Wear a mask, save lives

Kevin King/Postmedia Network

One thing is clear in this age of COVID  — if we are to get a handle on the pandemic, which is raging out of control all over the world, we MUST wear a mask. Each and every one of us over the age of 2 years have a duty to comply. Children can get the virus but they, as potential asymptomatic carriers, can also spread it; children under 2 should not have their mouths and noses covered.  Practice hand-washing hygiene with them as part of personal grooming at home.  Encourage youngsters to keep their hands away from eyes, nose and mouth. 

As for adults, wear a damned mask! Simple. Stop the whining. Stop the excuses, Stop going on about it being a violation of your rights. What about the rights of the ‘medically fragile’ or ‘at risk’.  When you’re milling about at the malls without a  mask you can’t know how many others you might unwittingly infect. As for myself, given the seriousness of our current world wide health situation, I have a right to expect places of business to be safe when I frequent them. Though I’m proactive with regard to  my own health and wellness, I am considered ‘at risk’ because of pre-existing conditions.

Again, just to be very clear. None of  us is special. None of us in immune to the virus and none of us can say with certainty that we won’t unwittingly pass it to someone else or many people, cycling the virus  even further out of control. Who’s to say that we aren’t silent spreaders and because of that, we infect many people, some of whom will die. That’s the reality of this insidious virus. It has no respect for one’s station in life. None.

The words of Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, resonate — “I don’t know how to explain to you that you should care for other people”

Via a Facebook post, my sister-in-law recounted a troubling scene. She was in a convenience store where there were approximately 20 people not practicing social distancing, except those lined up at the cash. The man in front of her was still in his EMS uniform, NOT wearing a mask. That very person would be the one who loads patients onto stretchers for transport to hospital, probably sitting beside them during the ambulance ride. How many times did he do that in the course of a single day, with stops for beverage pick-up in between?  How many similarly unmasked people did he encounter? Silent spreaders? People already infected but not knowing? People presenting with early symptoms, such as a cough, but still going out? 

Ambulance New Brunswick would do well to issue a binding directive to all employees at every level of care. Violating contact and care rules could result in suspension without pay. Hits to the wallet tend to get attention and correct behaviour. For some it takes multiple cash withdrawals before they ‘get it’.

Now, about those pesky masks! Just stop it about the masks. They SAVE lives. The folks moaning and groaning about them need to just get over themselves and look at the bigger picture. It’s not like they’re forced to wear a mask every waking hour. Wearing the mask is about respecting those around us. We instruct our children to be kind, to obey safety rules, to obey rules of conduct at gathering places for sporting activities. So, too, we must obey the laws of the land as they pertain to mask wearing during a global health crisis.

  Business owners are now finding themselves acting as mask police. Patrons of their stores have a DUTY to respect the rules of establishments where there a mask order in place. Their ability to put food on the table and pay bills is at risk when bullies won’t play by the rules. Violators of mask mandate ARE bullies. They can spin it any way they like but they need to understand this — by not wearing a mask, they punish themselves, too.  How can that be more important than respecting the person who sells them a coffee and doughnut? 

Stay safe. Be kind. WEAR a mask.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca

Use COVID to rethink teaching, parenting

        COVID-19 has affected children in ways that will have impact on their daily lives, ongoing education and psychosocial development in the larger world. It’s critical that mechanisms be developed that will provide relief for their stress and a place to put all that energy; some of it nervous and anxiety producing.

Take it outside! On the streets where they live. With sidewalk games; socially distanced story time with children reading to each other or telling stories, each one taking a turn to make the wordy adventure grow. A great learning and teaching tool. And it’s fun!

Even learning the times table can be done outside ; an old-fashioned slate and chalk will take care of business.  Play marbles! Develop a routine of exercises that contribute to health and wellness; a physical education class outside in the fresh air. Think of the possibilities!

