This summer, covid-19 cases rapidly declined across the country (even in the absence of lockdowns) and it appeared that Canadians had finally won the "war" against the virus. Unfortunately, winter had other plans. By now there's no denying that covid-19, like other coronaviruses, is seasonal and here to stay. It has always been impossible to vaccinate 100% of the Canadian population, because there will always be people with contraindications (allergies and other medical conditions) and people with moral/religious objections. Booster shots make full coverage even more implausible, as many Canadians don't want to get a new vaccine every 6 months. Even if every single Canadian was vaccinated, the virus would continue to circulate among other countries that lack the resources, infrastructure, and personnel necessary to vaccinate everyone. Furthermore, even if every human being on the planet was vaccinated, the virus would continue to circulate and mutate in animals. Covi
How we study and remember history affects our world in the present. In other words, remembering and commemorating military history is a political act. For that reason, as Remembrance Day approaches, I think it's healthy to question how we remember our country's wars. Remembrance Day in Canada focusses on Canadian and allied soldiers, especially those who were killed and injured in combat. Because all of Canada's wars in the 20th and 21st centuries have been fought overseas, far from the eyes of the Canadian public, we haven't witnessed first-hand the horrific toll war takes on civilians. Modern wars usually kill more civilians than combatants, and many of those who survive lose their homes, their jobs, their families and friends, even their limbs. Civilians don't sign up to live in a war zone, unlike soldiers paid to kill. They are left without choice, caught in the middle of state-sponsored violence. In World War II civilian casualties far outnumbered military cas