It’s an uncomfortable but inescapable historic fact that great pandemics often bring about social reform.
Historians note that the most fatal iteration of the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, from 1347 to 1351 , which in turn led to healthier diets and better resistance to later recurrences of the disease.
The 1854 cholera epidemic in London allowed pioneering epidemiologist John Snow to establish the , which eventually led to government infrastructure investments in water and sanitation.
The influenza epidemic of 1918-19, like the bubonic plague and cholera, was a “” that fed on social inequalities. People living in overcrowded homes or in the trenches of the First World War who were poorly fed and cold were more susceptible.
In the aftermath of the pandemic 100 years ago, many countries recognized the importance of universal health care and . In the United States, where the male workforce was decimated due to the absence of “social distancing,” gained a measure of financial independence, which furthered the suffrage movement.
Meeting basic needs
In each case, it became starkly clear that the welfare of the most privileged was dependent upon meeting the basic needs of the most marginalized.
So where are we now in Canada, a few short weeks into a pandemic ?
Here are some highlights:
• , including those living in emergency shelters, are living on the street or crowded into , with no capacity for self-isolation if they show symptoms.
• The in service-based jobs have been affected by closures of restaurants, shops, hotels, theatres and universities; only of low-income workers are covered by Employment Insurance or adequate leave measures.
• have less than a month’s worth of savings, and many Canadians nearing retirement age have seen .
Health-care infrastructure failing
The coronavirus has also spotlighted how our caring infrastructure is crumbling:
• The has decreased from 6.75 per 1,000 in 1976 to 2.5 per 1,000 in 2018.
• From 1974 to 1986, more than were developed in Canada with assistance from all three levels of government. But across Canada, low-rent homes have been in (from the early 1990s to 2017), due to the federal government supporting richer home buyers at the expense of poorer renters. This has exacerbated homelessness and dependent on pay cheques, retirement savings or benefits to survive. Housing is a fundamental ; it is impossible to stay healthy without adequate housing.
What now?
COVID-19 has exposed these gaps in our social safety net as a threat to all. What now?
It’s become clear that a collective to the health and economic crises precipitated by COVID-19 is necessary if Canada hopes to avoid thousands of deaths and social collapse. To save the lives of the most vulnerable, emergency measures must include:
• Adequate emergency shelter provisions so that sick homeless people can be quarantined and non-infected homeless people are protected from infection.
• An immediate and cutting off essential services for renters in arrears.
• Temporary health infrastructure, such as .
• , especially for the elderly and people with disabilities, and clamping down on hoarding, which may .
Longer-term measures
The intermediate measures (over the next six months to five years) should include:
• Continued for low-income households.
• Governments taking advantage of and low interest rates to purchase these units for social housing.
• could respond to critical infrastructure shortages, including for new and renovated low- and moderate-rent housing, preferably non-profit in order to be most economically efficient. It could also promote public sector and implementation of ambitious initiatives for both climate mitigation and employment.
• Better integrated local, provincial and national planning to prepare for future global health crises (which will likely ).
Believing in science
There are longer-term changes that are emerging. The reliance on leadership and sound scientific advice from the reinforces the importance of international collaboration and information-sharing.
But the shortage of medical staff to respond in societal emergencies suggests .
The utter failure of the individualist contrasts with the success of national co-ordination and social trust in countries like and .
Canada needs to rebuild its collective social welfare net frayed through three decades of neoliberal ideology. Funding should come from a return to of wealthy individuals and corporations.
Canada has developed a . Even with sharp health inequalities based on age and housing conditions, pandemics threaten us all. The only way for us to get through this is by rebuilding together.
, Visiting Professor, Urban Planning,
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