Population control to reboot economy
WHITEHORSE - Yukon Government says decrease in number of elderly will mean a faster rebound for the economy
Yukon Premier and Finance Minister Sandy Silver wearing a BS hat at a media event on Thursday morning
Yukon Premier and Finance Minister Sandy Silver has defended his decision to launch a campaign aimed at decreasing the territory's elderly population.
On Wednesday, Yukon's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brendan Hanley publicly dismissed the "Stay at Home" advice of the World Health Organization and reinforced the Yukon Government's BS campaign message that people with no symptoms of COVID-19 cannot transmit the virus.
As well as encouraging social gatherings, Hanley announced the Yukon Government's "Population Control" or 'PC' campaign asking Yukoners to help spread COVID-19 to the territory's elderly population.
"Yes, children can meet their friends and gather in playgrounds this Easter weekend" Hanley said. "Children can also visit grandparents with the grandparents' permission."
"Children can meet their friends and gather in playgrounds this Easter weekend. Children can also visit their grandparents." - Yukon Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brendan Hanley
Following the launch of the PC campaign, the Yukon Government was inundated with calls and messages from concerned Yukoners.
At a media event organized on Thursday morning to respond to public concern, Silver justified the PC campaign by claiming it was the only way to reboot the economy once COVID-19 is brought under control.
"The economy is not doing well" Silver said. "And we can only get away for so long with treating miners as essential workers. Immediate action is needed to ensure we have an economy at the end of all this."
"Immediate action is needed to ensure we have an economy at the end of all this." - Yukon Premier Sandy Silver
"By encouraging children to interact with friends, visit playgrounds and touch the same surfaces" Silver explained "the likelihood of them catching the virus is greatly increased. They will likely remain asymptomatic and hopefully visit their older relatives."
"At that point we expect older community members to start dying off" he said. "This will free up a significant amount of our annual budget by redirecting funds from geriatric care into the rebooting of our industries post-COVID."
A model for economic recovery released by the Yukon Government on Thursday
PC campaign "not insensitive"
The PC campaign was developed by Sharon Anderson, director of communications at Yukon Health and Social Services. In an interview with the Whitewash News, Anderson denied that calling the campaign "PC" was offensive to Yukoners.
"The name was kind of intentionally tongue-in cheek" she said "just like we intended the Vitamin D campaign of 2016 to include sexual innuendo alongside images of minors."
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