BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL DAVID REDMAN
During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada, it is apparent that the emergency management system has been sidelined. The Medical Officers of Health (MOHs) have been placed in charge both federally and in the provinces/territories (P/T).
This has resulted in a deadly and massively damaging response. It has caused unnecessary death in our seniors and massive collateral damage to mental health, societal health, education/development of our children, to our citizens with other severe illnesses, to our national economy, our civil rights, and to our trust in our democracy.
This position paper describes the EM process that should have been followed, while contrasting it with what took place in actuality. Each step is shown in order; some steps may have occurred simultaneously. By the end of this position paper, the breadth and depth of what has been overlooked in the Canadian response to COVID-19 becomes enormously evident.
The responsibility for this criminally negligent, deadly, and damaging reaction to the COVID-19 Pandemic rests predominantly with the premiers of each P/T and their MOH, as healthcare is predominately a P/T jurisdiction. In addition, the massive collateral damage caused through federal criminal negligence rests with the Prime Minister of Canada (PM) and the Canadian MOH.
