Moe misses an opportunity to be more positive

Premier Scott Moe's Vido-intervac news conference Monday should have been about optimism and looking ahead.

Rather, it seemed neither optimistic nor all that visionary.

Essentially, Monday's news conference at the Saskatchewan Legislature quickly turned into a recitation of old problems from a government in an all-too-familiar funk.

It didn't address the day-to-day COVID-19 issues. It again allotted disproportional time to blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his federal government for vaccine shortages. And, perhaps most critically, the Saskatchewan government isn't anticipating the next problem, which likely will be convincing people to get vaccines when they come.

The $15-million provincial government commitment to Vido-intervac could have and should have been a stand-alone, good news event showered in positivity for reasons that go beyond the University of Saskatchewan entity deserving to be feted.

This was an opportunity to — in a very positive way — speak to who we are as a province and how it applies to this crisis.

Nowhere else invests as much pride in its own generosity — a provincewide value that cuts across party lines. Whether it's the record $140 million the Kinsman Foundation has raised by Telemiracle, the building of the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital through donations, the outpouring of support for the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash or even becoming the first North American jurisdiction with public health, we define ourselves by our willingness to do our part.

As such, promoting a generous taxpayers' donation toward a homemade COVID-19 solution benefiting the province and the world seemed a no-brainer.

Yet, curiously, Moe chose to crunch the Vido-intervac announcement into one of his increasingly-less-frequent press conferences that supposedly account for the day-to-day COVID-19 challenges.

Unsurprisingly, the event spiralled into familiar negativity (read: thinly veiled Trudeau criticism) with Moe grumping “Canada should to be one of those vaccine-producing nations” yet is failing to do so.

Yes, there's ample reason to criticize Trudeau, but there's also a time and place. A press conference with Vido-intervac that's gotten the bulk of its COVID-19 funding from the federal government wasn't that time or place. (Moreover, Moe's own $15-million contribution is premised on $45 million coming from Ottawa.)

It was exceedingly awkward for Moe to be asking Vido-intervac president and CEO Volker Gerdts to chime in on supply issues which the Saskatchewan premier had constantly framed as a federal government problem.

One gets the political game afoot here. Making most everything about the feds and much-hated Trudeau deflects from the province's own problems and responsibilities. And if you squeeze in a bit of good news on Vido-intervac into the premier's once-a-week newser, there's even less time to have to deal with annoying reporters' questions that stem from public concerns.

It is a problem that Moe couldn't address Monday basic things like seniors' confusion over Phase 1 vaccine availability (Health Minister Paul Merriman later issued a still-unclear response). It was also a problem that Moe couldn't explain why we aren't doing more to stop the spread of new COVID-19 variants, if we are not getting the vaccines quickly enough.

However, the bigger problem right now is anticipating — and getting ahead of — the next big problem: Convincing the skeptical or apathetic they also need to get their vaccine when the time comes.

Once we are past seniors who are always the most eager to get their shots, the next challenge will be convincing others — especially younger males — that it's critical most everyone gets vaccinated. Continually griping about Trudeau and his vaccines seems counterproductive.

Isn't now the time to solicit Mark Mcmorris or any of the Roughriders in a campaign about the Saskatchewan way of everyone generously doing their part and getting vaccinated?

Monday's Vido-intervac vaccine announcement was a missed opportunity, but let's hope Moe now gets that it is time to start messaging differently.