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Seized by UncertaintyThe Markets, Media, and Special Interests That Shaped Canada’s Response to COVID-19 |
eBook Coming Soon
How Canadian governments at various levels responded to the pandemic: gathering information, setting standards, and changing behaviours.
The COVID-19 virus was responsible for the deaths of over thirty-five thousand Canadians in its first two years alone. Described as the biggest public health crisis of the century, it was an uncertain threat, which emerged within complex psychological, social, legal, administrative, and economic contexts.
Seized by Uncertainty explains how Canadian governments responded to that threat. Despite early warning signs, governments failed to appreciate the trade-offs required to respond to the pandemic. Their approach, at times intolerant of debate and ignorant of diversity, served the interests of some over others. Their response prioritized stability and containment, enabling four in ten people to work from home, disproportionately benefiting an educated middle class who profited further from soaring stock markets and housing prices. Mental health issues spiked, racialized people were much more likely to test positive for the virus, those in low-income sectors experienced unstable employment and lacked workplace safety protections, the lives of low-risk youth were in constant suspension, and residents of some care homes were virtually abandoned.
Seized by Uncertainty studies the pandemic response through the contexts in which it emerged, exposing uncomfortable truths about a fragmented society and governance problems that predated the threat.
Seized by Uncertainty explains how Canadian governments responded to that threat. Despite early warning signs, governments failed to appreciate the trade-offs required to respond to the pandemic. Their approach, at times intolerant of debate and ignorant of diversity, served the interests of some over others. Their response prioritized stability and containment, enabling four in ten people to work from home, disproportionately benefiting an educated middle class who profited further from soaring stock markets and housing prices. Mental health issues spiked, racialized people were much more likely to test positive for the virus, those in low-income sectors experienced unstable employment and lacked workplace safety protections, the lives of low-risk youth were in constant suspension, and residents of some care homes were virtually abandoned.
Seized by Uncertainty studies the pandemic response through the contexts in which it emerged, exposing uncomfortable truths about a fragmented society and governance problems that predated the threat.
Details
504 Pages, 6 x 9
26 diagrams, 30 tables
ISBN 9780228022893
November 2024
Formats: Paperback, eBook
“The COVID pandemic was an epochal event – global, transnational, domestic, and cross‐sectoral – that will be debated and discussed for decades. Seized by Uncertainty charts exactly what happened when, analyzing what governmental responses worked and what did not.” Michael Howlett, Simon Fraser University
Kevin Quigley is director of the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance and a professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at Dalhousie University.
Kaitlynne Lowe is research assistant at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie University.
Sarah Moore is research assistant at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie University.
Brianna Wolfe is research assistant at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie University.
Kaitlynne Lowe is research assistant at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie University.
Sarah Moore is research assistant at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie University.
Brianna Wolfe is research assistant at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie University.
Contents
Tables and Figures ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations xvii
Introduction 3
Part one – overview of covid-19 and situating it
in the risk literature 21
1 How It Started and Key covid-19–Related Health
Outcomes 23
2 Situating covid-19 in the Risk Literature: Four Rationales for
Risk 50
Part two – regime content: the government’s
control mechanisms 77
3 Information Gathering: Testing, Contact Tracing, and
Modelling 79
4 Standard Setting: Health and Emergency Response, Economic
Support, and Governance 101
5 Behaviour Modification 1: The Public’s Choices and the
Cascading Impacts of Government Directives 126
6 Behaviour Modification 2: The covid-19 Vaccine 145
Part three – case studies: long-term care
and tourism 167
7 Caring for the Vulnerable: Long-Term Care, Short-Term
Thinking 169
8 Tourism: The Higher It Rises, the Harder It Falls 193
Part four – regime context: Pressures and
explanations 217
9 Market Failure Hypothesis: Market Performance, Information
Costs, and Opt-Out Costs 219
10 Opinion-Responsive Hypothesis: Media and Public Opinion
Polls 245
With Hala Nader
11 Interest Group Hypothesis: Bureau-Shapers and Organized
Interests 275
With Noel Guscott
Part five – living with it 301
Conclusion 303
Appendix 1: Methods 323
Appendix 2: Years of Life Lost to covid-19 Compared to
World Wars 328
Appendix 3: Years of Life Lost to covid-19 Compared to
Road Fatalities 329
Appendix 4: Consumer Purchases at Retail (× 1,000)
by Category (2019–21) 331
Notes 335
References 341
Index 483
Tables and Figures ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations xvii
Introduction 3
Part one – overview of covid-19 and situating it
in the risk literature 21
1 How It Started and Key covid-19–Related Health
Outcomes 23
2 Situating covid-19 in the Risk Literature: Four Rationales for
Risk 50
Part two – regime content: the government’s
control mechanisms 77
3 Information Gathering: Testing, Contact Tracing, and
Modelling 79
4 Standard Setting: Health and Emergency Response, Economic
Support, and Governance 101
5 Behaviour Modification 1: The Public’s Choices and the
Cascading Impacts of Government Directives 126
6 Behaviour Modification 2: The covid-19 Vaccine 145
Part three – case studies: long-term care
and tourism 167
7 Caring for the Vulnerable: Long-Term Care, Short-Term
Thinking 169
8 Tourism: The Higher It Rises, the Harder It Falls 193
Part four – regime context: Pressures and
explanations 217
9 Market Failure Hypothesis: Market Performance, Information
Costs, and Opt-Out Costs 219
10 Opinion-Responsive Hypothesis: Media and Public Opinion
Polls 245
With Hala Nader
11 Interest Group Hypothesis: Bureau-Shapers and Organized
Interests 275
With Noel Guscott
Part five – living with it 301
Conclusion 303
Appendix 1: Methods 323
Appendix 2: Years of Life Lost to covid-19 Compared to
World Wars 328
Appendix 3: Years of Life Lost to covid-19 Compared to
Road Fatalities 329
Appendix 4: Consumer Purchases at Retail (× 1,000)
by Category (2019–21) 331
Notes 335
References 341
Index 483
