Ça va bien aller?
The reappearing of leaves on trees is typically accompanied with parks and streets bustling with Montrealers eager to forget the four months of minimal sunlight and sub-zero temperatures. This year however, the only thing filling up the streets are posters of “Ça va bien aller”- Everything will be alright alongside a quirky, hopeful slew of rainbows. This symbolic phrase and sign has its origins in Italy, a country which headlined in exhibiting to the world, how dire the consequences of Covid-19 can be. In a nationwide context, the Quebec region has faced significantly harsher repercussions of this infection pushing its residents to adopt a motivational sentiment of hope.
The first case of Covid-19 recorded on Canadian soil was during the peak of winter on the 27th of January when an individual returned to Toronto from Wuhan, Hubei, China. It is safe to assume that the winter curbed an earlier outbreak due to limited movement of people both into Canada and within it. In late February, Quebec’s largely student dominated demographic flocked abroad to warmer regions such as Europe, the United States and the Caribbean for their short, scheduled holiday providing ample scope for contracting Covid-19. The Quebec government enacted its isolation measures three days after WHO declared Covid-19 a global pandemic on March 11th. Other provinces in Canada were largely exempt from this situation as school systems had scheduled breaks after the WHO declaration by which ample travel warnings had been implemented.
In retrospect, the difference between either context, albeit only a lapse of a few days, have had a significant impact. 24% of Canada’s population lives in Quebec as of May 31st, the province constituted 56% of the total reported cases. Unfortunately, yet predictably, the toll of this virus has had a disproportionate impact on the lesser-privileged communities of our city, another factor catalysing our communal hope for the future.
A direct reflection of socio-economic inequalities that exist in Montreal, 80% of Covid-19 deaths in the province are linked to publicly funded long-term care home facilities. Quebec has almost three times the share of their senior citizen demographic in nursing homes (18.4%), in comparison to the rest of Canada (6.1%). It has been made clear that Quebec’s government was not prepared to support this vulnerable populace adequately. Other factors compounding which groups are most at risk to this virus go further than health conditions. Communities such as Montreal’s most socio-economically underprivileged neighbourhood; Montreal-Nord, have become epicentres for cases and fatality. As a popular destination for asylum seekers and recent immigrants, many of these residents live in dense quarters with large families, limiting the potential for safe distancing.
While problems of inequality have persisted in Montreal for many decades, this pandemic proves a stark reminder of who our systems work to protect, and those it leaves behind. A desperate address of equitability in core healthcare, community and social policy needs to occur, for Montreal to truly uphold its values as a place where diversity is celebrated, and one where all circumstances are prioritised.
In more positive news, one extraordinary example of adaptation is rapid urban transformation occurring in the heart of the city. To many, Montreal is known as the City of Festivals, hosting over 100 public festivals annually at the Quartier Des Spectacles (the Place of Festivals). Under a resilient plan to battle Covid-19, Quartier Des Spectacles was left bare as the government has mandated the cancellation of all summer festivals. Luckily, with open space comes much potential and the Place of Festivals was soon overturned to create a large, drive-through testing center, for those in need.
Another innovative use of urban planning to curb the spread of Covid-19 was Mayor Valérie Plante’s decision to temporarily transform certain road networks into a “safe active transit circuit” for cyclists and pedestrians. The city has recognised that the novel virus is pushing residents to reconsider their mode of transport given the risk of using public transportation in a pandemic and has decided to dedicate further resources to an already well-established bicycle infrastructure network. Plante also recognises that it is highly likely that Montrealers will be unable to travel during the summer, so the city is gearing up to enforce social-distancing measures whilst simultaneously allowing its residents to move safely within the city to make use of its green spaces when the pandemic alleviates. Lastly, the city is considering pedestrianising certain streets to promote increased foot traffic which will help to provide necessary sales for businesses that will be reeling from a difficult period of dormant transactions.
Montreal’s stringent social distancing measures despite the initial rapid outbreak has helped the number of cases reported daily fall steadily for the last week. Although formidable, it is evident that the government of Quebec is anxious of the direct impact that the improving weather will have on community transmission. Montreal experienced a heatwave during the last week of May and scenes from parks across the city suggest that residents has forgotten about the detrimental effects of Covid-19 entirely. Plante scrambled to close parking spots servicing parks and increased police presence in public spaces to fine visitors flouting temporary laws regarding public gatherings.
Montreal’s short-term successes depend on their resident’s ability to stay indoors despite the improving weather but the city’s long-term goal must be to reduce inequalities and better prepare to protect the most vulnerable in society for a health crisis. To end on a constructive note showcasing international effort is the Montreal’s Bureau du Design’s creation of a database of Covid-19 response initiatives. The competition seeks submissions of sustainable projects and potential initiatives that promote innovation with a pandemic in mind to be shared with the international network of UNESCO Cities of Design. The goal is to encourage international collaboration so that our cities are planned in a more holistic, inclusive and resilient manner given the rising threat of a future pandemic.
Perhaps these are the forward-thinking, equitable and just programs which give us hope that ‘ça va bien aller’ after all.
