Women of the Pandemic

by Lauren McKeon

  Or, as one woman put it in mid-April, “Finally got put on hold for three hours…made two loaves of banana bread and at 4:35 p.m. they answered. I swear I cried”: David Molko, “Confused about applying for the CERB? You’re not alone,” CTV News, April 21, 2020, https://bc.ctvnews.ca/confused-about-applying-for-the-cerb-you-re-not-alone-1.4906340.

  Many of them had stayed on CERB for months, holding tight to the lifeline: “Canada Emergency Response Benefit statistics,” Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/claims-report.html.

  Without her partner’s help, she would have been in a “scary situation” unable to buy food or pay her bills. “Sadly,” she acknowledged, “I’m not the only one in this situation”: Meredith MacLeod, “Stories of CERB: Canadians share how they’re using the emergency benefit,” CTV News, June 17, 2020, https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/stories-of-cerb-canadians-share-how-they-re-using-the-emergency-benefit-1.4931779.

  He didn’t (quite), but all the speculation only forced UBI more into the mainstream conversation, something that was, largely, previously unthinkable: Patrick Brethour, “With new benefits plan, Liberals move toward guaranteed basic income,” Globe and Mail, September 1, 2020, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-liberals-revised-covid-19-emergency-benefits-resemble-a-national.

  “Yes, the government stepped up and helped but what that made me realize is that this happens to families all the time”: Nathan Martin, “Edmontonians rally for universal basic income at legislature,” Edmonton Journal, September 19, 2020, https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmontonians-rally-for-universal-basic-income-at-legislature.

  Compare that to construction or manufacturing, which, by fall 2020, were looking at significantly shorter recovery timelines: “Small business recovery dashboard,” Canadian Federation of Independent Business, November 3, 2020, https://www.smallbusinesseveryday.ca/dashboard.

  As one woman said in May, “Do I find a job first? Do I find child care? How do I do one without the other?”: “Without more support for child care, economic recovery will be slow, says expert,” The Current, May 22, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-may-22-2020-1.5580159/without-more-support-for-child-care-economic-recovery-will-be-slow-says-expert-1.5581464.

  Already in April, Ontario landlords, for example, had reported a 10 per cent delinquency rate: Alastair Sharp, “Toronto renters in for a ‘bloodbath’ of evictions after pandemic ends, advocate warns,” Toronto Star, May 22, 2020, https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/05/22/toronto-renters-in-for-terrifying-bloodbath-of-evictions-after-pandemic-ends.html.

  around the same time, about 760,000 Canadians had deferred mortgage payments: “Residential mortgage industry report,” Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, September 2020, https://assets.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/sites/cmhc/data-research/publications-reports/residential-mortgage-industry-report/2020/residential-mortgage-industry-report-2020-en.pdf?rev=440a31e2-687a-43bf-a875-093e8f9b17d5.

  Seven: Every Decision Counts

  She talked about how she was isolating herself from her family and about the configuration of her house: Dr. Deena Hinshaw, “Update on COVID-19 – March 16, 2020,” YourAlberta, streamed live on March 16, 2020, YouTube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tq1KgRwUDk&list=PLvrD8tiHIX1L5LKwB0kl-4aJjkK4OuE-l&index=97.

  One comment in particular seemed to sum it all up: “I know everyone’s asking, but are these for sale?”: Erica O. (@_thegoodseed), 2020. Twitter, March 19, 2020, https://twitter.com/dinnerwithjulie/status/1240760952502366208.

  They defied hate, deliberate misinformation, partisanship. Tam openly, repeatedly condemned anti-Asian racism: Kathleen Harris, “Canada’s chief public health officer condemns racist acts linked to coronavirus outbreaks,” CBC News, February 3, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tam-public-health-coronavirus-racism-1.5445713.

  (Whereas some male leaders, such as Ontario Conservative MP David Sloan, who asked “Does [Tam] work for China?” and tweeted “Dr. Tam must go! Canada must remain sovereign over decisions,” instead focused on sowing division): Kathleen Harris, “Conservatives blast MP who asked whether top pandemic doctor, ‘works for China’ as Scheer steers clear,” CBC News, April 23, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sloan-tam-china-coronavirus-pandemic-1.5542497.

