The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - The Weekend Special #19 --- Lots Of Good "Stuff"!

Episode Date: July 24, 2020

Your thoughts, comments and questions for the nineteenth weekend since all this craziness started.

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here with the latest episode of the Bridge Daily. It's Friday. Yippee, it's Friday. And you know what that means. It means the weekend special number 19. Aren't you excited about next week? The weekend special number 20? Oh boy. The things we get excited about these days.

All right. You know what the weekend special means? It means your letters, your thoughts, your comments, your questions. And we got a lot this week. Not surprisingly, we had a little contest going this week, a little poll, a little survey on whether or not to close down bars and in-house dining. Kind of staying away from that here,

because we read a lot of those letters during the week. The pattern hasn't changed. It's still about a 65-35 split there, mainly about bars where it's closer to 90% people want bars closed. The numbers keep going up and down. You know, Ontario was happy yesterday. Their numbers dropped considerably. Today they went up a lot. And back up around 200 new cases on today's numbers in Ontario.

I haven't seen the numbers out west yet. But we've got to keep an eye on all this, obviously. And people, you know, as one of you wrote in, we've got to place some faith in our public health officials that they will do the right thing when the time is right to do it. And right now they feel that they're on a path towards a certain degree of reopening. Some places they are holding back.

They've held back in Toronto. They held back in the Windsor area where numbers are still not of the liking of public health officials. So there they haven't opened bars. It seems if there's an issue in Ontario and apparently in BC, it's private gatherings, especially on the part of young people. So that is where some focus needs to be placed. Anyway, that's not the issue for today. Today are other issues that you've written in about. I don't read all the letters. I just read some of them. And of the ones I read, I don't read all of what you've written, just usually a few lines or paragraphs. Some of you feel that's not fair,

that you're not getting everything that you wanted said, but we're just trying to come up with the highlights. I always pick one or two to end the podcast with on a Friday where I read it more or less in its entirety, because for one reason or another, the letters had an impact on me. So let's get started. These are in no particular order. They are just sort of as they came off the printer. So the first one is from Kevin Chan. Kevin is in Toronto. And he's picking up on a podcast we did earlier this week about the population of the world.

7.7 billion at the moment. but what's it going to go to in this century? So Kevin writes, what would the world be like if the world population just keeps going up nonstop? I had the same worry at one time. Factfulness by Hans Rosling is a fun and eye-opening book that answered my curiosities. Now, I'm reading this. I don't usually read book recommendations, but I'm reading it because attached to this from Kevin is, before you reach out to the book, try the factfulness quiz.

And normally I wouldn't read this either, but I tried it. It's a great quiz. And normally I wouldn't read this either, but I tried it. It's a great quiz. I'll just give you this hint. You should go into it with no assumptions. Just look at the questions and look at the possible answers. But it's good. It's short. Only 13 questions. They're all on world health trends. And world population happens to be one of those questions. So why don't you take 10 minutes max to do this quiz? And it's interesting, and you will learn from it. So here's the link. https

colon slash slash factfulness quiz dot com. Factfulness quiz dot com. Only one L in factful. Alright, factfulnessquiz.com. Give it a try. I think you will find it interesting. Brenda Johanson.

She's also in Toronto. She'd like to share her thoughts about schools opening full-time in September. I'm an elementary teacher, says Brenda, and I don't believe we will be ready to teach in person in September for a variety of reasons, all of which have been expressed on your podcast and many other social media platforms. I would like to make a suggestion that I've read about that is not perfect, but it is safe and economical.

All right, let's hear it. School boards could open daycares in their elementary schools only for students whose parents require daycare, or for students who need access to the internet to do their online learning. Students whose parents do not need daycare will do their online learning at home. In other words, students, regardless of whether they are at home or in a school daycare, would be learning remotely from their classroom teachers. Supervision of students in school daycare would be done by child care workers whose wages would be paid for by their local school board. Parents would only be responsible for before and or after school daycare fees as required. Costs would be substantially lower for school boards and parents, and most importantly, learning would continue without the interruption of opening and closing schools.

