This week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dropped a bomb on Canadians while attempting to make it sound like it was everyday information everyone already knew.
Reporters at a news conference asked the PM why those in the United States would be starting their COVID-19 vaccination rollout by early December, while it will not be in Canadian arms until the new year, sometime between January and March.
Also included with the U.S. are the U.K., Germany, Brazil and Mexico, to name a few.
The PM’s answer to Canadians? We don’t make vaccines anymore, we have to buy them from other countries.
And those countries will naturally supply their own needs first, before filling Canadian orders.
That was something Trudeau failed to mention for weeks when he was boasting how many vaccines he had bought, knowing they won’t actually get here until after everyone else’s.
As a result we will watch other parts of the world vaccinate while Canadians are left waiting and wondering when they will have the same protection as others.
That is why there is no federal distribution plan: because we still don’t know exactly where, from where or when the supply will arrive.
I’m not sure that is going to fly with Canadians who wonder why we are not more self-sufficient and question our priorities for government, whether vaccines, personal protective equipment or energy.
The PM’s vision of the new Canadian reset does not address these issues, instead concentrating more on feel-good social policy.
Canadians are conscious of climate and social injustices and most want to do their part to further the cause, but it’s not the most pressing policy, especially in the world we now inhabit.
COVID-19 has exposed many cracks in systems that were designed to protect us all and have failed due to long-term neglect and more fashionable issues.
During any election, the top priorities for Canadians have always been health, our kids and education, jobs and the economy.
Without those basic necessities, we have no revenue for programs to take care of our most vulnerable.
In a post-pandemic world, a sunny-ways selfie and positive vibes will not put food on the table, let alone build the future.
Scott Thompson is the host of The Scott Thompson Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML Hamilton.