I recall growing up in Bath, New Brunswick, #7 of 8 children, when being outside for hours each day after school was the norm. Of course, we didn’t have lots of television and there certainly was no internet or malls! In the words of Mama Cass, we had to “make your own kind of music”

Though classrooms in the age of COVID may be smaller, distanced and lacking all the things children have come to know in the 4 walls setting, outdoor learning may actually be a  blessing in disguise; the proverbial silver lining. Some children just aren’t ready for the sit down and sit still regimen that a classrom enviroment requires, especially those who’s social skills are lacking. They struggle. Play dates save the day. Outside, with a group of age related peers mixed with a few older children to show them how to do stuff, saves the play. Mistakes will be made; that’s part of the process, but with them is learning. What to do and what not to do. Block play parties with kids interacting in groups, moving in and out of their circles on the block also boosts confidence as the anxious child learns it’s okay to be worried and a bit nervous. Lots of children are. 

Today, in these COVID times, parents could pool financial resources to purchase equipment that would be shared, set up in various yards that have  appropriate space. A community work in progress that could go on for years as children grow and mature.

COVID has tested the resolve and patience of so many parents who struggled with home schooling children of various ages. Make no mistake! It’s a challenge at the best of times and gave them a whole new appreciation for what a classroom teacher of 15-20 children does day after day through a full school year. It’s exhausting.

The impact on children with special needs is astronomical; many of them used to get several hours/day of therapies and learning activies per day. That’s gone. Those about to age out are in jeopardy.

Children  prone to outbursts actually do much better in an outside learning environment with less ‘rules’; they ridge on classroom rules because they lack self-discipline. Sometimes, parents just couldn’t cope with the ‘wild child’ and decided to let the teacher  handle things. That’s wrong and it’s not fair. Parenting classes are available and offer guidance for even the most difficult child. Consistency is critical.

As parents step back, they’ll find that the childen will arrange their own play dates after school, negotiating what they’ll  do, learning to take turns as leader. Diplomats in the making. 

The COVID curriculum has a lot of potential as teachers, parents and community leaders move forward to ensure health and safety for all. Children have come out from behind smartphones and tablets and other devices of current communication and are learning to use their voice and their words to share ideas and intent. Technology becomes a facilitator of interactions not a replacement for them.

The ‘sit still and learn this’ model has been  partially sidelined for now. Frankly, I don’t think that’s a bad thing as this change of scene gives the students lost in the shuffle an opportunity  to shine, to show their stuff and to get comfortable enough in their own skin to rise above any particular challenges that may have held them  back within  four walls.

Let’s not gripe about what COVID took from us. Instead let’s look to how we can adapt our daily living to meet the challenges of ensuring our children are safe, well and happy while learning what they need to be learning to compete on the world stage.

Stay safe and wear a mask. Don’t litter!

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca

A day in the life — COVID-19 style

Dan Janisse/Postmedia News

       Several days ago, I went to the city, for an eye exam, brunch,  and grocery shopping. Each stop involved various components of social distancing, a phenomenon that is going to be around for some time to come; to be safe, we are obliged to accept this new way of conducting daily life. Wearing a mask is NOT that difficult, folks. Not wearing one risks lives, maybe our own. 

That being the case, is it absolutely vital that each and every one of us observe the protocols set out by the Department of Health. That is our DUTY as citizens of the world!

At the eye doctor, I walked in on my crutches, masked. A quick stop at the  hand sanitizing station. Done. Eye exam done. I get to spend more money; new lenses! On the way out, another shot of sanitizer and a scrub of the hands. Then to Vogue Optical. I was allowed to pass through the door between the two businesses, a concession to my mobility disorder. I always appreciate it when I am able to conserve energy with the help of others. Being a frugal Scot, I recycled the frames for the 3rd, or is it the 4th script change. In a few weeks I’ll be seeing a whole new world. No, I won’t sing!

Next, off to enjoy brunch. Kudos to staff at Pizza Delight who diligently wiped down tables, chairs and booth seats as they were vacated. It seemed so strange to be dining at lunch time without the usual banter coming from several tables at once. My friend commented that the outings are no longer fun. I had to agree. Is what we enjoyed for decades gone forever?

Off to the grocery store — I’m concerned about the complacency with which so many of the young function. No longer can they think themselves invincible when they’re out and about because what they do from now on until COVID is gone, impacts everyone  around them as well as everyone not around them. COVID doesn’t distinguish. It attacks the most vulnerable first, but it can and does attack the seemingly healthy high school football player or the yoga-practicing ballet dancer. COVID doesn’t discriminate between genders.

