Wednesday, December 02, 2020

The price of negligence

In case there was any doubt that COVID testing serves as the ultimate microcosm of the Saskatchewan Party's mismanagement of health care, we've seen the endgame released today.

Remember that it was just a few months ago that Scott Moe was trumpeting a plan to massively increase public capacity, while saving for the fine print the fact that he was relying on federal money to achieve it. 

It didn't take long for word to leak out that nobody had bothered to do the work needed to meet them in time. And that hasn't been a matter of merely taking too long to ramp up, but of systemic failure to do what Moe promised.

Which leads us where we are now. Thanks to Moe's mismanagement, Saskatchewan's testing and tracing system is collapsing under the weight of gross negligence in managing the spread of a deadly disease. Which has led to...pay-for-play for-profit testing to allow the rich to cut to the front of the line (featuring provincial officials talking up the need to help those lucky and irresponsible enough to go travelling in the midst of the pandemic), and a do-it-yourself tracing system for everybody else.

To be clear, none of this should represent any surprise to anybody paying attention to the Sask Party's track record or campaign messages. But it does provide a vivid example for current action and future reference - and hopefully a lasting reminder that Moe and his party lack can only be counted on to enrich the well-connected few at the expense of the health and welfare of the many.

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