Hey, it's an interesting idea. I'd like to hear what others who are involved in this situation, either as teachers or parents, would have to say about it. And just a little more from Brenda. September's always a cruel month for all parties in school, as within the first three weeks or so, many students, teachers and staff get sick with colds or flus. Supply teachers are usually in great demand by the end of September and based on this observation alone, it makes more sense to do all teaching online.

I'm concerned the school year will start and then close within the month because of COVID-19 outbreaks. Many parents will not send their children to school in September if recommendations from public health are not implemented due to financial constraints or they're just plain scared for their children's health and safety. I know if my three children were still school-aged, I would do whatever I could to keep them home until we know how to live with this virus safely.

All right, Brenda, I think it's an interesting idea, and I would love to hear what others think of it, but it addresses one of those concerns a lot of people have about kids who are at home but without access to internet and the troubles, obviously, they have in trying to do online education. So this is an interesting way of looking at it. Julie Volkancek is in Hamilton, Ontario. I really identified with your comments about documenting the pandemic. I'm not sure why, but on the first day of all of this, schools announced that they were closing, businesses closing, work shifting to homes, etc., etc. March 13th, I started taking a picture

every day, and I labeled each picture with the day number, in case you're keeping track, we're on day 132 as of today, and Julie wrote this letter two days ago, and placed them in an album called COVID-19 on my phone. Sometimes it was something significant, like taking my youngest daughter for COVID testing when she had vertigo. Other times, nature blooming in spring, or my kids giving the dog a bath, or the bread we baked. Whatever it was, I documented this time for and with my family,

and what I expected would be a portion of our 2020 photo album is turning quickly into the entire album. And as I scroll through the pictures, I really do see a progression from the first days of work, school, from home, to social distance pictures with friends on front lawns, to pictures of my family reengaging with the world around us. And the pictures are real. Sometimes my subject is smiling at the camera, but other times there are dirty looks, looks of exhaustion, and candid moments I'm sure myself or my family want erased. And sometimes another family member or friend took the picture during a distance visit. I wasn't strict. I had no idea when I started snapping pictures each day that it would really become a little time capsule

of our life during this pandemic and how happy I am that I've done this. I really hope others have captured their lives during this time as well, whether with journals, photos, shopping lists, blogs, or whatever works for them. This daily documenting really is something to cherish and reflect upon, and I'm glad I'm doing it, even though it wasn't ever my intent to be an archivist. I'm not sure when my daily pictures will end or what I will feel is an indicator that they can stop. All I know is that it's the picture has become a regular phrase in my household and friends and family are enjoying some of the ones I'm sharing. I encourage everyone to scroll through their pictures and if you don't have a daily picture maybe they have a weekly one, or a set of images

that document their time during this. Whatever it is, don't let this time pass without documenting it in some way. Nothing like this has ever happened to us before. That's true, Julie. Julie sent a few of the pictures, which obviously I can't show you on this podcast. But they're great, and they are, as she says, they're just pictures of a moment in a day. On their own, they probably don't look like much. But together, when you realize what they're documenting, it's a great thing to have as a family. And she's right. Many of us who didn't think of this can go back, scroll through our pictures that we've taken on our phones over the last four or five months, and we can probably come up with at least a picture a that captures what we've been going through.

Moving on. Tim Pohl in Winnipeg. I wanted to mention that I recently got on the bandwagon and subscribed to Disney Plus in order to watch the hit musical Hamilton. It was great. I loved it. And it is great. I saw it on Broadway. It was fantastic. You know, I obviously see a fair amount of theatre

because my wife is in theatre. So I'd be in trouble if I didn't go to the theatre. But Hamilton was, it just never stopped from the opening second of that production to the last second. It just never stops. It is fantastic. So I saw it on Broadway and then I watched it when it came on Disney Plus a couple of weeks ago. And it's great.

It's really something. Anyway, that's not what Tim's writing about. The powerful songs and performance have only grown on me since I watched it last week. But you know what I watched after Hamilton? Because it was on Disney Plus. I finally got to watch Zootopia. I've had it on my list for some time now, but I somehow never got the chance until now. What a great movie. And it is. You know, people say, yeah, it's a kid's movie.

