Roundup: Demanding a de facto death penalty

Posted on by

It shouldn’t surprise me that Erin O’Toole would stoop to some pretty low places in order to score points with his base, and yet here we are, as he declares that the federal government’s plan to start vaccinating prisoners in federal institutions to be unpalatable.

There is so much wrong with this particular shitpost that one barely knows where to start, but let’s begin with simple logistics. The federal government has their own allocations of vaccine for people under their healthcare delivery jurisdiction, and that includes prisoners in federal penitentiaries. While O’Toole objects to them getting vaccines head of “any vulnerable Canadian,” he is ignoring that prisoners are absolutely a vulnerable population in a congregate living situation where there are currently outbreaks that are ongoing. Withholding vaccines from them is cruel, unusual, and unconstitutional. The Correctional Service of Canada has not handled the pandemic well. They’ve lied about the “extra sanitation” they’re doing, they have not provided adequate PPE for inmates or staff, and people who are exposed to the virus tend to be sent to solitary confinement, which we know has been declared a form of torture and a human rights violation. Not to mention, none of these prisoners were given a death sentence, which is what leaving them exposed in an outbreak could amount to.

This is the part where the usual right-wing commentariat starts trying to distill this into a false binary, that if you think prisoners should start getting vaccines right away, you “hate healthcare workers” and support “rapists, murderers, and paedophiles.” Never mind that for the vast majority of prisoners, their only real crime was being born poor, Black, or Indigenous, or some combination thereof. We know about over-policing and systemic racism, and that’s why a lot of them are in the system. Don’t fall for this kind of inflammatory rhetoric, because it’s designed to provoke – much like O’Toole’s shitpost.

And that’s the other part – vaccinating prisoners helps prevent community spread, from the guards, to the staff, and the surrounding communities. It’s a prison, but nothing is actually contained to the building. I would say it’s unbelievable that O’Toole doesn’t get it, but I’m sure he does – he’d rather provoke and throw some red meat to his “law and order,” “tough on crime” base who will reduce this to a simple binary and call it a day. But who needs facts, context, or nuance when you can shitpost your way to angry voters, right?

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau says he’s frustrated with the slow roll-out of vaccines, while premiers promise they’re totally going to be “ramping up” delivery.
  • Trudeau also said that they would close the loophole that could allow vacationers returning to the country to claim a quarantine benefit.
  • Citizenship and Immigration is notifying the “winners” of the sponsorship lottery, who can now apply for their parents or grandparents to come to Canada.
  • The Information Commissioner has blasted the Privy Council Office for closing Access to Information requests to game its response statistics.
  • The Canadian Forces have tapped Rear-Admiral Craig Baines to lead the Royal Canadian Navy, as the current chief moves up to Chief of Defence Staff.
  • NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq says she’s back on the job after dealing with “extreme burnout, depression, and anxiety,” and is working on a new “wellness plan.”
  • The town of Slave Lake, Alberta, is calling out their MLA (who was one of the vacationers) for never being around and want him to resign.
  • Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column looks at how the main parties were framing their end-of-year fundraising pitches.
  • Kevin Carmichael delves into the problem of an unwillingness by the private sector to invest in Canadian firms, and why that will hamper the economic recovery.
  • My column looks at how Jason Kenney’s preferred political weapon on fomenting irrational anger is about to turn on him as his base perceives his party as the elites.

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.

2 thoughts on “Roundup: Demanding a de facto death penalty”

  1. “Never mind that for the vast majority of prisoners, their only real crime was being born poor, black, or Indigenous, or some combination thereof.”

    Or mentally ill. But hey, it’s not like the RCAF’s own Sgt. Schultz puts the “Con” in consistency. “I know nuzzing, I see nuzzing.”

    O’Toole: “Trudeau is letting mentally ill people ask to be euthanized! This is Action T4 all over again! Protect the vulnerable! Conservatives are pro-life!”

    Also O’Toole: “Let the schizophrenic inmates die of COVID in the dark. Are there no workhouses? Are there no… camps, where, uh, they can… *concentrate* on their well-deserved demise?”

    How do you say “pick a lane” in German? After doubling down in French, of course.

  2. Well J.B……. The expression Pick a lane in German is, “Wahle eine Spur.” With some license I suggest that Herr O’Toole has jumped onto the the apocalyptic horse of racism. It took less time than many of us thought. We give this dogmatic fascist enough rope and he will willingly or not saddle up and ride his horse over the cliff into the abyss. Canadians have watched this horse ridden in modern times and have fought against it in WW2. Today we see riders in the halls of power in Washington DC spreading right wing lies and fear. O’Toole is no different from the mean self interested people who have tried to convince us that the world would be better ruled by those that expect us to do and act as they say not as they do. We must be vigilant and patient. Soon these miscreants will find themselves bucked off their steeds, then they will find themselves on the road to ridicule and defeat.

Comments are closed.