The great Newfoundland and Labrador election fiasco

Chaos swirls as I write this, with the election partially postponed as COVID-19 cases continue to climb, but let’s be clear on one thing: we can’t blame the election for the community spread of coronavirus, even as the two are juxtaposed.

But the community spread of COVID-19 was always a possibility during this pandemic, as most of us still wait to be vaccinated — including thousands of vulnerable people in seniors homes and the people who care for them.

And for that reason alone it was a bad time to call an election — an election which, by its very nature, moves large groups of people through indoor spaces.

It wasn’t just a bad time, it was a dangerous time.

I’ve listened carefully to Liberal Leader Andrew Furey as he has defended the timing of the election call. He’s sounded defensive at times.

There’s a lot to defend. Furey has said the law dictates that he call an election by August 2021.

There are ways around that, as a Telegram story pointed out recently. But leaving aside that, and leaving aside the pending economic recovery team report, Furey has been asked repeatedly why — in the face of the August deadline — he couldn’t have waited until June, say, or July, when more people would have been vaccinated and fewer people would be stuck inside where coronavirus can spread more easily.

He has not had a good answer for that.

He has said that the teenagers who are among the infected now would not have been vaccinated by June anyway. Well, their grandparents might have been; some of their parents, even, or their coaches and teachers.

Furey has said two other provinces have held elections during the pandemic, so why not us. True enough, they have. British Columbia and New Brunswick — like Newfoundland and Labrador, each led by a minority government hungering for majority power — called elections last September.

New Brunswick’s election was Sept. 14, when that province had three active cases. Blaine Higgs won his majority. New Brunswick now has 162 active cases.

B.C. voters went to the polls on Sept. 24 when it had 1,371 active cases. John Horgan won his majority. B.C. now has 4,424 active cases. Hardly cause and effect, but COVID-19 was on the move.

So, sure the opportunity is there to win more seats, but your province can also experience the spread of COVID-19 at the same time that politicians are travelling around and people are having to gather to mark their ballots.

I guess it depends on what your priorities are.

He said the opposition seemed to be almost goading him to call the election, saying that they were ready to hit the pavement. Opposition parties will always be prepared when there’s an election call in the wind and this one was no surprise.

Furey has said he was assured by Chief Electoral Officer Bruce Chaulk that Chaulk could run a safe pandemic election.

Well, that’s not happening now. Nervous polling staff have quit in droves and some have been infected. Some people are afraid to go out to vote.

In a moment of unadulterated irony during a COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, Furey told VOCM’s Linda Swain that, “Now, more than ever, the province needs a stable government to navigate these uncertain times.”

Right now the boat seems rudderless, with everyone frantically pulling their oars in different directions.

Furey has also said that while he has a mandate from the voters in his district, and a mandate from the Liberal party, what he really needs is a strong mandate from the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

What about what the people need? It wasn’t this.