Spacing and Massey College proudly present City in Sight: Canada’s constitutional city crisis, a special podcast series.
THIS EPISODE: Who’s in Charge of a Pandemic?
Dealing with COVID-19 has been a challenge for every level of government. And, in a country where government jurisdictions are often clearly delineated, and defended, the pandemic response has required a certain level of federal, provincial, and municipal harmony. How have municipalities navigated these complex relationships in the midst of a global crisis?
In this episode, we speak to TVO columnist and digital media producer John Michael McGrath about some of the political battles he’s witnessed between governments, throughout the pandemic.
Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson talks about how a city famous for its annual theatre festival has managed to stay afloat.
“Economically, we had a real challenge. People who work in retail, tourism, and hospitality and in cultural institutions here didn’t have work. And that caused a big issue.”
And Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens talks about how that city dealt with outbreaks among temporary foreign workers, and a population that sometimes relies on cross-border travel for employment.
“At the very beginning, we were calling all frontline workers — especially nurses and healthcare professionals — heroes. And the people who crossed the border here to go work in Detroit, they may have been heroes over in Michigan, but when they came back home here in Canada, we were vilifying them.”
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