It's actually more than a kid's movie, and Tim gets it. Obviously, it's a kid's movie for the most part. But you know, it goes very well as a follow-up to Hamilton. Zootopia has an anti-racism theme built into it that seems very timely for sure. And the bonus is to catch the cameo role of Peter Moosebridge. Delivering some of the plot-worthy headlines midway through the movie. Yes, that's my movie.

Zootopia. Academy Award winner. Golden Globe winner. I was only in it for six seconds, but those were the six seconds that made the difference for that movie and got it the coveted Oscar. I'm sure. I'm convinced of that. Anyway, thanks, Tim.

Glad you enjoyed it. Pat Provo from Saint-Bazile-le-Grand, Quebec. My husband and I have recently moved into a 16-unit condominium at the beginning of the pandemic. All was great until the strict measures were loosened as nobody left their unit. We just had everything delivered. Lately, we're noticing an attitude where some residents don't wear face masks in the elevator.

Technically, an elevator is not a public area unless you live here, so if one chooses not to wear a mask, the law cannot be enforced. Some people live in buildings of at least 20 floors, so understandably mask wearing is uncomfortable at best. I would be interested to learn a creative solution to protecting my masked face in the common areas of my building. Most of us are over 60, so it's in our interest to take precautions. In the meantime, welcome back and many thanks for providing your insights on a daily basis. I guess that's referring to the fact I took last week off. Listen, we're going to do a thing on masks next week.

I'm going to go through a number of things that people have discovered about the best way to wear masks and what to know about masks that you're wearing. So I'm going to do that. That could be the major bulk of a show. Listen, you want to experiment because you can find masks that are comfortable enough to wear,

and you can certainly find a mask that can do 20 floors in an elevator. You know, as I've said before, we have a condo in Toronto, and when we're in there, we're well into the 40s on our floor, and I don't have any problem whatsoever wearing a mask. And people who don't wear masks on elevators and condominium buildings

obviously don't care about their neighbors and should. Anyway, Pat, you might want to listen to next week. I'm not sure which day I'm going to do that next week, but we'll pick a day. Nancy Mills writes from Halifax. On Monday's podcast, you talked about the importance of keeping a diary so the generations to come will have a personal record of this extraordinary time in history.

I've kept diaries off and on throughout the years, and when the pandemic began, I found an empty journal on my bookcase and began writing. My first entry is dated March 24th and begins with, let me back up. Although I don't write in it every day, I thought I would share with you part of my most recent entry. Here it is.

An interesting thing happened this morning when I went to the grocery store. I went early, as I've been doing during the past several weeks, because it's less crowded, and there seem to be more people wearing masks at this time of day. As I sat in my car in the parking lot and put on my mask, I noticed that I felt a little less apprehensive about going in today. I must be getting used to this new normal. When I got into the store and took my grocery list out of my purse, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to rewrite and organize my grocery list according to the store layout.

Am I the only person doing this? You know, there's kind of like one-way signs around many grocery stores, and so the idea was to create a list that follows that one-way pattern. Another sign that I must be getting used to this new normal. Although this entry isn't momentous, Nancy says, I think it highlights some of the ways that life has changed during the past several weeks. I'll be interested to see how many of the aspects of our new normal evolve over time. Won't we all?

Okay. This is a really interesting one. This came in actually during the week when I was off. I saw it and I thought, I've got to read this. Because I'd made reference at one point to electronic vehicles. And I talked about a story that had come from, I think, overseas from Germany. And Robert Lockhart, who lives in Selwyn, Ontario, that's just north of Peterborough,

he wrote me a letter, an email, with some basic facts about EVs, electronic vehicles, in Canada, and I found it fascinating. These were basic facts I did not know. So let me read some of them to you. There are two types of electronic vehicles, I knew that, electric vehicles. Plug-in hybrids, which provide an average of 45 clicks of electric range and then seamlessly transition to gas electric mode, and two, the fully electric vehicles with an average range of 400 kilometers. That's the average

range. In Canada there are 26 plug-in hybrid and 20 fully electric vehicles available for sale with a hundred plus expected by 2025. According to Natural Resources Canada the average daily trip is 41 kilometers. In 2019, 50,000 EVs were sold in Canada. That's 2.6% of overall sales. That was last year. Adoption of EVs is highest in B.C. and Quebec, where government policies and investments as well as purchase incentives

are strongest. In addition, the federal government provides $5,000 rebates on many EVs. In Canada, fully electric vehicles cost $12,000 to $15,000 more than comparable gas-powered vehicles, but operating and maintenance costs average $2,000 a year less. EVs will cost less than gas-powered vehicles since EVs only have about 20 moving parts, require 35% less labor to build, and battery prices are dropping fast. Gas-powered vehicles have about 2,000 moving parts. With the Trans-Canada Highway now electrified, you can drive across the country in any medium-range electronic vehicle.

