Commentary

As British Columbians begin to reconnect with certain aspects of their daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, questions about a vaccine that could shield humans from the virus have multiplied.

A few weeks back, Business in Vancouver ’s Kirk LaPointe penned a timely column calling on the provincial government to ramp up its focus on the economy. He argues that B.C. needs an economic counterpart to top public health official Dr.

It is still foggy ahead on the pandemic road, but already we are starting to look in the rear-view mirror. It is becoming coulda, woulda, shoulda time. Might we have done things differently initially and along the way? Of course.

The future of work is now. That should be the guiding principle for a B.C. secondary school system that needs to provide road maps to meaningful work for its clientele. Today’s future of work looks grim.

Statistics Canada recently reported that B.C. lost a stunning 132,000 jobs in a single month (March). In April losses doubled as a staggering additional 264,000 jobs disappeared.

No elected official has dared to point to the calendar to establish a date for the full return of normal activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, we learned that only 23% of Canadians expect things to be “as they were” by the end of October.

We overreach. We get out of our lanes. It’s human. In crisis, it’s common.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, British Columbians experienced a unique Mother’s Day, where online tools allowed for “virtual hugs.” Some were able to visit and stay within two metres of their loved ones.

In each crisis comes opportunity; in COVID-19, several. One is street life.

It’s hard to see any glimmers of economic light ahead with so many dark data clouds rolling in daily during the Great Lockdown. But there are some – especially for the innovative and nimble. The data got very dark at the tail end of April.