July 2021 – Joel MacLeod.ca

We shouldn’t be surprised our Olympic women athletes are our heroes

Olympics are on, and so far the metals won by Canada are all thanks to our fantastic women athletes. Yet we shouldn’t be surprised. It happened before at the last Olympics:

It’s More than Just CERB…

Vaccination rates are climbing. Provinces are starting to reopen. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer. And yet we are still stumbling to figure out what comes next it seems. This article in the Toronto Star caught my eye:

Employers are having trouble hiring — and some blame CERB and other government programs for spoiling workers https://t.co/sjamRJa9C3
— Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) July 27, 2021

This sentiment is something I’ve seen pop up online in social media. The notion that CERB or the Canada Response Benefit is holding people back from returning to work. That those who are receiving the payment are inherently lazy and don’t want to work. The rebuttal is that, if receiving CRB is more appealing than returning to your work place, then you need to provide better working conditions. Which is a compelling argument I admit.

We need COVID Passports

Canada is finally turning the corner on COVID-19. At last estimate we will have 66 million doses stocked in this country. We have enough to vaccinate our entire eligible population in this country. Furthermore we have an appetite for those vaccines. Canadians were proud to find out this week, that we surpassed the United States in vaccination rates. The majority of us are eager for these shots and have lined up or are lining up right now to get them.

I want to emphasise my wording above. The majority of us. Because that is a major distinction we need to look at going forward. The cases we are seeing of COVID-19 in Canada are predominantly amongst the unvaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy still exists in this country and it’s getting to the point where it is holding us back.

Who had Cuban Revolution on their COVID Cards?

Of all the news that I did not predict this year, mass protests in Cuba would definitely top the list. Ultimately I don’t find this news surprising. My wife and I went to Cuba on our honeymoon. During the stay we took a day trip into Havana to see the sights. As you walk through the city a number of things strike you. Namely the complete lack of Americanization. No McDonald’s, Coca Cola signs, or any outward signs of capitalism. Coming from a first world country strictly rooted in capitalism, I have to say it’s a jarring experience. What you get in a trade off is walking through a city that is like traveling through time. Within a few blocks we had seen a cathedral originally built by Christopher Columbus, a district of buildings built during the era of Spanish colonialism, and then the modern museum of Cuban history. A unique characteristic that helped my wife and I fall in love with the city.