Rhino's Ramblings - Re-Open Saskatchewan The New Normal

By Robert Thomas - Opinion/Commentary

It came out over a two day period the plan to re-start and fire up Saskatchewan's economy.

Premier Scott Moe made a province-wide address this past Wednesday evening putting the paddle into the water and then on Thursday morning he took a mighty stroke forward and announced the five stages to Re-Open Saskatchewan.

And none too soon in many people's minds while more than a few others are not buying it and saying it’s too early to accept the risk.

A risk against a virus some say is nothing more than a cold while others fear it as an almost ultimate human killing machine.

But really when you look at it what the Premier is selling here to people can be summed up in one word - hope.

A hope that finally things are going to kick back into gear and also a hope that nothing seriously goes wrong.

And yes sorry there is a risk involved in all of this.

A risk that the seemingly beaten pandemic does not raise its so far hidden head and scorch Saskatchewan with fire.

SaskParty political partisans can jump up and down all day and say I am wrong but quite frankly the virus does not care. It does not discriminate.

Whether you support the Center For Disease Control or the World Health Organization if COVID - 19 has your number no political viewpoint is ever going to stop it.

It is out there waiting for an opportunity to reproduce and spoiling the hope it has passed us all by.

No matter how you look at it, the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan is based upon acceptable and manageable risk.

Let people outside to participate in low risk activities before we all go totally insane from social isolation. Somehow keep up physical distancing, proper hygiene and disinfection while getting outside into the warmer weather.

There will be more cases of Covid - 19 is almost a foregone conclusion in the plan.

The question is that risk manageable? And how do you sell it to the general public? How do you get people out and spending money and re-booting the economy all the while living in what is a new normal?

Social or as the new catchphrase physical distancing is whether we like it or not the new norm. And it will be for some time coming. There is no escaping that.

That is the reality we live in - the reality of COVID - 19.

It is a bit like putting your toes into the water and starting to wade in deeper hoping that you don’t hear the recognizable “bump, bump, bump, bump…” theme from Jaws and there is a scream “Get out of the water!”

COVID - 19 is still out there it’s lurking in the shadows waiting for its opportunity to strike and for a good number of people I have spoken to they are not ready right now to take the risk and are staying at home.

And depending on who you speak to its how long that magic - I am guessing 20 percent - stay at home which will determine if the rebooting of the local economy kicks in quickly or it drags on into the Fall or even later.

People can criticize those who are wary and say just stay home and don’t do any shopping then. It sounds like a good trade off until they realize the economy is changing because of COVID -19.

Many of the people who have been shut in are starting to remember the past where they mail ordered from Eatons but this time it is on-line from Amazon.

Whether they want to admit to it or not people in their late 60's and older are starting to join the ranks of on-line shoppers.

Something Amazon's own figures point to - the pandemic has had the effect of a major push when it comes to the transition away from bricks and mortar stores to a virtual shopping experience.

Even our local small businesses have realized this and many have finally started to move on-line out of financial necessity.

Ironically even the City of Moose Jaw has transitioned away from the traditional physical media helping to accelerate the death knell to the traditional bricks and mortar marketing model. In my opinion they are in some ways cutting their own financial throats.

Moving on-line might be a great move for the City but it also a double-edged sword. People who can download and operate the City's app can do the same with a multitude of on-line shopping apps including Amazon and others

Myself personally I rarely buy on-line but the pandemic saw me taking the plunge for the first time in four years.

I needed to buy some running shoes and with the local sporting goods store closed at the mall I went on-line and bought them from their on-line store and received an added discount for doing so.

For me it is simple. Each Spring I buy three pairs of the same style, model, size and colour I have worn for the last six years. I do not need to go to the store.

It is like my buying a new shirt I find what I like and buy two or three identical ones.

Under Re-Open Saskatchewan clothing retailers opening in Phase Two cannot let me go in and try on new clothes.

Now if I am a typical shopper then it’s not good news for local bricks and mortar business.

And so you know my local financial institution even encouraged it.

I now need to phone in and get an appointment to access my money. They are forcing me into the world of virtual banking and finance. It’s something they are doing to the holdouts who like cheques and cash and then go shopping locally.

It went so far as when I phoned about getting a bank draft they told me to just go to Canada Post and do it there as it was 50 cents cheaper.

This is the reality of COVID - 19 even the banks are foregoing service fees they have gouged us with in the past to fuel their continual growth.

It is something local small business is going to have to overcome.

Not only are they going to have to offer superior service but they are going to have to offer superior disinfection and procedures to calm the fears many still have.

In many ways Re-Open Saskatchewan is not just about re-starting the economy it is also about working in an economic world which has massively changed in just eight short weeks.

At the present time COVID - 19 has hammered area farmers and ranchers.

In a world where grocery prices have started to climb, especially for meat, COVID - 19 has hammered producers at the farm gate.

We live in a world where slaughtered beef prices may be going up in the grocery stores while live cattle prices are in the tank thanks in many ways to COVID - 19 and our drive for efficiency in the meat industry.

Consolidating packing plant workers in large mega-plants to capture economies of scale and efficiencies has packing plant employees working in close quarters and has lead to workers more readily contracting COVID - 19.

It has closed or throttled back slaughtering capacity for Western Canadian beef resulting in rock bottom prices for producers but growing prices for beef in the grocery stores

The pork industry in Quebec has been devastated by COVID - 19 with farmers simply killing market ready hogs they were already losing $30 - $50 on. They cannot afford to continue to feed them.

This in a world where there is a demand for Canadian pork.

And although the obvious solution might seem to be to buy local and eat only locally sourced beef and pork from area farmers and ranchers there is no way we could make the dent necessary to broadly impact the entire local beef industry.

We need those export markets to sustain local farmers.

Domestic demand might be nice but it is insufficient to generate sufficient cashflow to maintain the present agricultural model.

COVID - 19 has exposed the Achilles heel of our food distribution system. There is a great chasm between producers and consumers.

At the same time though as we beat the drums of buying our food locally it is also a drum being beaten the world over.

Fundamental change is hopefully coming to the agri-food industry but we need the province up and running to help accomplish it. There needs to be cash flow and some sense of a return to reality in a COVID - 19 world.

On a personal note I took a look at my situation and in reality I likely could afford a side of pork but not at grocery store prices. A fair and honest price between consumer and farmers. Many others are likely in the same situation as I am in. It’s just finding a way across that canyon without incurring too many middlemen along the way.

So this is some of the world we are facing here locally when it comes to firing back up the local economy.

The economic world and reality most of us have lived in just a short few weeks ago has now fundamentally changed because of COVID - 19.

Re-opening the economy is somehow going to have to reflect the new reality we will all soon be living in.

There needs to be leadership and hope as we rapidly transition to a world and reality COVID - 19 has brought to us whether we like it or not.

Re-Open Saskatchewan is not just about a calculated risk and management of a pandemic it is all about hope as we all transition to a new normal.