Littering the highways and waterways with discarded masks and gloves has got to STOP. Wildlife is struggling to survive at the best of times and for us supposedly intelligent humans to destroy their homes is cruel and inhumane. We have a DUTY to protect our environment, so that it will continue to provide us with so many of the good things in life, most notably enjoying all the beauty it brings to our lives. We take photographs of flower, of birds, of bears and deer. What are we thinking when we litter the places where they live and hunt for food? That makes no sense. Just stop it!

COVID-19 has altered so much of how we live and what we are able to do and what we are no longer able to do. It’s a huge adjustment, that’s for sure.  But one thing is clear — so long as people don’t follow the rules and wander around without wearing a mask and without observing the rules of social distancing, COVID cases will rise. More people will die. Will the next one or the one after that or the two after that be people we know?  Perhaps. Do we want to be THAT person who didn’t wear a mask or maintain distance? 

Pushy, needy, greedy ME people are challenged by rules at the best of times but COVID-19 has shone a light on their deficiencies to purposeful and effective interpersonal interactions.  Do they  have it within themselves to make changes? For themselves  and for those around them? For those with whom they come in contact on a daily basis?

In doing our part and not becoming complacent we can ensure that as businesses reopen and a level of normalcy to daily living returns; we can ensure it stays that way by OBEYING the rules of social distancing and mask wearing.

To reiterate, masks are CRITICAL to limit/eliminate spread. That cannot be stressed enough. In not doing our part, we are risking the lives of every single person in our community. That is the reality of our current situation. We truly are in this together.

As more and more businesses open and more street vendors attached to eat-in restaurants  pop up to  recover their lockdown losses, it is important for us to strictly adhere to ALL rules that each of them outline for us. They have to earn a living to support their families just as we do and one person steps outside the rules, others will follow, thinking it’s okay. It’s not!

Tomorrow’s a new day. Make it a safe one. Wear a mask.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca

Memorializing pets who have passed away

Mr. Digby Rockwell, the feisty Australian Silky Terrier

 (8 May 2003 - 5 June 2020)

Do pet obituaries belong in the paper alongside notices of the passing of  people? Hmm!

Ask me and I’ll say yes! To assign value to an animal's life actually enriches our own. The true friend of animals great and small would never for a moment consider doing them harm and anyone who injures an animal has a broken moral compass. Many are damaged souls with deep seated emotional problems that play out in acts of violence towards animals as well as other humans, but that’s a discussion for another time.

Understandably, there would be many who would say that an obituary for a dog, a cat, a turtle or a hamster has no place in the newspaper on a page where the passing of humans,  fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles were listed.

Stop and think about this for a moment. Many of those who died very possibly had a dog, a cat, a turtle or a hamster; creatures that they loved and to whom they provided daily care. How often do we see reference to a Fluffy or a Clancy or a Ben in the obituary of Mr. Jones or Mrs. Smith? The  companion animals left behind when their human passes away do, indeed, feel the loss. Unlike humans, they’re not able to express grief in words, instead acting out anxiety, sadness and distress in physical ways — not eating, not sleeping or sleeping too much, destroying things like shoes and pillows. Some will even lose house training and soil indiscriminately but rarely where they sleep.

Because they openly announce that a pet was part of a family, bringing legitimacy to mourning the pet as a family member, obituaries for animals push against what defines ‘family’ in ways that may offend some people. 

Look at the broader implications. Newspapers featuring pet obituaries are actually contributing to the health of the community, particularly with the senior populations for whom pets were a significant part of daily lives. Those isolated by circumstance rely on their pet as an emotional connection that replaces the human ones they’ve lost; children moved thousands of miles away,  a spouse has died, ability to get out and about easily is difficult and they don’t want to impose on friends, local family or neighbours. So they ‘hole up’ with their steadfast canine or feline companion.

 Across this province and across the country, many have experienced pet loss but don’t share about it, feeling that it’s silly, or that people would laugh at them with the totally insensitive “he was only a dog.” For those whose companion dog died, whether through old age, accident or disease, Barkley or Ben was never “ only a dog”.

In this age of modern technology with with access to all manner of information, how many of us  googled the name of a celebrity dog; Lassie, perhaps — played by Pal, the Rough Collie. Go ahead. I know you want to.

