At some point, the world relies on real, tangible things.
In many ways, Justin Trudeau is fortunate to lead a federal government.
Unlike provincial and municipal governments, the feds can create money out of thin air (through the Bank of Canada to finance deficits), and this can give the impression that there is an endless supply of money.
And, technically, it is true.
There is an endless supply of money, since the money is created out of nothing.
But at the end of the day, that money still relies on the perception of how credible a government is, and how much real, tangible production exists within an economy.
At some point, reality intrudes.
A budget doesn’t ‘balance itself,’ it balances if a government makes decisions that lead to it being balanced.
Trudeau has evaded responsibility for his magical thinking on the economy, due to the aforementioned ability to print money and due to circumstances that led many people to support large deficit spending.
However, when it comes to vaccines, Canada is paying the price for Trudeau’s distance from reality.
Trudeau bragged repeatedly about how Canada had ordered the most vaccines, as if putting in the order and then talking about it somehow equaled actual vaccinations.
But those orders – since they were made late and since Canada didn’t invest enough in our ability to advance domestic vaccine production early in the crisis – were made late, putting Canada further back than many countries.
And the problem continues to mount, with vaccine delays hitting Canada hard, deepening the crisis further.
Provinces have now had to slow down, and in some cases outright cancel further vaccinations, with provincial leaders pointing out that shipments of the vaccine from the federal government have stopped.
Canada already lagged far behind many comparable nations, and it’s getting worse.
For example, Pfizer isn’t shipping any vaccines to Canada in the upcoming week.
The fact is, ordering a bunch of stuff doesn’t matter if your order doesn’t arrive. Other countries ordered earlier, ramped up their own production, and are moving more swiftly to exit this crisis.
While provincial leaders have faced a lot of criticism during this crisis, the responsibility for Canada’s vaccine debacle rests squarely with the federal government. At this important moment, the Trudeau government has failed to do their job, and the reliance on magical thinking is running headfirst into a rough reality.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