  At the international level, studies of the world’s 194 countries have shown that women national leaders fared better in terms of both infection and mortality rates: Orla Barry, “It’s official: Women are better leaders in a pandemic,” The World, August 31, 2020, https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-08-31/its-official-women-are-better-leaders-pandemic.

  As the Guardian put it, “Plenty of countries with male leaders…have done well. But few with female leaders have done badly”: Jon Henley and Eleanor Ainge Roy, “Are female leaders more successful at managing the coronavirus crisis?” The Guardian, April 25, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/25/why-do-female-leaders-seem-to-be-more-successful-at-managing-the-coronavirus-crisis#.

  In April, the Atlantic even posited that Ardern may be “the most effective leader on the planet” for the way she was handling the pandemic: Uri Friedman, “New Zealand’s prime minister may be the most effective leader on the planet,” The Atlantic, April 19, 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-leadership-coronavirus/610237.

  As Ardern herself said when she announced increased mass shutdowns in her country, “The worst-case scenario is simply intolerable”: Jacinda Ardern, “COVID-19 alert level increased,” Beehive.govt.nz, March 23, 2020, https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/prime-minister-covid-19-alert-level-increased.

  Some of the N.W.T.’s thirty-three communities are home to only about a hundred people; one, Kakisa, has fewer than fifty residents: “NWT Lifestyle,” Government of the Northwest Territories, https://www.gov.nt.ca/careers/en/nwt-lifestyle.

  The community’s chief, Dana Tizya-Tramm, politely told them to get lost: Dirk Meissner, “Quebec couple who fled to remote Indigenous community to avoid COVID-19 sent back: Chief,” Global News, March 31, 2020, https://globalnews.ca/news/6758430/coronavirus-quebec-couple-indigenous-yukon.

  By 2008, the TB rate among Indigenous people was six times higher than the overall Canadian rate: “TB and Aboriginal people,” Canadian Public Health Association, https://www.cpha.ca/tb-and-aboriginal-people.

  And while tuberculosis provides one of the starkest examples, it’s well documented that Indigenous peoples across Canada experience higher rates: J. Reading Ph.D., “The crisis of chronic disease among Aboriginal peoples: A challenge for public health, population health and social policy,” University of Victoria Centre for Aboriginal Health Research, https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/5380/Chronic-Disease-2009.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

  Those living in First Nation communities were 2.8 times more likely to be hospitalized from the flu strain, and had an ICU admission rate that was three times higher than that of non-Indigenous people: Katya L. Richardson, Michelle S. Driedger, Nick J. Pizzi, Jianhong Wu, and Seyed M. Moghadas, “Indigenous populations health protection: A Canadian perspective,” BMC Public Health (December 20, 2012), doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-1098.

  Or, put another way: while Indigenous people represent only 4.3 per cent of the population, during the first wave of H1N1 they accounted for 27.8 per cent of hospitalizations and made up 25.6 per cent of critically ill patients in ICUs across Canada: “The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic among First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada: Epidemiology and gaps in knowledge,” National Collaborating Centres for Public/Aboriginal Health (2009), https://www.ccnsa-nccah.ca/docs/other/FS-InfluenzaEpidemiology-EN.pdf.

  Over the next few weeks, another four people tested positive in the territory: “COVID-19 in NWT,” Government of the Northwest Territories, https://www.gov.nt.ca/covid-19.

  The last of them recovered without inciden
t in mid-April, and nobody else tested positive for months: John Last, “No active cases of COVID-19 in N.W.T. as final patient recovers,” CBC News, April 20, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/covid-19-nwt-all-cases-recovered-april-1.5538548.

  In a way, it was almost familiar, too: during H1N1, Kandola had missed her youngest son’s first birthday; she’s missed a lot of stuff this time around, as well: Danielle D’Entremont, “Meet the woman leading the territory with all COVID-19 cases resolved,” CBC News, April 17, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/kami-kandola-personal-profile-1.5545798.

  At her order, restaurants, gyms, schools, and some offices remained closed until the territory ticked into June: Anna Desmarais, “N.W.T. on track for Phase 2 of COVID-19 reopening plan, top doctor says,” CBC News, June 3, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-phase-two-reopening-plan-1.5597510.

  At the end of August, a checkpoint in Hay River, close to the Alberta border, was still refusing entry to at least a dozen vehicles a day: Paul Bickford, “Border enforcement: About a dozen vehicles a day refused permission to travel in the NWT,” NNSL Media, August 5, 2020, https://nnsl.com/hayriverhub/border-enforcement-about-a-dozen-vehicles-a-day-refused-permission-to-travel-in-the-nwt.

