Does anyone really have any idea of what’s going on out there?

Does anyone really have any idea of what’s going on out there? Depending on where you’re living, do you really know whether case numbers are going down, whether restrictions are being lifted? Does anyone really know?

I had to ask my kids for the latest news because graduation for my daughter is fast approaching, coming up in a few weeks. Currently, the only graduation ceremony she is going to get is to receive her diploma in a small group, and parents are not allowed to be there. This is according to the email that landed in my inbox. The staff are allowed to attend, but no parents. I’m sorry, but I’m going to say it: The staff didn’t raise my kid. The decision to offer a graduation ceremony is left up to the school itself, which determines how to interpret the current restrictions. Yet the world around us seems to be opening up. The ferry is full, people are traveling, and restaurants are crowded, but our kids seem to have been forgotten about.

During this entire pandemic, there have been calls to close the schools, including from the media, but where we are, the only case of Covid was from a staff member, an adult, who gave it to one of the kids. That was it. When you see it from another side, from those most vulnerable and without a voice, you can really understand how the scales have continued to be tipped. Is this anything new? It’s not, unfortunately. It’s just that the pandemic has really shone a spotlight on where we are and on how we have a long way to go. But does anyone really have any idea where to start? When you hear about racism, inequality, the haves and have nots, is there a point where you want to turn off the news and say you don’t want to hear about it anymore?

During this pandemic, I as an author was not affected in any dramatic way. In fact, authoring is an isolated career and, for some, a lonely job. To be an author, you really have to be comfortable with yourself and love being alone. So the pandemic, with restrictions and stay-home orders, was not something that affected me at all. In fact, it was a breath of fresh air, as it gave me time to step off the crazy busy carousel of demands and catch my breath.

But not my kids.

Looking back at my notes from when the pandemic first started, I realize we seem to have changed courses so many times. There was an expectation of financial disaster, but what happened was that the haves became wealthier—and not just by a little bit. The ever-disappearing middle class went in one of two directions, wealthy or struggling. Pivoting became the name of the game. And our kids are the ones who have had to pivot more than anyone. The younger generation have had to face more closed doors, more roadblocks, more public shaming than anyone.

As my son said to me, owning a home one day has been taken off the table for him completely, because what did our government do but start printing money, take over the Bank of Canada, drop interest rates close to zero, and give so much money to corporations and businesses that were already making record profits? The haves started buying property, creating a frenzy that drove up real estate prices and completely removed any hope this younger generation has of buying a home. One of the questions no one asks is does anyone really need to own five houses, ten, twenty?

Worse, I hear one politician saying that we need to build more, to take away the long delays for permits. Yet our kids still can’t afford a home, and building more is only going to make the haves leverage more and buy more, because they already have the assets, the money, and the ability to finance with the bank. Building more would leave them still with a monopoly, still driving prices up. That solves nothing for our kids, our younger generation, who are being priced out forever from owning a house. I know one of the things that has bothered me more than anything is the sheer number of people during the pandemic who have had to live in their cars or RVs, moving every night because the police are enforcing bylaws.

Is it about jobs? No. There are lots out there, and I’ve heard from friends that they are being offered jobs because businesses can’t find people to apply. Yet these jobs offer only minimum wage. Our younger generation need to have a roof over their head, their own roof. Buying a house should be within reasonable reach, but right now, that’s the forgotten problem no one wants to address.

Everyone looks to the government to fix something, but I often hear that the problems we see now are because of decisions the government has made. To some, a graduation ceremony is way down on the list of priorities. Our kids don’t write their politicians, and they don’t vote, and they don’t really have a voice. But when restaurants are open for indoor dining again, and people are traveling, and house parties are happening, our kids still don’t get that special day with their families. With overpriced, sky-high renting on the horizon, that is not a bright future for our kids. So again, where are we exactly?

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