WHAT DO WE REALLY MEAN BY ESSENTIAL SERVICES?

WHAT DO WE REALLY MEAN BY ESSENTIAL SERVICES?

During our current health crisis, we have been informed by our government which service industries are considered to be essential and those that are not. I find some of their distinctions very interesting. The list of essential services obviously includes all food production and distribution facilities, health and welfare agencies and hospitals and public transportation. There are a couple that I question.

Liquor and cannabis retail outlets, manufacturers and producers, and warehousers and distributors, as well as vape shops, are deemed essential services. I am not sure that wine, beer and liquor outlets are essential during a time of crisis. These products are not included in the Canada Food Guide nor do they provide any significant nourishment to the users. Are they on the list because we are providing for those who “need” their daily snort rather than force them into a new period of temperance? Or is the government simply protecting a major revenue stream? I don’t mind an occasional beer or alcoholic drink myself, but I hardly think it is classified as essential. 

Marijuana outlets have barely been in existence in Canada for a year so how can they be classified as essential services? Until last year we never had this service and somehow we survived without any hardship. In both of the above examples are we catering to the pothead population and the regular imbiber to prevent a growth in mental health issues and lashing-out behaviour? And identifying vaping outlets as providers of essential service is a joke. We have heard and read more about the dangers of vaping in the media over the past year, especially to young people. And now it’s an essential service?

I also question why car and truck dealerships are listed as essential services during our current pandemic. I find it hard to believe that there are many customers roaming the showrooms of any car dealerships especially when we are all being asked to practice social distancing. At the present time, I am sure that current automobile owners do not place shopping for a new car very high up on their list of things to do while waiting for the pandemic to subside. Are you in the market for a new vehicle?

As you might expect, our neighbours to the South have another industry that is open for business under the classification of an essential service. Of course, I am referring to the multitude of gun and ammunition shops in the US. While we in Canada were swept up with stockpiling toilet paper, Americans in many cities were stocking up on ammunition for their weapons. One gun shop owner very seriously explained that the buyers were just making sure they had enough ammo for the upcoming hunting season. If you buy that, then you probably also supported Trump’s prophecy that the virus problem would be over by Easter! 

In fairness, I would like to add one industry to the essential services catalogue - barbershops and hairdressers. While my buzzcut can be styled at home with my handy-dandy clippers, I am concerned for men who have real hair. For example, my grandson has a wonderful mop of hair that is already beginning to resemble Cro-Magnon proportions. In two or three months he will need to braid it just to keep it out of his eyes. And I am positive that every female over the age of ten, is dying to have their hair cut, coloured, styled, or treated. If we don’t soon attend to this upcoming female hairstyling crisis, the outrage will surpass anything that Covid-19 has brought upon us. 

In closing, I want to add my support to New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern’s declaration that the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are to be considered essential workers during the pandemic. Bravo for her courage and wisdom! A leader with a heart!