The language might not have been “prime ministerial” but Justin Trudeau used the perfect phrase to describe how many of us are feeling about COVID-19 and all the accompanying restrictions and changing fabric of our lives.
“It sucks,” he said. Indeed. In saying so he captured the country’s attitude towards this disease that most agree is now in a second wave, and shows no sign of going away. It is not even slowing down enough to give us hope that Christmas might actually be celebrated with some family traditions.
“It sucks” might not rival the elder Trudeau’s “fuddle duddle” but it definitely caught the headlines on national news that day, especially among those who remember the Trudeaumania wave that bolstered the father’s popularity. Who else but Pierre would have covered his faux pas in Parliament by exclaiming he only said what he said he said!!!!
“It sucks, it really, really does,” has brought admiration from some folks in the United States who just aren’t convinced by their president that there’s nothing to worry about, that the corner has been turned.
I might not always agree with the Prime Minister but in this definition of how the country is feeling, he is spot on, resonating with the mood of the year.
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There was definitely some confusion among voters who turned out to vote in the advance polls of the provincial election.
A candidate in the civic election got calls from supporters wondering why her name wasn’t on the ballot, that they were there to vote for her. Of course she directed them to the civic election advance polls and election day polls when her name would indeed be on the ballot.
Critics of the autumn date of the provincial election were absolutely correct when they said the date being so close to the municipal and school board elections would cause confusion.
Now full attention should be directed to the Nov. 9 election where city folks will vote for a mayor and a maximum of six councillors. There is no need to vote for six if there are only two or three that meet one’s criteria.
Supporters of the public school board will also get to pick their favourites. In fact one voter wanted to do so during the provincial advance poll.
Full confession: when I voted at the provincial advance poll, my mind was obviously not engaged on the vote at hand. I marked my X beside my candidate, re-folded the ballot as directed, then wondered why I hadn’t received a ballot for the school board. Instead of keeping my mouth shut and sitting there thinking about it for a moment, I asked the friendly election official why I hadn’t received a school board ballot.
As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized I had just made a fool of myself. And the man knew my name and knew I should have known better. We laughed together, me noting that I was just thinking ahead. He was kind enough not to contradict me.
Talk about feeling dumber than dirt. Thinking back, I can only hope I wasn’t so pre-occupied with school trustees that I voted for the wrong provincial political party. How will I ever know?
Joyce Walter can be reached at [email protected]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
