Curfew survey a waste of precious time By: Editorial Posted: 7:00 PM CST Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/11/2020 (1522 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the province struggles mightily to control an alarming COVID-19 surge in Winnipeg, it is getting increasingly difficult to resist drawing comparisons between Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and the infamous Roman emperor Nero.

Nero is, of course, the inspiration for the political adage about leaders who “fiddle while Rome burns.” A reference to Nero’s lack of attention to a fire that levelled most of Rome in 64 A.D., this maxim endures as a description of leaders who are numb to the suffering of their citizens, and who stand idly by in the face of a crisis.

Mr. Pallister has wandered perilously close to a Nero comparison thanks to mounting evidence he is unwilling or unable to respond urgently to the growing COVID-19 crisis facing Winnipeg. This perspective was reinforced this week when, in the face of increased calls for a short but complete social and economic lockdown, the premier opted instead to launch an online poll to gauge public support for a curfew to restrict socializing.

Mr. Pallister apparently believes a curfew could help cut down on late-night revelry that he has identified as a primary cause of the recent COVID-19 surge. It is unclear whether house parties are the main source of transmission or whether a curfew is an effective solution. It is absolutely certain, however, that pausing for a survey is an unconscionable waste of time.

In the face of a bona fide crisis, Mr. Pallister is taking a time out for what amounts to a public-relations exercise.

Shortly after Mr. Pallister floated his curfew survey idea on Monday, Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief public health officer, told Manitobans their urgent co-operation is needed on basic pandemic control measures. “We don’t have time,” a somewhat despondent Dr. Roussin noted.

In that context, the decision to post a survey seems a bit like firefighters pausing in front of your burning home to consult with neighbours on the best approach to fire suppression. It is a needless and potentially dangerous delay at a time when Manitobans need urgent and decisive leadership.

If Mr. Pallister is in possession of data that confirm the effectiveness of curfews, he should proceed with all due haste with implementing one. Otherwise, seeking unfocused public opinion on the vague possibility of a curfew seems more like a misdirection of public attention than an earnest effort at informed decision-making.

It does not help that the survey appears to have been composed hastily, to say the least.

One question actually asks whether police, first responders (firefighters and paramedics) and/or health-care workers should be exempted from the proposed curfew. If Mr. Pallister’s government needs guidance on whether to allow the free movement of emergency personnel, there is much more to worry about than the efficacy of an online survey.

It is also worth noting that the survey was, for all intents and purposes, the premier’s only response to the emergence of a growing chorus of physicians who are pleading for him to impose a lockdown similar to the one Manitoba implemented last spring. Without similar measures now, these physicians believe, our health-care system will become overwhelmed and the loss of life will be catastrophic.

If the premier wants to survey Manitobans on a salient matter, he could ask for their frank assessment of his government’s performance in the face of a pressing public-health crisis. The results would still not help control COVID-19, but they would ensure that Mr. Pallister and his government get a clear and unambiguous message: dithering and delays are killing us.