Of course Dr. Henry is not calling for making the wearing of masks mandatory, no government would ever take an action that would incur such a strong negative reaction among voters during an election campaign.

Although if humans were in action the intelligent, thinking species they proclaim themselves to be in word it would be unnecessary to make it mandatory. Because wearing masks and gloves and practicing social distancing are intelligent, thinking ways to behave.

Indeed, if our behaviours in response to COVID-19 had been intelligent and thinking, we could have minimized the negative economic and financial costs and consequences of COVID-19.

There will be negative economic and financial costs and consequences from COVID-19; you cannot disrupt the economy as severely as was done in response to COVID-19 and not have negative fallout; actions of the magnitude and duration taken in response to COVID-19 will result in costs and consequences that are significant and consequential.

While the exact timing of when the COVID-19 chickens come home to roost is not definitively known, John Horgan and the NDP calling an election a year early is evidence 1) the fallout from COVID-19 will start to manifest in significant ways before next October [2021] and that the costs and consequences will have serious and painful negative financial and economic impact.

The government was enjoying popularity because COVID-19 has created a political vacuum issuing the NDP government a ‘free pass’ on other matters, pushing other issues and the opposition Liberal party out of sight and out of mind. The sheer brainless stupidity of the behaviour of our neighbours to the south made other actions, even if less than thoughtful, look good.

In addition the massive deficit spending by both the federal and BC governments delays and serves to hide COVID-19’s negative impact on the economy, the finances and financial future of Canadians.

Given the behaviour of voters, if you are the government and you want to win the next election you have to call the election now, before the economic and financial costs, consequences and pain begin to manifest and impact voters.

I am aware that as part of the campaign the parties all have trotted out plans and solutions for dealing with the economic fallout of COVID-19.

Examining the various plans and statements from the parties and their leaders on dealing with the economic and financial fallout of COVID-19 left me praying that the hyperbole was electioneering, not something they believed; because if they believed what they were saying we will could turn the hole we are in as a result of COVID-19 from deep to bottomless.

I spoke to a friend about John Horgan and the NDP calling an election a year early to go to polls before voters discern the negative costs, effects and consequences and before the negative costs, effects and consequences begin to significantly impact voters.

Surprisingly he felt having a government in place with a mandate to deal with the negative effects, costs and consequences of COVID-19 before they begin to come home to roost was more important than the venal self interest that caused election to be called. Rather than having an election at a time when the negative effects, costs and consequences of COVID-19 were or had manifested.

His use of mandate says something about the nature of politics and election campaigns in recent decades.

Mandate: authorization to act in a particular way on a public issue given by the electorate to its representative.

Yes, the politicians and parties are speaking to the economic and financial consequences of COVID-19 and dealing with the negative effects, consequences and costs.

The problem lies in the serious, considerable omissions made by the politicians and parties when speaking about the negative economic and financial consequences of COVID-19.

Given the direct impact on the finances and standard of living of BC citizens and the impact on government finances and the resources the government will have to provide services to the citizens of BC, the financial and economic fallout of COVID-19 and managing the recovery from the costs and consequences are currently, and for the foreseeable future, the most important issues about their future that voters in British Columbia face.

In acting, through conscious omission, to deny voters in BC their right to give direction on dealing with the fallout from COVID-19 John Horgan and the NDP not only cannot get a valid mandate to deal with the fallout from COVID-19 may manage to commit election fraud by omission.

Of course the reality of BC politics, politicians and voter behaviour is that magnitude and effects of the fallout of COVID-19 are #1 on voters’ list of subjects they do not want to see, hear or talk about.