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Moving Past COVID-19 - Planning for the Future

What are the short term plans that I need to make?

Short-term plans should focus on immediate needs around health, safety and security. Your plans should focus on securing the necessities of life for you and your family (food, shelter and physical safety).

What are the long-term plans that I need to adjust to respond to the challenges of the unknown post-Pandemic?

Long-term plans should be focused on your goals for 1, 3 and 5 year horizons and be based on your situation with regards to income and expenses, and your ability to manage your budgets to sustain basic needs in the short term.

How do we learn from this event?

Individuals, like governments, will have to review the decisions that they have made during the Pandemic, and carefully and honestly identify what they did correctly, and where the decisions that they made were wrong for their individual circumstances. As well, people will need to understand that they have control over some things in their lives, but not all things. People will need to understand the limitations of control and responsibility that they have in Canada, and the power – or lack of power that they have in their lives.

What are the lessons that individuals can learn from this event that can be used to change individual behaviour and prepare for future events?

The best outcome of a Pandemic is to learn that we all have responsibilities for the world we live in and our actions as individuals, and collectively as communities, impact on our ability to prepare for and deal with future events such as a Pandemic.

What are the lessons that government can learn from this event that can be used to change government response and policy and help our community and country prepare for future events?

Governments have learned from historical situations, like the current Pandemic. Our responses may differ from other countries; however they are reflective of our unique Canadian culture which concentrates on the collective good of the entire country and its people.

What are the lessons that we have learned thus far?

We have limited reflection on the lessons that we have learned from COVID-19. Our early lessons have included the importance of social distancing and isolation to slow the transmission of the virus, and the need for special precautions to protect the elderly, and those with existing health conditions. As our experience with the virus evolves, we will analyse our actions, and the impact of those actions and use that research and the data generated to inform policy makers and what can and should be considered in the future.

How can I use my experience as a Newcomer to help Canadians learn from this experience?

Newcomers bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to Canada. The benefits to our country of you decision to come her will continue long after this Pandemic, and will provide a great deal of opportunities for all Canadians to learn from you!