In other words, there are places to hook up, to charge up. $300 billion has been committed by automakers worldwide for electronic vehicle development over the next five years. You find that interesting? I mean, I've been toying with the idea, you know, am I going to have an electronic vehicle at some point? Yeah, I'm getting on. I've been driving gas-powered all my life. I kind of like the idea of electronic vehicles,

but I don't know enough about them. And this email from Robert, as well as a much lengthier attachment that he sent as well, really helped. Gave me a lot of information and a much better understanding of the situation around electronic vehicles. All right. Sadella Beasley lives in Minneapolis.

I listened with interest to your story regarding plans for the Stanley Cup playoffs. You discussed the importance of the playoffs not only for the players and the franchises, but also the networks who count on the revenue received from broadcasting, professional and college sports. That was actually the main reason I was doing that. Was to talk about just how much money the networks rely on sports. However, from my perspective, you miss the single most important aspect of the Stanley Cup playoffs returning to TV, that being the importance to and positive impact of the impact it'll have on the fans.

We are desperate for hockey, for any live broadcast professional sport for that matter, and watching our beloved Stanley Cup playoffs will bring an incredible emotional boost for all the reasons you well know. And hey, Sadella, I'm in your camp. I am, like, beside excited about hockey starting in the next couple of days. I think the first exhibition game for the Leafs anyway is Monday. Leafs, Habs, Toronto, Montreal, exhibition.

Now, there's a lot of stuff around this as a result of COVID-19. There are a lot of reasons to be concerned about how this will play out, what it'll look like. But it's hockey. We never had our hockey fix for the spring. We're going to get it now at a time we've never had it before, in August. So I'm excited. I'm glad you're excited, Sadella.

And hopefully there are a lot of other people who are excited as well. I mean, really. It's been more than 50 years since the Leafs won the Cup, and this is the year, baby. Stop laughing. All right, Alex Cianfloni. Same Catherines. We've heard from Alex before.

He has two questions here. I'm not a political analyst, but it seems like Trump is changing his tone towards the virus for the election. Would he simply give the act up once results are confirmed and go back to the basic Trump viewpoint of ignoring the data and health experts? What? You don't believe Donald Trump? You think that he may twist the truth of what he's feeling? Really? The second question, restaurants have been closed for a while in Ontario. Could you say that the lost revenue of alcohol sales from the restaurants have been redirected to the LCBO and beer stores? I have no idea, Alex.

But it's, too, is an interesting question. I'll have to check that out. Let me see here. Where are we? One left or two left? We have... Actually, we've got a couple left. We've got more than a couple left.

Fred Schumacher. As a Canadian living and working in the United States, I'm finding the recent conversations on the border issue both reassuring and troubling. I'm reassured in that both the Canadian and U.S. governments are in general agreement that travel restrictions are a necessary part of limiting transmission of the virus. Moreover, I'd even suggest that travel restrictions to other parts of the world should remain for the time being

for U.S. and Canadian citizens, and everyone else for that matter, and or be reinstated. The initial spread of the virus was through the traveling public, and what better way to dampen the second wave than to continue with these restrictions for everyone. I'm sympathetic to the economic impact, but until there's a vaccine, I fear we have little choice. The troubling part of the ongoing travel restrictions is the lack of perspective demonstrated by those adamant that the borders should remain closed. As a Canadian, I'm able to travel back to Canada unrestricted to visit family provided I adhere to the quarantine requirements. I've chosen not to do so for the time being, though,

