and inequalities will not be easy but it is doable. I hope that together, we recognize that the COVID crisis has exposed our fragility.  I hope we recognize that we cannot afford to go back to the way things were. I hope we choose to use this crisis to address our core systemic issues and create a resilient, socially just society.