A `great reset' conservatives can get behind
After nine months of COVID restrictions, some Canadians are reaching peak crazy. In Rosemère, Que., a flash mob of anti-maskers held a dance protest in the local mall. In Kelowna, B.C., bare-faced demonstrators called for “Truth, Freedom, Choice” and to “lock up” provincial chief medical officer Bonnie Henry. And then there's Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, flirting with the conspiracy crowd after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tossed the term “reset” into his latest word salad.
These cringeworthy spectacles distract from the important contribution conservatives could make to a post-pandemic society. For yes, a reset is coming. And no, it's not the one Qanon or its ilk are worried about.
Governments around the world are broke. Global debt has soared by over US$15 trillion in the first three quarters of 2020, hitting a record US$272 trillion. Debt in developed markets topped 432 per cent of GDP in the third quarter. And Canada's leading the pack, with an increase in our debt-to- GDP ratio of over 75 percentage points.
In these circumstances, big government becomes a big fantasy. There will be no funds to sustain current levels of service, let alone basic income or national pharmacare. Even if the state soaks the rich, it would not fill the bottomless pit.
An annual one-per-cent wealth tax on Canadians with fortunes over $20 million would generate $5.6 billion a year; but federal debt alone is projected to hit 1.2 trillion in 2020-21.
The time is ripe for a “great reset”: a reset to a smaller state. And while conservatives may not hold the levers of power in Ottawa (yet), they do in six provinces where they could make a big difference.
First, health care.
Pre-pandemic, surgical wait times were dismally long. Now, they stretch to the horizon. In Moncton, N.B., the average wait time for a knee or hip replacement was 450 days; today, it's 540.
At Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital, two-thirds of patients missed the target window for their operations: 5,000 children will be wait-listed in 2021, and the list is projected to grow.
If there was ever a moment to say “enough” to the demonization of private health care, it is now. We need capacity, and it should not matter who provides it. There is no reason why Canada cannot have both a public system, funded by the state, and a private one, funded by insurance, as the entire European Union — actually, make that almost the entire world — already has. All that's missing is the political will to make it happen.
Second, education.
When the pandemic ends, will all students head back to institutional, indoor, in-person instruction? For many, the answer is probably yes, but for others, it could be no. Some kids love online learning: it has freed them from bullies, harassment and other drama. Others are thriving in alternative education, as schools experiment with outdoor and experiential learning. Some families have discovered they prefer to home school.
This calls for choice in education. Voucher systems, online options, home school support and specialized curricula would not only meet students' needs, but cut brick, mortar and labour costs. Governments should embrace diversity rather than default to the old model. Third, infrastructure.
The pandemic has changed where we live and work. Urbanites are decamping to suburbs and small towns; workers are commuting to their home office instead of the downtown core.
Statistics Canada reports deep transit ridership declines across Canada; even when the Ontario economy reopened, the Toronto Transit Commission reported passenger volume down 50 per cent. Instead of prioritizing urban transit, governments should focus on exurban broadband, as Ontario has already pledged to do. This would not only entrench a rural economic revival, but fewer commuters mean fewer polluters, whether in their cars or on the bus.
If Canada resets the right way, we can become a stronger, more resilient and responsive society.
Rather than dancing à visage découvert, conservatives should step up and offer lasting change.