fearing for my physical safety and that of my property. The increase in hostility expressed by Canadians to vehicles with U.S. plates in Canada, that would be my situation, is distressing. Reports of slashed tires, keyed side panels, and outright verbal abuse targeting these vehicle owners is very un-Canadian, to say the least. Who appointed Canadians judge, jury, and executioner in this matter? There are designated responsible agencies who are charged with administering and

enforcing the rules, and these should be duly notified as the first course of action if people are concerned. Yes, there have been SCOF laws. I guess that's where people have tried to take advantage of the situation. A minuscule cause of virus transmission, I must say. And these cases should be handled as appropriate. But I'm sure there are many in my situation with a legitimate reason for being in Canada that have been or are being targeted as well and unjustly. We have a right to come home and not be harassed. Fred Schumacher lives in Longmont, Colorado. That's just part of his letter where he's arguing that perspective and civility

are sorely needed. Listen, this is a touchy subject, Fred, and you pointed it out. There's an upside and a downside. I think we've got to be careful in not overgeneralizing on both fronts. I'm not sure how much you've studied the issue of those who've crossed the border and

ignored the quarantining rules and have gone shopping, bar hopping, restaurants, whatever, and whether or not that's caused issues. I don't know the answer to that question. I imagine you don't actually know the answer to that question. But at the same time, situations where people are being harassed and tire slashed and all that, that is, you're totally right, that is un-Canadian.

You know, I was shown a picture of a car from Texas in a parking lot in one of the grocery stores here in Stratford, and people were concerned about what happened here? Why is this guy here? Well, you know, it turns out this guy is a snowbird. He's a Canadian who lives half the year in Texas and half the year in Canada. He came back months ago,

but came back in his car that's registered in Texas. So got to be careful on assumptions everywhere. Nancy Fielding from Leduc, Alberta. On the Thursday before your holidays, you brought up the subject of newspapers. Oh, wait a minute. Nancy, we read your letter. I think we read your letter.

Maybe not. Seems kind of familiar, but let me read it again. On the Thursday before your holidays, you brought up the subject of newspapers. When you asked whether people would read newspapers if they were available, I threw my hand up like I was in school and gave you an exuberant yes. I was a lifelong subscriber to the an exuberant yes. I was a lifelong subscriber to the Toronto Star, seven days a week. Often I'd walk out of my local variety store on Sundays for a New York Times. It was print journalism heaven. When I moved to the Edmonton

area in 2009, that kind of availability disappeared. We could get the Edmonton Journal and National Post delivered in one location. When we moved 20 minutes south, there was nothing. Globe and Mail? Forget it. Now I go out on Saturdays on a Globe and Mail hunt. Many stores in Edmonton either don't carry it or only bring in a few copies. It's a challenge, but well worth it. Unfortunately, there isn't a New York Times for miles. I truly believe that printed newspapers are a valuable resource. You absorb more from the printed page than you would scrolling down a screen. I do, don't you? I agree with this.

With companies buying up so many publications in so many markets, we're losing not only the papers themselves, but objectivity from newsrooms that have been amalgamated and lost their independence. Digital media has its place, but I sincerely hope that print journalism survives not only for the readers, but for the reporters. So many of them followed their dreams and got into the business because they loved it. I will continue to do my bit to help keep their dreams alive. Okay. Let me get to these last two.

Sorry, just pulling some stuff off the printer. I pushed print before I started the podcast, and here, I've got them now. Sean Spriggs. He's in Toronto. Two streams of thought that are tied together as I sit here in Toronto. One, when, not if, we open the border to the USA, how will Canada cope?

If we flatten the curve, and they have not, what will happen? I would be surprised if we'll be opening the border if that situation exists. A, we have to have fully flattened the curve, and I think that there have to be indications that our neighbours have flattened the curve as well. They're in the midst of a challenge right now. Let's hope and pray that they are able to meet that challenge. Second point from Sean, looking at the media and government,

I'm of the opinion that the Canadian conversation has moved from flatten the curve to zero cases. Shouldn't the conversation move to how do we live with the virus and keep the curve flat? That's a good argument. That is a good debate to have. I mean, obviously, there are people who are waiting for a vaccine, and there are people who, smart people, people in the public health field, people in the research field, who firmly believe that we are months away from a vaccine and probably a year away from the ability to deliver it on a massive scale. And for those people waiting to to a zero case situation is one they believe to be true. But there are others who feel, you know, let's flatten the curve, be convinced of where we are, and be convinced that we can live with this if we are able to live with the restrictions.