  As fall hit, the territory enacted mandatory mask measures at airports: “N.W.T. to make masks mandatory inside airport terminal buildings,” CBC News, October 8, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/masks-mandatory-inside-airport-terminal-buildings-nwt-1.5755949.

  On April 15, Saskatchewan’s far north reported its first COVID-19 case in La Loche, a Dene village that’s home to about 2,800 people: Phil Tank, “Saskatchewan’s worst COVID-19 outbreak ends in La Loche,” Saskatoon Star Phoenix, July 16, 2020, https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/saskatchewans-worst-covid-19-outbreak-ends-in-la-loche.

  Health officials later confirmed the virus’ arrival in the community was linked to travel from an oil sands camp in Alberta: Kristy Kirkup and Marsha McLeod, “ ‘Alarming’ COVID-19 outbreak hits northern Saskatchewan,” Globe and Mail, May 7, 2020, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-alarming-outbreak-hits-northern-saskatchewan.

  By the time the province restricted non-critical travel to the province’s north eleven days later, the area accounted for twenty-five of the fifty-seven active cases: David Giles, “Non-critical travel to northern Saskatchewan restricted due to coronavirus outbreak,” Global News, April 24, 2020, https://globalnews.ca/news/6865789/non-critical-travel-northern-saskatchewan-coronavirus.

  More than two hundred people in La Loche got sick, and another sixty-two: Phil Tank, “Saskatchewan’s worst COVID-19 outbreak ends in La Loche,” Saskatoon Star Phoenix, July 16, 2020, https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/saskatchewans-worst-covid-19-outbreak-ends-in-la-loche.

  Finally, upon discovering why she was there, a nurse told her, “Oh, you don’t know yet? She’s died”: “Relatives, experts call for accountability in wake of Joyce Echaquan’s death,” The Current, October 1, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-oct-1-2020-1.5745953/relatives-experts-call-for-accountability-in-wake-of-joyce-echaquan-s-death-1.5746359#:~:text=Joyce%20Echaquan%2C%20a%2037%2Dyear,hour%20drive%20from%20her%20community.

  Indigenous people know all too well that, despite politicians’ protestations otherwise: Claire Loewen, “Quebec premier’s apology did not win the trust of Joyce Echaquan’s family, says Atikamekw grand chief,” CBC News, October 7, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/joyce-echaquan-constant-awashish-legault-1.5753402.

  such incidents are far from rare: Morgan Lowrie and Kelly Geraldine Malone, “Joyce Echaquan’s death highlights systemic racism in healthcare, experts say,” CTV News, October 4, 2020, https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/joyce-echaquan-s-death-highlights-systemic-racism-in-health-care-experts-say-1.5132146.

  Those on reserve had a virus case rate four times lower than the general population, with three times fewer fatalities and a 30 per cent higher recovery rate: Lisa Richardson and Allison Crawford, “COVID-19 and the decolonization of Indigenous public health,” CMAJ 192, no. 38 (September 21, 2020), https://www.cmaj.ca/content/192/38/E1098#:~:text=In%20contrast%20to%20predictions%20early,related%20to%20poorer%20health%20outcomes.

  And in La Loche, the outbreak finally ended: Bonnie Allen, “Largest outbreak of COVID-19 in an Indigenous community in Canada offers important lessons,” CBC News, September 29, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/outbreak-covid-19-indigenous-community-lessons-1.5737126.

  Around that time, four COVID-19 outbreaks shook Toronto Western, spreading to nineteen patients and forty-six staff members: Jennifer Yang and May Warren, “COVID-19 outbreaks at Toronto Western Hospital cause disruption, confusion as 65 patients and staff test positive,” Toronto Star, May 4, 2020, https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/05/04/covid-19-outbreaks-at-toronto-western-hospital-cause-disruption-confusion-as-65-patients-and-staff-test-positive.html.

  and, carried on those twin waves like flotsam, a national increase in drug overdoses and substance abuse: “Canada’s other health crisis: As overdoses surge, officials call on government to decriminalize illicit drugs,” Washington Post, August 16, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/canada-drug-overdose-coronavirus/2020/08/15/559dabbe-dcd9-11ea-b4af-72895e22941d_story.html.

  in suicide and self-harm: “Warning signs: More Canadians thinking about suicide during pandemic,” Canadian Mental Health Association, June 25, 2020, https://cmha.ca/news/warning-signs-more-canadians-thinking-about-suicide-during-pandemic.

