European history offers clues on our post-pandemic world

As lockdown restrictions start to ease up, the question on everyone’s mind is what will happen now? History offers some clues.

Today in The Conversation Canada, Kriston Rennie of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies at the University of Toronto looks at how cities across Europe handled waves of plagues from the Black Death onwards. From royal orders ensuring infected people had food during quarantine to landlords being forced to pardon or lower rent, it’s striking how similar the challenges - and the solutions - are to today’s coronavirus pandemic. We have the benefit of advanced science, but the cities of medieval Europe had plenty of practice.

Also today:

Regards,

Vicky Mochama

Culture, Society, Critical Race Editor

Coronavirus News

The squares of medieval European cities bore witness to the reopening of economies after plagues. (Shutterstock)

Medieval Europe’s waves of plague also required an economic action plan

Kriston R. Rennie, The University of Queensland

The cities of Europe experienced disease outbreaks but they were able to bounce back using quarantine, economic stimulus and patience but not all were successful.

Canada’s federal deficit has skyrocketed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. How will Ottawa pay back the money its borrowed? THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Paying for the pandemic: Why the government’s massive coronavirus spending may not lead to higher taxes

Patrick Leblond, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Canada's federal deficit has ballooned as Ottawa spends billions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. An economist explains why the massive spending will not harm Canadians in the future.

Mexican migrant farmworkers sort cherries at one of Canada’s largest cherry orchards in British Columbia. Elise Hjalmarson

Canada’s Emergency Response Benefit does nothing for migrant workers

Elise Hjalmarson, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID)

COVID-19 may not discriminate, but Canadian policy does. Income support during the pandemic must be extended to everyone, including migrant and undocumented workers.

An elderly woman looks out from Maison Herron, a long-term care home in the Montréal suburb of Dorval on April 12, 2020. Isolating people in facilities where they are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 is a violation of their rights. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

The coronavirus is costing us more than just our health and economy

Pearl Eliadis, McGill University

Civil liberties violations look very different in pandemics. That's why the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is looking into who has been detained and fined, and why, during the pandemic.

Caution tape is pictured surrounding a children’s play structure in North Vancouver, B.C., March 23, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Coronavirus spotlights equity and access issues with children’s right to play

Christine Alden, University of Toronto

One father was fined for rollerblading with kids in a parking lot, while other families hit the cottage. Families' backyard or property status should not determine kids' right to outdoor play.

The coronavirus pandemic has fast-forwarded the functions and roles of robots and artificial intelligence. (Shutterstock)

How coronavirus set the stage for a techno-future with robots and AI

Amanda Turnbull, York University, Canada

Robots can't get COVID-19, so employing them in some jobs could help ease the limitations of stay-at-home orders and keep frontline workers protected.

Non-Coronavirus News

It’s critical to acknowledge that global health of women impacts the health of a nation. Here, Tohono O’odham women lead the Tucson 2019 Women’s March. The sign says: ‘My Mom, Sisters, Aunties and Grandmas are sacred.’ (Dulcey Lima/Unsplash)

Celebrate Mother’s Day with global feminist solidarity

Farah Shroff, University of British Columbia

Canada has a long tradition of exporting women's rights. Canada's current feminist approach to international assistance is one worthy of developing —and celebrating — this Mother's Day.

Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake, has more than 30 native species of fish and a long history of productive commercial and subsistence fisheries. (Pexels)

Keeping fish local can help feed communities and support economies

Kristen Lowitt, Brandon University; Charles Z. Levkoe, Lakehead University

Local fish are almost impossible to find on the shelves of grocery stores in northern Ontario, even though the region has an abundance of fish.

La Conversation Canada

L'actrice porno Ginger Banks est présente sur le stand de Pornhub, lors de l'AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, le 24 janvier 2018, à Las Vegas. Le géant montréalais Pornhub a rendu gratuit son abonnement durant la pandémie. AP Photo/John Locher

La sexualité au temps du confinement : le site Pornhub est-il le modèle de l’avenir ?

Dimitri M'Bama, Université de Montréal

En offrant la « gratuité » aux internautes, Pornhub ne fait rien d'autre que remplacer l'abonnement par une exploitation optimale des données qui pourrait devenir à terme son modèle privilégié.