There was a before and an after. The Star looks forward
Certain dates stick in the mind.
On March 14, a close relative went to pick up a coffee, a couple of blocks from their home. Less than 10 minutes later, that relative lost 90 per cent of their small business. As experienced by many suddenly with reduced or no work, it fell to the economic, health and social calamity of COVID-19.
On March16, Star staff learned they’d be working from home. We haven’t seen each other in person since.
Another close family member works in a long-term-care facility. In March, that wasn’t known as a front line. By May, it’s among the most formidable front lines of all.
Another date looms in retrospect. January 25, as of now the first known presumptive COVID-19 case in Canada.
Time still felt normal in January. So did shaking hands, and hugging. The absence of an ever-present fear.
On January 25, a one-day teachers strike was announced in Ontario. Pipeline protests flared. Peter McaKay announced a bid for the Conservative leadership. Major league sports played.
Also that day, 40 dead in Wuhan. B.C. prepared for possible viral outbreak. And that first presumed first COVID case in Canada.
Everyone has a different day their world irrevocably changed. For me, it’s March 17, when the physical newsroom shut down. For you, it may be the day of your own quarantine, the first uncertain day of emergency lockdown, the day work melted away. The last day you saw a loved parent or child in person. The last time you saw a loved one, at all.
No matter the day, there’s a before and after.
We’re now entering that “after” time, with staged reopenings, a slow return to a life outside the home.
On March 25, I wrote a pledge about what the Star would do amid this discombobulating time.
I promised to update it as the story evolved. It has evolved.
We all have. We went though stages — adrenalin, novelty, connectedness. Kindness. Then uneasiness, fear, anxiety, grief. A sense of timelessness, rootlessness. Did we ever hit resignation? Timid hope. Angry hope. Uneasy hope.
We learned people would put their immediate interests aside for the greater safety of all. At least for a while. We learned to appreciate a different vision of front-line worker, and hero. At least for now.
The next short while will see bouts of guideline relaxations and business openings. We’ll report what that new world will look like in the short term. And we, along with you, and our brightest creative minds in Canada, will also explore not just what the new normal could be, but what it should be.
Specifically, these are our key areas of focus in the coming weeks and months.
Health and science: From the race toward vaccination to immunity to conditions needed to lower, avert or even just manage a second or third wave, our journalists will be reporting on what you — and governments — need to know to stay safe and save lives.
Accountability: There was much good found in Canadian governments in response to the virus. A shift away from partisanship, speedy responses to short-term economic trauma, responsible communication on health-led lockdown strategies. But in many areas also a deficit of testing and tracing, and the calamitous effect on long-termcare residents and staff. Not learning from and reforming these areas can lead to further grief and trauma in the future.
Personal and overall economy: The pandemic is a financial catastrophe for many, and a national economic challenge for all. The impact it has on the nature of work, neighbourhoods, cities, politics, taxation, governance, as well as big and small business, will be a close focus for some time. New normal: Examining our changed world through personal, business, social and cultural lenses. Our ongoing Viral Inequality series on the wide vulnerability gaps the virus ruthlessly exposed. The impact on city life, education, how we live individually and collectively. What we’ve learned we want to change, and what we want to keep.
New opportunities: The lockdown made us miss our world from before, but it also illuminated what was missing in it, and we should not look away. In our ongoing Great ReVision series, we use this collective pause to think again, try again and make something better. From urban planning to taxation and governance, the role of business and employees, this aspirational, inspirational reporting will look at the society we want to live in, and ways to get there.
Art and culture: Big gatherings are still a while away so we’re teaming up with Toronto and Canadian cultural organizations to share the solace, community, pleasure and strength art provides, as well as reporting on how culture can survive through these challenging times.
These themes will run alongside the traditional locally focused, people-first reporting and investigations you expect from the Star.
Our society will be marked by the virus for some time, but we’re not defined by it. Other coverage is also vital to keep us all informed and connected to our communities. The pandemic proved how central local reporting is in a time of crisis, reporting that’s as resource-heavy and expensive as it is important. COVID-19 put relentless revenue pressure on a media industry that was already financially struggling. Your subscription is vital to helping us be there for you, and with you, through this crisis and beyond.
Thank you for your support.