Confusion, at the worst time

When it comes to the pandemic, there are exactly two things that Toronto, Ontario and Ottawa seem to completely agree on. The first is that COVID-19 numbers are going in the wrong direction.

Unfortunately, when it comes to actually doing something about that, they’re all over the map.

Toronto Mayor John Tory has sided with public health and backed a “preemptive strike” of 28 days of new restrictions, including more closures, designed to get a surging second wave under control.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford talks about the “happy balance” to be found between public health and the needs of business owners. He’s released a provincial framework that effectively raises the bar for when restrictions kick in, which helps keep businesses open.

And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says provinces should not prioritize the reopening of the economy over health. But he isn’t concerned enough to step in and put pressure on Ontario or any other province to do what he calls “the right thing.”

These contradictory messages about just how much trouble we’re in right now and the correct path out of it, makes the second thing they all agree on a lot less useful than it should be.

They all say we must listen to public health officials. Sure thing — but which ones?

Tory’s position is backed by Toronto’s medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, and Ford’s by the provincial chief medical officer, Dr. David Williams. And Trudeau is guided by Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam.

The danger with mixed messages is that people will gravitate to the one they like the sound of best.

In the same week that Torontonians have been strongly urged not to leave their homes except for essential activities such as work, school or shopping for groceries, the premier told people to go out and support local businesses.

Ford says we should follow health guidelines and do it safely, of course. But this still amounts to people hearing one message telling them things are really bad again and urging them to stay in, and another telling them it’s fine to go out.

No matter how many times Ford mentions this “happy balance” between health and the economy, there just doesn’t seem to be any happy, just a lot of confusion and tension.

So far, Trudeau’s government has paid the lion’s share of financial support to help people through the pandemic. Ottawa is covering 97 per cent of all COVID-19 supports for Ontarians, with the province chipping in just 3 per cent of its own dollars, according to a report by Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office in September.

Tory is now proving he’s willing to pay in political capital by making the hard decision to restrict some businesses, overruling the more permissive provincial framework.

Ford, who says the rising COVID-19 numbers keep him up at night, seems to be hoping for a free ride. He’s relying on Ottawa for the big relief dollars and leaving the unpopular decisions to close things down to municipal public health officials in hard-hit areas like Toronto and Peel Region.

The facade of unity between public health officials and all levels of government is falling apart, and it couldn’t come at a worse time.

Ontario set yet another record for new cases, topping 1,400 for the first time on Wednesday. And the second wave is not just another go-round of what we experienced in the spring.

Things were clearer then; “stay home” was the universal message and nothing much was open anyway. Because of that, the decisions every family made about what to do, or not do, were easier.

Now there’s more virus swirling around in the community, COVID-19 fatigue is at an all-time high and government messaging is a confusing jumble.

If we don’t get on top of this, we’re risking the ability to keep schools open and hurtling toward a dreaded second lockdown.

No one wants to see that, which is one more thing all our leaders can probably agree on.

But they need to get on the same page to stop it from become reality.

Mayor John Tory is proving he’s willing to pay in political capital by making the hard decision to restrict some businesses