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Today is the day that Nova Scotia begins the process of re-opening our economy. We have had several days of zero or one new case of COVID-19 with fairly robust testing, which points to the end of the first wave of infection. Public Health has cautioned that until we find a vaccine many of the recommendations around physical distancing, hand washing, and limited close contacts will remain in place.
Most sectors have created and presented re-opening plans to Public Health which will hopefully help to keep us safe as we begin to go about our daily business again. Businesses across Dartmouth will take their time to ensure that they can serve the public safely, please be kind and patient as everyone gets up and running.
Today is the last day of “school” in the province. I will miss the yearly opportunity to watch our grade 12s walk across the stage. A huge congratulations to our new graduates, and to all the kids in the province for weathering these strange times as best they can.
As we move forward, there is one glaring absence in the planning—childcare. Most Nova Scotia families have been juggling a lot more than they are used to for the past several months. For people who are still employed and especially those required to leave the home to work, the re-opening of the economy in the absence of school or summer camps puts thousands of parents and caregivers, mostly women, in an impossible situation. The lack of planning for employers, employees, and entrepreneurs with school-aged children in this re-opening is deeply troubling.
I’ve spoken about this on the Sheldon MacLeod Show twice. You can listen here and here, or see more articles about this issue here. The Statistics Canada Labour Force survey numbers released today seem to back up the fears we’ve been expressing about women leaving the workforce—that while unemployment among men dropped from 12.5% to 12.1% from April to May, the percentage rose dramatically from 10.8% to 16.4% for women in the same period.
For anyone following the news, you’ll have seen that it has been dominated in Nova Scotia and beyond by the protests against racial injustice and police brutality and calls for change. Prompted by the murder of George Floyd in the United States, and exacerbated by the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto, the outstanding conviction against Santina Rao here in Nova Scotia and a number of other recent incidents, there have been widespread protests. I joined thousands who took a knee on Spring Garden Road for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd's neck, ultimately killing him.
Systemic racism is a reality in Nova Scotia, in Canada, and across North America. This was made clear again recently in the Wortley Report on Street Checks in HRM, but racism has not only present but part of our official record for much longer than that, reaching back at least to the Royal Commission on the Wrongful Conviction of Donald Marshall. I urge everyone to read these reports. We have a long way to go to ensure that all members of our society have the same opportunities and advantages.
My colleagues and I have been working for years to help address these issues at the Provincial level, by calling for a moratorium on street checks, calling for racialized data to be collected and analyzed in policing, corrections, and health (we introduced this bill on the topic in 2018), and continuing to listen, learn and engage. I’ll be the first to admit we have a long way to go.
It all comes down to the fact that Black lives matter, and that there is a lot of work to be done before we won't have to explicitly assert that fact. As we continue to bear witness to this moment, people who want to actively contribute to the conversation can self-educate, and they can donate. Dalhousie University is hosting an important virtual community conversation tonight at 6 pm called Speak Truth to Power: Forum on Anti-Black Racism. And a candlelight vigil will be held in Grand Parade at 5 pm for those who feel comfortable and are able to maintain physical distancing, or you can participate from home.
And finally, we continue to advocate for a Provincial inquiry into the mass shooting of April 18/19. I had the chance to discuss this on CBC's Mainstreet last week. There are hopeful signs that a joint federal/provincial inquiry will be launched soon. Aside from weapons and policing, a meaningful inquiry must address the connection between gender-based violence and intimate partner violence and violent crimes.
It is a difficult and crucial moment in the life of our province. We can go out again and begin to enjoy our city and see more people. The time has come to get our veggies and flowers into the ground and enjoy the magic of Nova Scotia summer. But at the same time we must remain vigilant around our health, aware of inequities, and above all endeavour to always be kind to each other.
Best,
Claudia
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