Ministers' messages on COVID rules get muddled
CAQ government fails to communicate clearly during this health crisis
Less than three months after he formed his Coalition Avenir Québec government, Premier François Legault sacked his environment minister, Mariechantal Chassé, because the rookie politician hadn't learned yet how to avoid trouble in media scrums.
Since then, Legault's standards have obviously declined. Otherwise, several people in his government, including the premier himself, would have resigned by now.
Politicians are often deliberately vague. But people in government have to be able to communicate clearly when necessary, as in the current public health crisis. And that basic skill is lacking in the CAQ government, nearly two years after it took office.
“The Legault government,” one news story on the government's handling of the pandemic began this week, “clarified on Wednesday the confused message it delivered the day before.” It has become an all-too-typical story; only the day and the subject change.
This time, the confusion was created by Public Health Director Horacio Arruda and Health Minister Christian Dubé; they had said police might enter private homes without warrants if they suspected violations of health measures.
The clarification itself was, well, unclear. “Absolutely no question,” said Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault about the raids — “for now.” Having slammed the door shut, she promptly reopened it.
On Monday of last week, the premier declared that the pandemic situation had become “critical.” The health minister's response, however, was anticlimactic: Dubé's major announcement was that bars would have to stop serving chicken nuggets and other food at midnight. Editorial cartoonists, at least, were delighted.
Not only do members of the government contradict each other, sometimes they even contradict themselves — and in a single message.
Last Friday, Dubé tweeted advice for the weekend. “It's not the time to hold gatherings or family parties,” he said. He added, however, that “the rule is still max 10 persons in private homes.”
So, no “gatherings or family parties,” but 10 people in a private home was okay. Spot the error.
There was more confusion on Monday of this week, after the health minister tightened restrictions on private gatherings. To clear it up, Dubé again took to Twitter.
“6 persons max regardless of the number of addresses OR 2 families from 2 different addresses max,” he tweeted. So, up to six people from up to six separate households, or an unlimited number, as long as they were from no more than two families with different addresses.
Even Dubé realized that might not be clear enough, since he immediately followed up with a second tweet, incongruously illustrated with cute little iphone emojis.
“1 single person can invite 5 people, that's allowed, but to be avoided: you're encouraged to limit contacts.” But “1 family of 4 can invite another family of 4, as long as it's max 2 addresses.”
It's not clear why six people from six households represent no more or less of a risk of contagion than eight — or more — from two addresses. The health minister did, however, inspire the cartoonists again.
Even the advertising agency paid to tell us what the government wants us to do can't seem to keep up.
“Alert!” ads in Quebec dailies shouted this week, announcing that “the spread of COVID-19 is high” in certain regions. “We ask that you limit your get-togethers with family and friends.”
“We ask that you limit your get-togethers?” Limit them how much? The ads didn't say. Anyway, they were just asking. The ads continued to run even after Dubé suggested on Thursday that Quebecers just stay home.
Once again, it wasn't clear whether the government was making a rule, a recommendation or a request. It was leaving it up to Quebecers' judgment, for better or worse.
It's been the latter; Quebec continues to have by far the worst rate of new cases of COVID-19 of any province or territory. And six months into the pandemic, that can no longer be blamed on previous governments.