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I've heard from a few people surprised by Dr. Brendan Hanley's, er, combative tone during yesterday's news conference. I'd prefer to believe that Dr. Hanley, like a lot of us, is fed up with this whole crappy state of affairs.... [cont.]
... and like a lot of health sector workers, is doubtless stretched thin and working long hours. Who among us can say we haven't gotten cranky during a conference call these last few weeks? I sure can't....
However, there is still genuine confusion over the precise message the CMOH is trying to get out in terms of what kind of recreational activities are OK this weekend. That's why we asked (again, it was @jsponagle's question): we're hearing from people who are confused.
We've also heard from a lot of people who are very upset about the policy of not disclosing which community has this new case. I do understand the official logic here: word does travel fast in a small town. BUT...
This logic that disclosing the community necessarily means the individual patient will be outed is an assumption I'm not sure health officials should be making....
(The health department has done this before, when they refused to say which communities suffered fentanyl deaths, a decision that seems, frankly, dangerous. See Doris Bill's comments here, for example: https://www.yukon-news.com/news/number-of-opioid-deaths-in-the-yukon-increases-to-18/)
Back to COVID-19: Our comments on Facebook are a MESS. People are wildly speculating about which community has the case, and are throwing different suggestions around. All this could be avoided if the CMOH just told us where the case is.
The other fundamental issue is this: do people have a right to know if a case is in their community? We know there are cases in Whitehorse. Do people in the communities not have the same right?
I can't help but wonder if this is just another example of the YG's institutional resistance to transparency generally. This is a widespread problem that goes well beyond the CMOH or even this particular government.
Indeed, this tendency toward secrecy is a rudimentary component of Canadian government, via Britain. See the work of Richard Norton-Taylor: https://share.audm.com/share/lrb/whitehall-spookery (Again, hat tip to @jsponagle)
On the other hand! Let's be fair: I have never seen so many YG news conference. We basically get the CMOH three times a week, plus cabinet ministers, depending on what's being announced, and the premier fairly often.
I got 3 questions to the CMOH yesterday alone. That's good.
I got 3 questions to the CMOH yesterday alone. That's good.
But honestly, even still it's not enough information. We are getting a constant barrage of questions from our audience. Some are great questions. Some... could be answered with a quick web search.
But this is the nature of the public information business right now: you are going to have to repeat yourself. And if you want people to take your advice, you need to level with them, and that means erring on the side of disclosure. FIN