There are lots of online venues where people freely share about their pet when he passes away, Sites such as Rainbow Bridge can give others a chance to see the love you have for your dog. Equally important is that someone who is struggling with the grief over the loss of a pet may find comfort in it as well. And so, I share with you now.

In Loving Memory of Mr. Digby Rockwell (8 May 2003 - 5 June 2020): Mr. D, an Australian Silky Terrier crossed the Rainbow Bridge  after running the show here at Chez Rockwell for the past 13  of his 17 years. A refined little hairy gentleman, he provided many years of companionship to the crazy old baker lady. In recent years, Digger tolerated  the rambunctious Maltese, Miss Lexie, who stole his toys and I think, a bit of his doggy heart.

Mr. Digby got his start in Quebec, though his 2nd language was not French but Yorkie yap, given he was a cross between the Yorkshire Terrier and the Cairn Terrier. Sadly, that beginning was in a puppy mill.

In 2003, he was purchased from a Montreal pet store by a woman who clearly didn't 'get' the terrier attitude. They came to New Brunswick, but he was removed from her home, finding his way to me through my vet, in November of 2007, just days after I said good-bye to Mr. Jake, the Cairn Terrier. Pre-ordained? I think it was!

It was only fitting that, at the end, Dr. Shawn Smith of the Main Street Vet Clinic in Fredericton would help Mr. Digby on his way since it was through his clinic  that the D-man  and I were glued together.

Losing a pet is never easy, but Mr. Digby told me in many little ways that it was time to go. I would have been selfish to let him stay a day longer than he could.

Rest In Peace, little man.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca

Caring for ourselves during COVID-19

My friend Kathi with a pepper to be pickled

What would make you want to care for another person? Love? A sense of responsibility? Cash? In reality, all  could be motivators, but in these times, the first two are stressed when the third, the cash, the resources, is lacking.

During  the COVID-19 pandemic I and many in like circumstance have been self-isolating to a greater extent than most by virtue of a since birth disability and comorbidities. I have no children to guilt trip into taking care of me should my ability to independently live go sideways. So far, so good.

Since I’ve always taken good care of myself because of my medical status, the immediate need for a stepped up level of assistance via the health care system isn’t warranted and may not be for at least another decade. Wishin’ and hopin’. My independent living, health and wellness is sustained as I’m not a victim of self-destructive lifestyle habits like smoking, drinking to excess, over-eating the ‘wrong’ foods. In fact, I make a point of cooking foods that will carry me from week to week, 3 meals a day. Lots of water.

Staying healthy also means being agreeable with other  people  anticipating that they will reciprocate. Don’t be too needy so as not to abuse assistance of friends and family who know that you are not always able to meet some of the demands of daily living. I can’t do ladders, so don’t ask me. But  I will ask you. If I do, I’ll pay you with a loaf of homemade bread and a few bucks.

Lots of folks are expanding their vegetable gardens as food supplies have been interrupted. With that comes community growth,  especially helpful in rural settings where  lots of ‘old school’ farmers and children and grandchildren of farmers still live with their own families. Many teaching opportunities are found in that rich soil.

My friend, Kathi Dunphy, former librarian in Stanley now living in St. Martins, told me that she had planned to downsize her garden this year. Instead, she’s doubled it with the help of neighbours with whom she and  her husband will share the harvest. According to Kathi, “there will be a lot of freezing/canning/ pickling ahead!”  Won’t you be my neighbour?

The COVID-19 pandemic has forever altered the financial health of many among us with lots of businesses not surviving; those who had a dream years ago, decades ago, saw it all disappear in a matter of months. Some may have had a sufficient financial cushion and a back-up plan that  will allow them crawl back up, to stand and march on. Others will need ongoing supports from government for months to come. Yet again, a call to explore the viability of universal basic income, if only in the short term.

Seniors who were planning to sell homes are no longer able to do that. Can they safely age in place? Will they need help to do that? A “what do I need?’ list is helpful with CHMC’s Residential Rehabilitation Program being a place to start discussions.

Staying engaged during times like these, particularly for those who were isolated before the pandemic visited their lives, is vital and letting people know you’re having struggles is important. They want to help. Not everyone has internet access, so it’s important for our governments to look at ways to broaden coverage and make costs accessible to all. For equal access of education of our children, technology must be more fully developed in rural settings and fee structures established that include those on the financial fringes.

As people begin establishing their own ‘new normal’ and redefine themselves with a new job, whether as part of a new team in a different career, or a dream fulfilled with brand new start, they can start standing securely on their own and lift themselves up, with an ability to lift another up. The building block effect has potential to reshape and solidify a new  economic landscape and all that underpins it, effectively redefining a community, especially for those who were previously struggling.

It’s important  during these unique days and months ahead that we be RESPECTFUL. Tossing used masks and gloves on our roadways, along with those empty coffee cups, food wrappers and other such waste is not only rude, it’s wrong! Our wildlife came out from their own confinement to enjoy their world free from human abuses to the environment; we need to remember that what’s outside our 4 walls is not our home and we have a duty to not abuse it. I’m sure you’ll agree and encourage those in your world to do the same.

  Safety is a mutual priority, folks.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her geriatric Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca

Silver Linings from the COVID Pandora’s Box

Photo: UNSPLASH

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, left in Pandora’s box after all the death and destruction, there is hope. Though many of us will think it pointless to hope for the best when things seem so bleak, what we can do is hope for ‘the better’. There is no doubt that this global event has brought forth our ‘better angels’, as we can now more clearly see life around us. The lives carrying on right under our own roofs; lives from which we got disconnected when work and the busy grind of the day to day took us away from family, from spouses/partners.

While there seems no escape from the pain and suffering, we find hope in the resilience of our children as they adapt to this new normal. A normal that finds them really getting to know their Mom and Dad, as they shelter and stay safe in place. Mom and Dad find hope in acknowledging that the shift in their circumstances has reshaped how they think. What used to be important, the ‘stuff’ of life, isn’t so much. They’re finding reinvigorated joy in the small things. the things that create memories.

Within each of us is the capacity to hope for better days though some may not be able to return to the job they once had, venturing out to find something different. Paying the bills is obviously the prime motivator, but finding ‘job joy’ is also important.  Perhaps people will explore self-employment drawn from a long abandoned hidden talent. Lots of bakers were born during the pandemic. So, too, many among us revisited hobbies of our youth. How many Van Goghs brushed off their smocks and berets? Maybe there are folks who got back into sewing, quilting, knitting and crocheting. Hand crafted smocks and berets could be big sellers. And then  there’s gardening - both vegetable and flowers. 

  Because of interruptions in food supply chains, there will be a need for fresh  fruit and produce. Might there be men and women  out there thinking bigger, with a resurgence in the age of the gentleman/woman farmer? Dairy farming. Beef cattle farming. Getting back to the basics of daily living. Up at dawn to do old fashioned chores, out in the barns. in the fields. Think of the possibilities. Might the COVID-19 pandemic have the silver lining that New Brunswick has been  looking for? Technology turned  us into emotionally isolated ME people, as we Facebooked, Snapchatted, Facetimed our way through our days. Self-isolation taught us a lot — mostly about ourselves and our need for that  people connection.

The hope left in Pandora’s box turned our attention to our children and what would become of their turned  upside down worlds, as many schools will be closed for the rest of the term, and those that will open in September will be changed — possibly for years to come. That, my friends, may not be a bad thing. Many parents are looking to the Little House on the Prairie schoolhouse days as a guide to educating children. What children learn and how they learn it doesn’t have to be tethered to technology, to high speed internet. COVID-19 family time found parents and grandparents revisiting their own distant past with the resurrection of board games, puzzles, story telling, reading. Cooking, baking, music and art appreciation can all be enjoyed as a family, all the while being teaching tools.

Speaking of Little House on the Prairie, I learned that a storyline from that series actually predicted what we are experiencing today. In 1975, Little House On The Prairie aired an episode called 'Plague', which sees Laura's father Charles Ingalls, played by Michael Landon, attempt to control a breakout of typhus in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.   Charles is left isolated as he doesn't want to spread  disease; he turns the local church into a hospital to look after those infected.  In a 1977 episode, ’Quarantine', the whole town goes into lockdown after there is an outbreak of mountain fever.  Earning power/bartering came to a  standstill.

