Doesn’t seem like we were well prepared
When the wind blew and the snow flew,
an SOE was declared to protect me and you.
When the political types hold their review
The protocols need to be thought through.
Some thoughts on the storm response, randomly:
Why allow supermarkets to open and keep local convenience stores and coffee shops closed?
Food banks, most located in the downtown, weren’t allowed to open to help those most in need. If you had money and a car, you could go to a major chain.
If you are clearing a road, block the access and clear it! The big dig downtown to replace infrastructure was an example of how this works.
This week will be a week of politicians patting other politicians on the back for a job well done. Spare me!
Domino’s — a chain — was lauded for its work in feeding first responders, while Wedgwood Café, a local outfit, had to give away food on the fourth day because they couldn’t access their premises and do the same? Which one is the hero, or which one the victim?
Then, the band jumps on the wagon and says don’t support franchises, support local — the very businesses who weren’t allowed to open by the powers that be.
The city came to realize that drug stores were now also food stores, but they could only sell drugs. Veterinarian clinics opened at the same time that dentists’ offices opened. Think about that.
Taxis were not allowed to operate, yet individuals could drive their own cars to supermarkets.
A popular view in the capital city would be to have the city control the state of emergency for all the Avalon Peninsula. I suppose equipment could then be commandeered from other towns/cities to clear Cochrane and Cook streets before Commonwealth
Avenue and Fowler’s Road.
No one should allow a partial lifting of the ban, even when the area is safe to use. Mount Pearl and Paradise were able to get back to normal sooner. Not fair, eh b’y.
Two sunny days were lost the at airport because the city felt all users came from the city. It shows the fallacy of St. John’s taking control of some parts of what ought to be a provincial road network.
All government offices were closed, so people in need had to phone “Open Line” or one, then two phone lines for help. Guess the ultramodern phone system does not have a call-forwarding feature for remote operation by staff.
Updates were generally done late in the day, with people left wondering about the status of things. Lack of provincial oversight was apparent. Some hodgepodge of a “provincial control centre” served, it seems, to direct military snow shovellers and be a venue for the premier’s photo-ops.
The quick action to shut all government services with no thought of service to the public was too evident.
Oceanex could not move freight to wholesalers who needed product to supply retailers on the rest of the Avalon and the island.
After Day 2, one would think some workers would be allowed access to their workplace to relieve their counterparts.
The rumour was that at least one patient made it to the Health Sciences Centre by Ski-doo.
Will we even placate the public concerns about safety before May? There are probably more concerns for safety downtown on any given Friday or Saturday night.
I’m thinking that with the length of the shutdown, the government has no choice to ante up for some wage subsidy, or at least give the impression they tried.
MUN extends its semester. I wonder how quick the school board will react to lost instruction time?
I never heard a regular dispatch from a provincial emergency office with updates by Hydro or Newfoundland Power on anything. Radio media seemed to only follow outages by reading the outage list from the internet.
Postal workers used to complain about walkways not cleared to houses as a reason for no mail delivery. Now, it’s because boxes aren’t cleared. It’s got to make you think!
Emergency preparedness? We don’t have it.
Seat-of-our-pants management is failing us. Paul Hillyard Mount Pearl