It's an interesting debate, Sean. Sean ventures that he thinks his viewpoint is not among the majority. I'm not sure if it is or not. All right, here's the last one. This is the one that gets the full read. It comes from Michael Bird in Barry's Bay, Ontario. Dear Peter, this is my first letter to you, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to tell you how very much I appreciate your podcast.

Thank you very much, Michael. My wife and I listen to them almost every evening. What a wonderful gift this has been to us and to so many others during these challenging days. Thank you so very much. Okay, I'm just kidding. I am going to read now the main substantive part of the letter. I could have just stopped there and said, well, that was great.

That really was the best letter today. Thank you, Michael, that was great. That really was the best letter today. Thank you, Michael, for those kind comments. Now let's get to your substantive point here. Your discussions and surveys about borders, pubs, and restaurants all speak to just a few of the ways that our lives have been placed on hold, both in trivial matters and in lost opportunities that will change our lives forever. We have recently heard about members of our Olympic team and students at various levels of the education system who've had their hopes and dreams, at the very least, seriously impacted and in some cases taken away altogether. I'm a clergy person and in the midst of this time of isolation, I've had to try to reach out to parishioners who find themselves coping with serious and tragic events

without the ability to be physically present with them. In all my 36 years of ordained ministry, I've never felt so disconnected and, frankly, useless to the people I have been called to serve. In some of your earlier podcasts, you spoke about the experience of Canadians in the midst of past world wars, and I was particularly reminded of this the other day when I came across some letters that my aunt gave to me that had been written to her by my father as he served overseas in the Second World War. I've read those letters many times, and they've always left me wondering about the many ways his life and the lives of everyone during those terrible days were impacted so tragically

and irreversibly. People who lost spouses, children who lost parents, soldiers whose lives would never be the same when they finally returned home, and those who never saw home again. We are not in the middle of a world war, thank God. We are, however, all experiencing, even in small ways, what it's like to put something or a number of things in our life on hold. My father died many years ago, but his letters have offered me a source of great inspiration and determination to do whatever it takes to get to the other side of this virus. One thing is certain, I will never read those letters in quite the same way again. That's Michael Bird in Barry's Bay, Ontario. All your letters today and this week have been fabulous.

Michael, your letter, especially so today. And can I just offer you this? If you serve your parishioners in the same spirit that you sent that letter to us today, then you shouldn't feel disconnected from them, and you certainly should not feel useless to those people who you've been called upon to serve I'm sure they're extremely grateful in hearing from you in whatever fashion they're able to do that because I know we certainly have been on this day. All right.

We're heading for a weekend at the end of week 19 since this all started in the middle of March. We've been through a lot of this together. And your words have been a power and a strength to many of us, certainly to me. It's been great to hear from you, and I hope you'll keep writing as we keep plodding along with the Bridge Daily. Are we going to keep her going for a while yet? We're certainly going to keep her going into Week 20,

because we've got to have that. We've got to hear that. Week 20. Remember when all this started, we thought, oh, you know, well, it'll be three or four weeks and then we'll be back at her. Week 20. And we're finally getting hockey going next week. Basketball tonight.

I mean, I think it's an exhibition game or a scrimmage or something, but it'll be on television. The Raptors, the Blue Jays are on television tonight. If you like baseball. But hockey. Hockey. That's us. Golf's on.

Finally, I mean, if I had to watch some of those Netflix shows one more time, it was time for something. It's not the same. It's really weird. Baseball last night, the late game, they had cardboard cutouts sitting in the stands to act as fans. It actually kind of looked neat.

It's crazy. These are crazy times. They're challenging times. I got a lot of heroes out there. And let's stay smart. Let's wash our hands.

Let's socially distance. Let's wear our masks. And let's not do crazy things. We're not at the end of this yet. We may not be for a while. So let's be smart. All right, enough babbling from me. Have a great weekend.

The Bridge Daily. With me, Peter Mansbridge, we'll be back on Monday. So we'll see you and talk to you on Monday. Thank you.