  When she took the job in January 2019: Kashmala Fida, “Leading with her heart: Long before COVID-19, Deena Hinshaw was making an impression,” CBC News, April 1, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/profile-deena-hinshaw-alberta-chief-medical-officer-of-health-1.5515572.

  And, admittedly, she’s said something similar in several other interviews: Geoff McMaster, “Deena Hinshaw: The making of an unlikely folk hero,” folio, May 7, 2020, https://www.folio.ca/deena-hinshaw-the-making-of-an-unlikely-folk-hero; https://www.mountainviewtoday.ca/local-news/albertas-top-doctor-sorry-for-confusion-over-back-to-school-order-update-2678833.

  Eight: A High Toll

  The next night, one of the facility’s residents, an eighty-three-year-old man, died, becoming Canada’s first COVID-19 death: Mike Hagar and Andrea Woo, “How the coronavirus took North Vancouver’s Lynn Valley Care Centre,” Globe and Mail, March 21, 2020, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-how-the-coronavirus-took-north-vancouvers-lynn-valley-care-centre.

  Here, long-term care residents accounted for 81 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths; the average in other countries stood at 38 per cent: “CIHI snapshot: Pandemic experience in the long-term care sector,” Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2020, https://www.cihi.ca/sites/default/files/document/covid-19-rapid-response-long-term-care-snapshot-en.pdf.

  The disaster rumbled under the radar until, that same month, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) released a report on five care homes in Ontario: “JTFC observations in long-term care facilities in Ontario,” 4th Canadian Division Joint Task Force, May 2020, http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6928480/OP-LASER-JTFC-Observations-in-LTCF-in-On.pdf.

  as the CAF put it, “to provide humanitarian relief and medical support”: Adam Carter, “Military report reveals what sector has long known: Ontario’s nursing homes are in trouble,” CBC News, May 27, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/military-long-term-care-home-report-covid-ontario-1.5585844.

  all so they wouldn’t be treated, as one former student put it during the pandemic, like “glorified shit cleaners”: Nicholas Keung and Jason Miller, “Until COVID-19 hit, PSWs went virtually unnoticed. That’s changed and some say we have a lot of lessons to learn about the trials they face,” Toronto Star, May 1, 2020, https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/04/30/until-covid-19-hit-psws-received-almost-no-recognition-thats-changed.html.

 
; In May, she wrote an op-ed in Maclean’s arguing that the national regulation of PSWs could have largely prevented the unfolding tragedy in long-term care facilities: Laura Bulmer, “How the pandemic would have been different if PSWs were regulated,” Maclean’s, May 21, 2020, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/how-the-pandemic-would-have-been-different-if-psws-were-regulated.

  The result of all this is a workforce that is majority women, many of whom are racialized or new to Canada: “Re-imagining long-term residential care in the COVID-19 crisis,” Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, April 24, 2020, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/re-imagining-long-term-residential-care-covid-19-crisis.

  By May, around nine thousand PSWs in Quebec had either refused to work or had become sick with COVID-19: Tom Mulcair, “Quebec’s coronavirus outbreak in long-term care homes could have been prevented,” Maclean’s, May 14, 2020, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/quebecs-long-term-care-coronavirus-outbreak-could-have-been-prevented/.

  Fifty-one-year-old Arlene Reid died on April 27 while her daughter frantically performed CPR: Adam Carter, “ ‘She’s a hero’: Family mourns health-care worker who died after contracting COVID-19,” CBC News, April 30, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-coronavirus-health-care-worker-death-1.5550861.

  Each had a shortage of PPE; her home care job provided two surgical masks every five days: Ibid.

  “I’m going to get better. Mommy is going to be okay. I’m going to walk away from this”: Ibid.

  “My mom died at my house,” her daughter told the Globe and Mail. “She just wanted to get better”: Laura Stone, “Before a personal support worker died from COVID-19, she was worried about a lack of PPE, family says,” Globe and Mail, May 1, 2020, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-second-ontario-personal-support-worker-dies-after-contracting-covid-19.