Economic triage calls challenge governments

Triage is usually a medical term describing the process doctors use to decide who gets treatment first, and who waits, or doesn’t get treatment at all. At the height of this pandemic there were horrible stories from Spain and Italy about triage being used to determine which COVID-19 patients got ventilators, which were in short supply, and which did not. Often, the ones who did not died.

Taken out of its medical context, triage can be used in a less inhumane but still significant way. It’s what governments, particularly federal and provincial, are going to have to do about requests for financial assistance to businesses and sectors decimated by the pandemic. For the most part, they are all deserving. But not all can be rescued by public money.

To date we have seen historic levels of relief and investment, especially by the federal government. The majority of that has been to help individual Canadians struggling with pandemic induced income loss. Expanded access to employment insurance and the CERB (Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit) are prime examples.

Sectors including natural resources and tourism have asked for and received financial support. There are dozens of other requests. In an ideal world, governments would give the green light to all of them. But consider this: The federal budget officer is estimating the national deficit at $252 billion, largely due to pandemic relief measures.

The point is, while the pandemic relief well is deep, it is not bottomless. At some point governments are going to need to say no as well as yes. Consider these two case studies.

This week The Spectator obtained an internal Mohawk College memo saying the college is preparing for how to deal with a $50 million reduction in revenue. Foreign and domestic student enrolment is down by 20 per cent. The college has already had staff reductions and spending cuts, but the memo warned of more serious steps yet to come. The situation at McMaster University is also serious, but few specifics are known yet.

The situation at institutions like Mohawk was already bleak because the Ford government cut $700 million from Training, Colleges and Universities in its provincial budget. Those cuts, like the one the government foolishly made to public health spending, need to be reversed. Institutions like Mohawk and McMaster are going to play critical roles in post-pandemic economic revitalization. They are clear candidates for restored funding and new investment from provincial and federal governments.

Here’s another case study. Both the Canadian Football League and the Canadian Premier League, parent leagues of Hamilton’s Tiger-Cats and Forge, are asking for financial support. The CPL is seeking “short-term financing” of $15 million for its now postponed season. The CFL is asking for up to $150 million in assistance, partly to mitigate the impact the pandemic has had on league business and partly in the event that the 2020 season is lost altogether.

Can the government justify public support for professional sports entertainment businesses? And if it props up the CFL and the CPL, what about major league baseball, NHL hockey and the NBA?

Pro sports businesses argue they can help rebuild the economy once the pandemic is over or at least under control. No doubt that’s true. But it’s a much tougher case to argue than with sectors like postsecondary education. That’s where the non-medical triage angle comes in. Governments have the difficult and thankless task of deciding who gets rescued from this economic quagmire and who will have to sink or swim on their own. Not everyone will be happy with the decisions.