Welcome to 2021: On The Homefront!

There's only sure one thing about 2021 -the Covid-19 pandemic! 

The second wave is rapidly growing in strength. It could soon turn into a huge tsunami. 

Covid quickly skewered my "2020 Vision" blog by March. But now, it's mutating. Will it spread even faster? Grow resistant to the new vaccines? Become almost impossible to contain? 

If so, end of story! We're royally screwed! 

Even if not, It's highly unlikely that the crisis will end this year. Not with the half assed measures and lack of leadership that we've seen, in both the US and to a lesser degree Canada! 

My first "Welcome to 2021" blog focuses on what we might reasonably expect this year here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The next will cover the US and the rest of the world.  

ONTARIO

Whatever Premier Ford does next, it's a case of too little too late. He's wasted too much time throughout 2020. He's created a "perfect storm", listening to the business lobbyists, largely ignoring the medical communities expert medical advice. 

Ford will be his own worse enemy! His credibility will continue to be stripped away, due to sheer ineptitude and folly. However, he'll still continue to rule Queens Park by default, largely unchallenged.

The NDP opposition like the Liberal party, will be mostly

missing in action. Both will keep their gunpowder close to the chest, for the 2022 provincial election instead.

Our neutered media watch dogs will pander to Ford. It'll mostly be business as usual at his highly staged press conferences. They'll cheerfully greet him from behind paywalls, blunting their investigative edge, frightened of offending their "friend".

Members of Ontario's teacher and labour unions will largely be stuck on their own at work. Don't expect any collective, union, work refusals

, in our unsafe workplaces and  schools. 

Virtual at home learning will become the new norm. Lots of students will give up in frustration on their studies, while teachers are forced to pass them along anyway. Hopefully, more in school, safety measures and family supports will be put in place for this fall, but don't count on it! 

Many factories, warehouses and offices will close due to widespread workplace spread, after it can't be hidden anymore.

Ontario's hospitals will soon become overcrowded. Field hospitals will follow to provide more ICU beds. If they fill up, we'll need to be told to just stay at home instead. [+]

Hopefully, there's no further delay in the vaccination roll out. Our doctors, nurses, and medical workers should come first, along with the seniors at our LTC nursing homes. Frontline workers must be immediately vaccinated too. Otherwise, it will be impossible to halt the spread. 

Ford will continue to endlessly fiddle about with various half measures and provincial lockdowns, throughout the year. His inconsistency will prove confusing and chaotic. Police will need new, emergency, enforcement powers. If the situation continues to deteriorate, the military will be called in to re-establish law and order.

Fortunately, Mayor John Tory will keep pressing for much stronger measures in the City of Toronto. Along with Prime Minister Trudeau, he'll try to humour and focus Ford, with mixed results.

In the worst case scenario, the virus will continue to mutate, become resistant to the vaccine and spread like wildfire. The economy will collapse, along with our social supports. Ontario will descend into complete mayhem and chaos, until the pandemic burns itself out, with catastrophic results. [+]

Our best hope is that Ontario's vaccine rollout is completed by September and it works. Afterwards, those who've "recovered" will continue to get sick and die from other long term, medical complications, sometimes in large waves. That'll place a very heavy burden on our medical and social service net, for years to come. [+]

CANADA

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be hamstrung, as the provincial clown shows continue unabated. He'll keep up his daily "We Are All In This Together" directives and incentives. Hope the provincial premiers act more responsibly, knowing that ultimately he has little power to make sure they do. 

The Liberal's will largely stick to their corporate, globalist agenda, while Covid continues to exposes Canada's social, economic and political fault lines. Universal pharmacare? A guaranteed income? The Keystone Pipeline? Or indigenous treaty rights? Who'll hold their feet to the fire? 

As for O'Toole's CPC Covidiots? Singh's wishy washy NDP? Our stump Green Party? To varying degrees, given half the chance, they'll dance the corporate, globalist jig too.

Despite more and more scandals, there likely won't be a federal election this year. Basically, everyone knows that it wouldn't go over well, at the height of a pandemic. However, the party intrigues and grandstanding will continue, with more empty election threats being made.

The Biden's Presidency won't necessarily be good for Canada. Trump has provided a strong impetus for a " third option" via our new trade deals with the EU CETA and the TPP Pacific Rim countries. Trudeau will continue diversifying our trade portfolio, to offset Canada's heavy economic dependence on the US. Watch as he subtly focuses on further developing our relations with Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, NZ Singapore and the UK. 

President Joe Biden will kill the Keystone Pipeline Deal. That'll resolve a major political impasse. Canada's indigenous peoples, along with our environmentalists and progressives will be happy, while Albertans consider it a major blow. It'll further fuel the western separatist movement to no avail. 

CANNABIS 

The US legalization "Green Wave" will prove very good for Canada's struggling LP's [Licensed Producers]. CBD's will lead the charge. 

Canada's legacy producers and sellers will increasingly gain access to the licensed retail market. That'll siphon off profits from the underground market, while improving quality and pricing in the legal marketplace for consumers too.

Government interference will continue to put the brakes on legal weed sales. The ridiculously low THC limit for edibles and drinks will keep giving the underground an upper hand. Likewise our ridiculous safety, advertising and packaging rules, will remain an albatross around the licensed market's neck.

Licensed lounges and maybe home delivery too, will be prohibited in Ontario during 2021. However, a clear double standard throughout the pandemic, will ultimately help strengthen the case against prohibition.

AT HOME

On the home front, Janet and I 

look forward to continuing our world travels asap. Our next stop? Back to Cuba and Japan!

We should be vaccinated by June, along with the province's age 50-75 cohort. Everybody else before this fall.

 However, much 

of the world won't get vaccinated this year. We are still very wary of flying in an airplane too, no matter what the airline "experts" say.

Next month is our 

20th anniversary. Hopefully the pandemic will be long over by our 25th, so we can pull out all the stops, fly off somewhere special then. 

We won't be going very far this year, that's for sure. 

Most likely, half of 2021 will be spent in our Toronto home, the rest at our summer residence by the lake. 

This May will be the 10th anniversary of my site. I should also reach a milestone 2 million views, early in the new year. [**] Afterwards? I'll try to pace myself better, so it's not so all consuming. Doesn't stop being fun.

The lockdown provides lots of time for me to write. B

asically writing is what I do. And so it goes and on and on and on .....

Still, we face a very long, dark Covid winter ahead. I'm doing fine with my computer, music and books. The weed helps smooth down the edges. Lately, I prefer edibles, drinks and vape over smoking weed. Easier on the lungs, and less smelly indoors too! 

Without doubt 2021 will take a "Busload of Faith" to get by. Like Janet, I can feel the cabin fever setting in. Thankfully, with creeping old age, it seems to get easier to keep it together through better and worse. 

In 2021, we just plan to keep safe. Stay the course, in hopes of still being around for the much more, happier times to come.  

Hope you do too!

David C

[+] = Read John M. Barry The Great Influenza [LINK] The Covid pandemic has been unfolding very much like the 1919 Spanish Flu. Check Barry's chapters on the second and third wave, for more info on what comes next!

[**] = See the site meter below my masthead, at the top right of my your screen.

Next: Welcome To 2021: The US + Abroad!

COMMENTS: