A TANGENT, airbnb to the pandemic

I see that the Manitoba RM of Harrison Park that is nestled up to Riding Mountain National Park is considering banning short term rentals (airbnb). I’ve read a couple of news stories and I’m having difficulty wrapping my head around just what it is that is the big problem.  Perhaps it’s noise.  Perhaps it’s too many vehicles on residential streets.  There was mention of trespassing, which I find hard to understand.  By and large, what I see here is a group of snobs who don’t want outsiders and strangers in their residential neighborhood.  Just make a few bylaws and enforce them.  Problem solved.

For what it’s worth, I’ve used airbnb a number of times as a ‘short term renter’ and never had a bad experience.  In Toronto, I stayed at a place on George Street a few years ago that was a mere fraction of the cost of a hotel room and it was much more comfortable.  It’s a very different way of travelling and can be a wonderful experience.  It’s also an innovative method of generating some income for those who have rooms and houses available.  Leave it to a few malcontents and a local government to put a stop to it.  I’ve learned a lot over the last two years, not the least of which is that if something is good..you can bet a government is waiting to put the kibosh to it.

Which brings me to the topic of governments and their role of stimulating the economy.  Basically, their job should be to stay out of the way of the people and allow them to create their own wealth.  I’ve long said that governments have very little to do with economic prosperity but they have lots to do with putting up roadblocks or killing a healthy economy because of over-regulation.  Typically, left wing governments despise a successful private sector but we’ve also come to figure out right wing governments in Canada hate them too. 

Speaking of right wing governments, oh sure there is the People’s Party Of Canada or the Buffalo Party in Saskatchewan but neither of those outfits can be taken seriously and that means there is no conservative government or even opposition Party with credibility in this country.  Look at state governments in North Dakota, South Dakota, Florida, Nebraska, Indiana and Texas for example.  True conservative governments that enact conservative policies and abide by the wishes of the majority of voters in their states.  In Canada, you have fake conservative governments in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia but you’d be hard pressed to find any big policy differences between provincial governments there and what you see in BC, Quebec, and Newfoundland.  They are all, by and large, the same.  At the federal level, you have the Liberals and NDP who don’t even try to hide the fact they are, pretty much, identical and then you have Erin O’Toole’s ‘CPC’ which masquerades as a conservative party but his entire focus is trying to win over people who live in Toronto so that means he’s pro-carbon tax and he also supports heavy firearm legislation against law abiding gun owners.  O’Toole, actually, may be the biggest phony of them all and I don’t know why many of these Conservative MPs put up with it and stay under his thumb.  Lack of courage comes first to my mind.  I look at Yorkton and there is no way the majority of those who voted for Cathay Wagantall would also vote for Erin O’Toole if given a choice to vote for both of them.  So who is Wagantall loyal to?  Her Party?  Her voters?  At the moment, it’s clear and it’s not people who live in this riding.

The most glaring issue is the Covid pandemic.  In the US, at least 10 States have filed legal challenges against vaccine mandates.  In Canada, it’s a uniform front from the feds, the opposition to the feds, the provincial governments, and all Parties in opposition to the provincial governments that support lockdowns, vaccine mandates, mask mandates, and other freedom curtailing policies.  This country has no political home for people who question whether or not what’s gone on is too heavy handed.  Even if you are supportive of restrictions, having no opposition to them is dangerous.  Without opposition there is no real balance and you end up with the tyranny we are all under right now with absolutely no indication of it ever ending because who’s providing the pressure?  

In Saskatchewan, Scott Moe’s government has seen its popularity nosedive by about 25% in the last couple of months.  Alberta’s Jason Kenney government would be obliterated off the face of the political map if an election were held today.  The reason for that is not because the two provinces are on virus fire but rather because both governments have double crossed their supporters and done so without showing their work.  People who opposed Moe and Kenney prior to bringing in more restrictions certainly aren’t going to vote for them today.  They will never vote for Moe and Kenney regardless of the amount of pandering being done and people who did vote for them will no longer because of the deceit and fraudulent claims to be conservative.  I’m always careful not to assume what I see on social media is a true reflection on society but there has been a major shift in the comments section of Scott Moe’s posts that have gone from ridiculing him for not doing enough to ridiculing him for doing too much.  Had Moe had an actual opposition then perhaps we’d be sitting in a place where some would be unhappy but also understanding that we can’t just sit back and let the province burn and throw frontline healthcare staff to the wolves.

At the moment, the opposition to Moe in Saskatchewan wants to close everything (even an Eric Church concert that saw NO virus spread at all) yet they have no problems double fisting beers at the Rider game.  People see that and think ‘oh it would be way worse if the NDP were in charge’.  There’s actually no evidence of that.  BC has an NDP government and I’d submit they’ve been, at times, the most free province in Canada.

Here’s the big question for me that I have for the SaskParty and I’m a little surprised it’s not been asked:  how come field hospitals were built, stayed empty for over a year, and then when our capacity was stretched beyond capability we did not rebuild them?  Frontline people I’ve talked to claim we never ever had the ability to utilize them because there simply aren't enough professionals to work at them.  If that’s the case, why did we waste millions of dollars?  Was it theatre to make Saskatchewan people believe we are doing something even though we are not?  Here’s what I would do and maybe this isn’t possible, but it’s just a suggestion.  I would have called in the military to staff the field hospitals.  All unvaxxed Covid patients requiring care get the field hospital.  All vaxxed Covid patients as well as those who need healthcare for other reasons get an actual hospital.  That, in itself, would probably motivate more people to get their precious Pfizer and Moderna shots.

Covid will never go away and, in fact, is an additional health issue created that sends people to the hospital.  The simple reality is that with more things out there that can result in a hospital visit we will need more beds.  That’s unavoidable.  It’s not like Covid arrived and cancer was eliminated.  All other health issues are still here and require treatment.  Therefore, what has Scott Livingstone (who makes nearly half a million dollars a year) done to work towards ensuring there are more beds available for the residents of this province?  I point out his salary because the answer to my question isn’t an easy one but he’s the one in the position that is qualified to come up with that solution and if he can’t do it, he needs to step aside.  

On the contrary, I’d make the case that mandates coming from Sask Health and the Premier’s office have resulted in even more pressure on our healthcare system with people needing to see medical specialists a lot more than if there were no rules at all and have put way more stress on the system than actual Covid itself.  I’d also suggest that based on anecdotal evidence, the creation of all these Covid rules has resulted in low morale amongst frontline workers and they are burnt out.  Some of them are using sick days at a clip never before seen requiring an already stretched group to become even thinner.  Would it be shocking to learn a nurse would simply rather treat a sick person than enforce a bunch of rules that are becoming more and more nonsensical?  After all, these people got into the profession because they want to help those who are sick.

To close - vaccines were sold by Scott Moe as a way out.  The cure.  “Very safe, very effective”.  He has repeated this many times over.  It’s obvious he was lying and it’s obvious they are being sneaky and deceitful when it comes to natural immunity.  People who had Covid should not be forced to get a vaccine.  The evidence on that is very strong and yet it’s ignored by our overlords.

Also, all governments had pandemic playbooks prior to Covid.  None of them were centered around quarantining healthy people.  But those plans were thrown in the garbage when China locked up everybody and proclaimed victory.  The least trustworthy government on the planet was used as a model to beat a virus they, maybe, released on purpose.  Insanity.