Thursday, May 7, 2020

A Tale of Two Institutions


Two unrelated - unconnected facts - except of course, that they are both about the consequences of allowing the COVID-19 virus to spread.

1) nearly 80% of all deaths in Canada attributed to COCID-19 have happened in nursing homes(1).
2) the largest single largest COVID-19 outbreak has occurred in the Cargill meat processing plant in Alberta (2).

I find it fascinating and more than a little bit worrisome that in general Canadians (or at least the Canadian press) are alarmed at the number of cases of COCID-19 and the consequent deaths within our long term care facilities. We are quite right to be concerned that so many people have died within a very short time when we knew how to prevent the virus from spreading. As noted in an earlier blog, any one who has spent any time in a nursing home knows the problems - not enough staff, staff who are underpaid and who have to work in more than one facility to live and environments for the seniors that do not allow for enough private space - are all factors which can facilitate the spread of viruses. Especially for those who had not thought about the problem, it must be more than a little bit troublesome to contemplate their potential future. There are already demands for a national strategy to alleviate the the problem, a demand that Canada takes better care of its "most vulnerable".  While it would be nice if in, fact, such a strategy was developed, I cannot imagine a time when the provinces will allow the federal government to control something that is under provincial jurisdiction nor can I imagine a time when the Canadian taxpayers will tolerate a significant increase in taxes to pay for any such plan.

Canadians, however, seem to have far fewer concerns as to what is happening at the meat processing plant. There are no calls for a national investigation as to how this could have happened or for a national strategy to ensure that it cannot happen again. Perhaps because there is no apparent danger to ourselves and we most of us cannot imagine ever having to work under those conditions, we do not see what is happening in Cargill or the other meatpacking plants as being our concern. But if seniors are being labelled as our "most vulnerable", surely the employees of that and the other meat processing plants, most of who are immigrants must come close to being our second most vulnerable.

For those of us who have read reports or seen documentaries (https://www.nfb.ca/film/24_days_in_brooks/)  about meat processing and immigrants, we are well aware that not only are the working conditions sub-standard but also that the employees are frequently treated poorly because they are immigrants and may feel powerless. We should all be just a little bit angry about the fact that the employees are treated poorly much of the time. We should be offended that this has been allowed to happen for decades. But now we should be bloody mad that at a time when most of us are not supposed to get within six metres of anyone, other than those we live with, employees who are afraid of being sent back to their country are being forced to work in dangerous conditions where it is highly likely some will become infected.

It is well past time that those who profit from the abuse of workers who are immigrant are held accountable. It is equally well past time that all of those who enjoy the products need to speak up. One cannot help but wonder whether or not people's love of cheap meat blinds them from doing what is right.


(1) cbc.ca/news/politics/long-term-care-homes-covid19-1.5556041 
(2)newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/cargill-covid19-outbreak

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