Saturday July 10, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated at 12:15 pm]
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
Yesterday afternoon in downtown Victoria, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh along with Victoria MP Laurel Collins drew a crowd. It was a bright sunny day, and the gathering filled a chunk of the corner of Fort Street and Cook Street (about 150 people at the peak).
The location was chosen as a pre-election launch for Collins, including an intentional promotion for small business recovery as COVID restrictions ease up. The Bear and Joey Cafe located at that prominent intersection was chosen for that reason.
NDP has helped small business:
Singh says the federal NDP pushed to help small businesses survive during the pandemic (such as getting the wage subsidy pushed up from 10% to 75% last year, which also helped employees keep their jobs).
He told media yesterday (and today in another news release) that the federal government tips favour to large corporations. He notes that many small businesses had to shut their doors because of the pandemic which he says results from “lack of support from the Liberal government”.
Holding off an election during COVID:
In response to a question from Island Social Trends (and again from local TV media for their own clip) at the scrum on Cook Street yesterday, Singh that yes there are two years left until the current Liberal minority government needs to call an election, and that COVID conditions should force a prudent decision.
Specifically, what would be the deal-breaker to wisely not call an election, Island Social Trends asked. Singh noted more of Canadians (citing 75%) having a double-dose of the COVID vaccine, but that the decision should “always be deferred to public health” rather than it being a political decision. However, Singh further offered that a bit of “space” (in time) should be allowed to see the impact of vaccination and the activity of variants (currently the more virulent delta variant), before an election is called.
As of July 9 across Canada 41,831,712 vaccine doses have been administered (notably 620,153 in one day on July 8).
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) vaccine data, as at July 9, 2021 says that 67.93% of the full Canadian population has received at least one dose of COVID vaccine. Just over one-third (35.91%) of the total Canadian population (all ages) have received a second dose. Full vaccination is achieved with two doses.
Exposure during elections:
In BC a snap election (one year earlier than scheduled) was called during the fall of 2020 before the second wave of COVID ramped up. That will of course increased activity and potential COVID-exposure among people who went out to campaign, to manage the voting places, and to vote.
It’s unknown if the activity of people in the community for that election up to October 24, 2020 contributed to the spike in COVID cases that started by mid-October 2020 (which was also after the 2020 Thanksgiving long weekend during which people socialized which clearly contributed to more test-positive COVID cases, according to the Provincial Health Officer).
Federal and provincial NDP:
Meanwhile, BC Premier John Horgan spent two days (July 8 and 9) in the Vancouver lower mainland area with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make joint funding announcements about child care and transit infrastructure.
When asked (at least twice, in media sessions) if that was counter to what the federal NDP was campaigning for over here on Vancouver Island, yesterday Singh said no, not at all. The initiatives that are being announced around child care and transit are completely inline with what the federal NDP is fighting for.
If there were to be an NDP prime minister, that would presumably facilitate things for Horgan as BC Premier to have a more willing and faster-acting federal partner for provinces. Horgan and the BC Government worked hard to negotiate the childcare & SkyTrain items that were announced with Trudeau at the lead this week.
Other MPs in the mix:
Also attending yesterday’s Singh-Collins event was long-time NDP MP Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke), Gord Johns, MP (Courtenay-Alberni) and federal candidate for NDP MP Saanich-Gulf Islands Sabina Singh.
On Thursday Singh was hosted by second-term NDP MP Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan-Malahat-Langford) in Duncan for a media session and meeting the public in town.
Today July 10, Jagmeet Singh is back up to the east side of the island, in Nanaimo along with NDP candidate for Nanaimo-Ladysmith, Lisa Marie Barron, with the focus being on small business.
===== ELECTION COVERAGE:
Follow regular election coverage (of any election — federal, provincial, municipal or school board) here on Island Social Trends. Digital subscribers receive a digest of articles by email. | If there is a federal election this summer/fall, we’ll be out there! | Mary P Brooke, Editor & Jalen Codrington, Copy Desk Editor
===== LINKS (articles by Island Social Trends)
- NDP on more housing, better child care, & faster TRC action as federal election looms (July 8, 2021)
- Jagmeet Singh calls CRB reduction a “cruel cut” (July 8, 2021)
- Self-employed could see CRB eligibility period extension (June 23, 2021)
- NDP fighting to keep CRB intact for self-employed (May 28, 2021)
- NDP: small business still needs recovery support during pandemic (January 27, 2021)
- Uptick in COVID cases after BC snap election & Thanksgiving socializing, in Fall 2020 (October 21, 2021)
- CERB being shifted to new process through EI program (August 1, 2020)
- CERB wrapping up, shifting to updated EI for employees and gig/contract workers (July 31, 2020)
- CERB extension for 8 more weeks through summer 2020, says Trudeau (June 16, 2020)
- CERB gets extended thanks to NDP pressure in minority scenario (June 15, 2020)
