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It's no secret that I am an optimist. Better is usually hard but never impossible. This article by @SarahSmellie hits on why I think that's particularly true in NL right now - and why it's not guaranteed. A thread on what 2021 could mean. (1/17) https://toronto.citynews.ca/2020/12/14/from-snowmageddon-to-pandemic-newfoundland-and-labrador-confronted-hunger-in-2020/
As the article notes, we've seen a significant shift in the discourse here in NL this year. That snowstorm? It actually didn't shake up the supply chain all that much, but it was an earthquake in many people's lives. (2/17)
The dynamics of the response to that storm - often improvised, lots of mutual aid - made for a more visceral understanding (particularly for folk not facing it themselves) of just how challenged our communities are by poverty and how many people live on the knife edge. (3/17)
Many of the most challenging elements of the snowstorm - disrupted services, confused information, a "last mile" gap in getting support to people, a sudden and catastrophic income loss - have been defining challenges during the pandemic, too (4/17)
This sustained pressure has been exhausting for so many people. It's also been a force to focus people's minds on what could be done better next time - and that's a path that leads right to big-picture systems change (5/17)
The group of people doing that thinking has also shifted. There are lots of new faces engaged around food insecurity who don't have any attachment or even familiarity with The Way Things Are Done. I've heard (and shared) a lot of angry incredulity in the past months. (6/17)
We're also seeing a refreshing growth of collective action around these issues. It's messy and overlapping and incomplete but it's real and has the potential to grow into something transformative (7/17)
That growth is happening at just the right time, IMHO. We are in the midst of a set of processes and reforms that have the potential to flip the social policy table right over. Plenty of danger in that, but also opportunity. I think it's important to name these processes. (8/17)
Let's go in chronological order. First, we have the Premier's Economic Recovery Team. Moya Greene reports back in February and it's fair to expect some pretty sweeping recommendations (9/17) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/moya-greene-recovery-address-1.5791945
Next, the Health Accord. Health care is by far the biggest expenditure in NL. Our outcomes aren't great. Something has to give. The accord has a clear focus on "awareness and intervention in the social factors that influence health" (10/17) https://healthaccordnl.ca/
After that, a new Poverty Reduction Strategy. Hard to know the timeline, but it's written into the mandate letter for the new Minister of CSSD. The last one was transformative. This could be too. (11/17) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/food-insecurity-newfoundland-and-labrador-record-1.5470070
Let's not forget about the upcoming committee to study a Basic Income. PEI's Special Committee on Poverty just reported back to recommend one. (12/17) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/p-e-i-should-push-feds-to-support-260m-basic-income-program-committee-says-1.5824908
While we're talking about committees, also important to remember the work of the All-Party Committee on Mental Health and Addictions. Their unanimously-adopted recommendations are driving a ton of change in that space (13/17) https://www.gov.nl.ca/hcs/mentalhealth-committee/mentalhealth/towards-recovery-action-plan-and-updates/
On top of all this, as the pandemic eventually recedes, there are likely to be federal investments in recovery that could be transformational in the social policy space. (14/17) https://www.justrecoverynl.ca/
So the stage is set and the players are assembling. That doesn't mean that a better world is going to happen automatically. There's lots to worry about. It's still unclear how all these processes interconnect. What happens if/when recommendations contradict each other? (15/17)
There's also just A LOT going on here. It's a lot to keep track of for people like me, who get paid to do it. If you are a part of one of the communities who will be impacted the most by all this, it's even harder. Investments in bridging that gap are a must-do. (16/17)
This could be one of the defining years in NL's history. The story could be about bold steps to reimagine and rebuild a more just society. Or it could be about missed opportunities and the status quo. I remain optimistic that the balance of energy is with change. (17/17)