Today, we have different ways of earning an income, of providing for our family, but all of that came to a screeching halt and we were actually thrust into a pared down life, a simpler life. I suspect there will be many who say they’re enjoying the slower pace in spite of the impact not working is taking on their bank accounts. There will be so many who are not financially equipped to function without a sustained source of income -  enough to cover ‘necessities of life’  would be the ideal for the disenfranchised and struggling.

A universal basic income, even in the short term will brighten the light on hope, so that people can make new plans, or tweak the old ones. While our federal and provincial governments strategize, we all know one thing   — how we educate children could benefit from the ‘old ways’ more than we realize.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her geriatric Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornt.ca

The COVID-19 pandemic blew the lid off Pandora’s box

The COVID-19 pandemic is not going away any time soon so people need to accept this new reality if we are to overcome and get on with things. The co-operation of every single one of us is critical to that end.

What the pandemic has done is blow the lid off Pandora’s box with evidence of all manner of inequalities spilling out; front and center are the deficiencies in the lives of our children — they are our future, right? Why are we not doing more to ensure that they get the future they deserve — the kind the ‘haves’ don’t worry about too much because they’re already on track to a life that won’t experience a lot of worry about where the next meal is coming from, can Mom pay the rent this month? or will Dad still have a job in the fall?  Children in financial crisis, because their family lives on the edge day in and day out, worry about things young people should not have worry about.

My brain is boggled. Yes, it is! I just cannot understand how so many people are stuck on the notion that a universal basic income is  tantamount to paying people to do nothing. How very wrong they are.  Frankly,  it’s an insult to those who, very often through circumstances out of their control, have lived on the financial edge for years; for decades. You’ve heard the  statement — most people don’t have $400 to cover an emergency.

The single mother working two minimum wage jobs trying to keep a roof over her head and food on the table for herself and 4 kids is the one working for nothing, if we define working primarily in dollars and cents. Stop and think  about that. After all the costs of necessities of life are met there is very little left over for even one of the things most of us take for granted. Her 4 children are missing out on lots of experiences and tools that could enhance the quality of, for example, their learning life. How many children in this province do not have access to the internet let alone a computer, laptop or tablet? The call for organizing distance learning so children can keep up during the COVID-19 pandemic effectively shuts out huge chunks of our population - not just in this province, but across the country. 

We’re too quick to make the bold statement that  women (and men) who don’t work outside the home to earn money are not working, are lay-abouts, are milking the system, are abusing resources that they  don’t deserve to access. That self-entitled attitude espoused by those who already ‘have’ is insulting on so many levels. It’s got to change if we have any hope of coming out the other side of this hellish nightmare with our souls and sanity intact. All of us are in this together. Let’s not forget that now, and let’s not forget it when some semblance of normal starts to return to our world.

Our  current social assistance programs essentially put recipients into a forced/government state of poverty out  of which there seems to be no climbing. There’s no incentive to rise above when even basic needs are not met on a consistent basis, with the underpinnings of stress and fear driving every move.  No way to live, it’s not surprising that people living in poverty are sick, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

During the weeks of  being tossed and tumbled in the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, there have been lots of kitchen table discussions about guaranteed basic income also known as universal basic income. More and more people are coming to the conclusion that it may be the most efficient/effective way to assist those who are trapped in poverty and living on the fringes. Fortifying their financial base will improve health and wellness which will reduce stress on the health care system. 

Based on a 2018 study, providing a nationwide safety net for low-income Canadians in the form of a guaranteed basic income would cost roughly $43 billion a year, a report from Parliament’s fiscal watchdog suggested.  “The guaranteed income for disability would range between $3.2 billion and $3.5 billion.”

The school closures across the country  very clearly illustrates huge gaps between the haves and have nots as breakfast programs, school lunch programs, after school programs, designed to offer relief to families of limited means, were stopped. As best as they could corporations, local businesses and community groups came together to ensure that children didn’t go hungry, while they, too, are struggling to make family and business ends meet. Some will not be successful. That’s the reality of what COVID-19 has  done to our world, our lives, our sense of self.

In the coming weeks, perhaps representatives of the various branches of government will do the math on universal basic income and say YES to success.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her geriatric Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca