Essay Example on COVID-19 Impact: US vs. Canada - Uncompared Statistics and Unequal Outcomes

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the United States and Canada have uncomparable statistics. COVID-19 has affected the United States more compared to Canada (Beauchamp, 2020). United States, as a superpower nation, is expected to have better and improved measures to address rising pandemics and other disasters protecting the citizens from extreme adverse outcomes. According to Coronavirus Cases. (n.d.), as of June 19th, United States had 2,294,952 coronavirus cases, 121,384 deaths, and the number of those who have recovered is 918,796. In Canada, however, the statistics area lower, as of June 19th, 2020, Canada had 99,853coronavirus cases, 8,254 deaths, and 62,017 recoveries (Coronavirus Cases, n.d.). Per capita, the US has twice as many confirmed cases as Canada and about 30% more deaths. The paper will explore how Canada has succeeded in reducing the spread of coronavirus in the country compared to the United States. Strategies adopted by Canada will be discussed and compared against those of the United States, exploring strengths and weaknesses. Some measures to be explored include legislation, charter statements, orders and regulations, and draft legislative proposals.

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According to the Government of Canada’s (2020), the main reason behind Canada's ability to curb the spread of COVID-19 is the government's use of federal legislation. The government enacted laws used until recently to guard the condition and well-being of Canadians during the coronavirus crisis, as a way to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 on Canadians. Some of the changes by the legislation include amendment of the Financial Administration Act, Bill C-15: Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act, COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2 (SC 2020, c. 6) and COVID-19 Emergency Response Act (SC 2020, c. 5) (Government of Canada’s, 2020). Before the acts, more Canadians tested positive for COVID-19, but after the enactment, the number of positive cases is slowly growing.

The Canadian government has included more consistent pre-virus funding for public health agencies and a universal health care system. There is also a difference in political leadership using the political spectrum (Beauchamp, 2020). The government has also served a centralized hub of personal protective equipment (PPE) purchases, purchases of supplies in bulk, and allocates them to the country's provinces based on need. The Canadian government has also formed large- scale testing procurement projects. In America, the federal effort when buying PPE equipment has been disorganized and marked by political preference.

Another reason why the Canadian government has also succeeded in reducing the spread of the disease is through the use of a charter statement (Government of Canada, 2020). These statements enable transparency actions such as informing the members of parliament any progress made and the impending intended plan. According to the Government of Canada (2020), the Charter statement used as a medium to educate citizens. A measure to increase awareness and understanding of the causes and effects of COVID-19. The government used the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Some of the charter statements that relate to the government's steps in response to the spread of the coronavirus include; Bill C-12: An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act (special warrant) (Government of Canada, 2020). Bill C-13 is An Act respecting specific measures in response to COVID-19. Bill C-14: A second Act respecting particular actions in response to COVID-19 and Bill C-15: An Act respecting Canada emergency student benefits. Bill C-16: An Act to amend the Canadian Dairy Commission Act (Government of Canada, 2020). These bills enable the federal authorities to have main ideas when deciding on the epidemic. Some of the orders given like stay-at-home and social distancing measures are from Bill-C 13, which is in the charter statement. In the United States, the government led by the Republican governors who are incharge of many states and governing large populations has been slow to implement some of the recommended measures because of politics and self-interest, among other ideological reasons.

When the Canadian government tis focused on fitting COVID 19, other demanding issues such as politics and racism demonstrations have hit the United States. In the United States, resources supposed to fight the pandemic have been divided up to solve rising issues. The numbers of COVID 19 cases continue to increase, as the response to the crisis is profoundly affected by racism politics and has shot through with government ineffectiveness. As a result, many people have succumbed to the coronavirus disease. The government has not outlined its prospect plans in case the virus progresses. Many experts are criticizing the rule of President Trump. According to Carter (2020), the Canadian government continues to take drastic measures and even plan for the future, a factor that has yet to address. The United States has been met by pressing issues of election and racism demonstration, which are consuming most of the government's attention, resources, and effort slowing down the state response to COVID 19.

Through the charter statement, the Canadian government has mentioned a number of its plans after the crisis. Some of the ideas raised by the Canadian government as plans include increasing people a high level of immunity or by investing in a vaccine that will prevent the Canadians from future pandemic crisis waves (Carter, 2020). The Canadian government also intends to re-open the provinces' economy by opening select workplaces that are essential and by allowing some small gatherings. As the government continues to project, the future spread on the crisis and witness lower numbers the government will open more workplaces and outdoor spaces, allowing crowds that are more massive and relaxing restrictions on public meetings the Canadian government. The strategy will, however, be accompanied by other measures to educate people on the need to interact responsibility and carry on with preventive measures of handwashing, sanitizing, and covering moth during a cough (Carter, 2020).

Another reason Canada succeeded in coronavirus, where the United States failed, is that the government has authority under the existing laws such as the Quarantine Act and the Aeronautics Act. Also, they issue orders and regulations when addressing coronavirus cases to guarantee Canadians' public safety (Government of Canada, 2020). The issued laws and regulations are updated daily, and each individual expected to follow the rules given. Some of the rules and regulations include; Order under Section 32.01 of the Railway Safety Act due to COVID-19. The act demands that before ferrying any passengers by railway, every passenger must have passed health checks before bonding the trains. Also, those operating the trains must pass health checks before serving the people(Government of Canada, 2020). No. 3, Interim Order Restricting Pleasure Craft Navigation Due to COVID-19. The law demands that no recreation vessel should operate in sea and oceans enduring pandemics preventing the spread of the virus through marine recreation. Those who own the ship are also not allowed to have other people operate them away from local rivers and lakes. Also, marine recreation crafts from other countries are not allowed in and out of Canada (Government of Canada, 2020). Interim Order No. 4 Amending the Employment Insurance Act (Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit), among others. These regulations issued by various departments or agencies responsible for a given department. For instance, when there was a declaration of banning international traveling within the country, the department of transport was the one responsible for the issued orders(Government of Canada, 2020). When there was an order to the closure of factories and other companies, the people responsible were the Department of Employment and Social Development.

One last reason why there was a success in Canada when curbing the spread of COVID-19 was the drafted legislative proposals. In the draft, the government outlined potential solutions to implement to address significant issues related to the pandemic. Some of the developed legislative proposals included; Draft Legislative Proposals Regarding Time Limits and Other Periods in Circumstances Due to COVID-19 and Explanatory Notes (Legal and Justice System Updates, n.d.). Regulations Amending the Income Tax Regulations, COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Initiatives (COVID-19 Resources, n.d.). Notice of Ways and Means Motion to introduce An Act respecting specific measures in response to COVID-19. As a way of making the country one of the very best in the world in terms of global standards in performance during the pandemic.

Conclusion

To sum it up, both Canada and the United States have similarly aged populations and a similar distance from the earliest hot spots in Europe and East Asia. The disease's effect has not been as dramatically worse in the country as it is in the United States. The comparison of those affected between the two countries, Canada, has registered fewer victims than the United States, as reported by the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The discussed reasons in the paper are what made Canada succeed in its strategies to reduce the spread of the disease. At the same time, the main reason was because of how the country's political system works.

References

Beauchamp, Z. (2020, May 04). Canada succeeded in coronavirus, where America failed. Why? Canada beat the US on coronavirus because its political system works. vox. https://www.vox.com/2020/5/4/21242750/coronavirus-covid-19-united-states-canada-trump-trudeau

Carter, A. (2020, April 27). How Canada plans to open up: Provinces outlining plans to ease COVID-19 restrictions. CBC. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/canada-covid19-opening-up-1.5546665

Coronavirus Cases. (N.D, June 19). Reported Cases And Deaths By Country, Territory, Or Conveyance. Worldometers. Https://Www.Worldometers.Info/Coronavirus/Coronavirus-Cases/.

COVID-19 Resources. (n.d., June 21). CoreNet Global Canadian Chapter COVID-19 Resources. CoreNet Global Canadian. https://canada.corenetglobal.org/about/covid19

Government of Canada, D. (2020, June 19). Government of Canada's response to COVID-19. Department of Justice. https://canada.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/covid.html

Legal and Justice System Updates. (n.d., June 21). Practice Direction and Order (Covid-19): Update. Canadian Bar Association. https://www.cba.org/Membership/COVID-19/Legal-Justice-Updates-Courts