With the need to "physical distance" in mind - let's all continue to help people think more deeply - as words matter - about the many troubling interpretations, implications, applications and consequences - unintended and otherwise - of the idea of "social distancing" - by thinking about the many equivalent terms from different times, contexts, places and spaces - exclude, imprison, marginalize, house arrest, seggregate, reserves, internment, alienate, detention, ostrasize, incarcerate, partitioning, ghettoize, restrict and others - and the disturbing justifications and rationalisations for engaging in such policy implementation and behaviour - as those who were treated in such ways were considered - degraded, foreign, unclean, degenerate, primitive, disease or germ ridden, inferior, depraved, dirty, heathen, infested, uncivilized, unhygenic, pagan, outsiders, impure, decadent, unsanitary, racially inferior, vectors of contagion, idolaters, pestilence carrying, vermin, scapegoat, menace, infected, alien, filthy, barbaric, contaminated, genetically deficient, sick, morally suspect, targets, etc - yes words matter !!
As for the Joint Statement - there was a wide range of support ( final version attached ) calling for governments of all orders across Canada ( federal, provincial, territorial and municipal ) to institute greater human rights oversight of their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic - 301 endorsements ( 154 organizations and 147 academics, former politicians, faith leaders and other individual experts ) - with a wide array of communities, sectors and human rights concerns reflected among the endorsers.
We all know that the need for a strong human rights approach to addressing the pandemic, backed up by effective oversight, is only going to become more pressing with time; so now is the time for governments to put this in place. Anything you are able to do to promote these recommendations within and across your networks, in your engagement
with government - of any order - and other avenues is always much appreciated !!