Page - 22 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE22 Some progress has been made toward resuming operation in Canadian institutions using videoconferencing and other technolo- gies. But even when institutions are open, accountability is not guar- anteed. Since mid-March, governments at the local, provincial, and federal levels have promulgated a flurry of emergency orders and reg- ulations to respond to the pandemic, many sweeping in their scope. Ensuring meaningful review of these orders and regulations is an enormous challenge.92 Legislative review of emergency legislation has generally been perfunctory. While courts are hearing urgent matters, and some non-urgent ones, it is difficult to be optimistic about their ability to serve as meaningful checks on executive or legislative over- reach, both because of the limits of their jurisdiction and the limits of litigation as a tool for challenging a complex and networked govern- ment response to the pandemic.93 In the face of these challenges, the authors in this section suggest it is important to look beyond formal sources of accountability. This includes invisible sources of accountability within the executive and the legislature that shape the content of policy decisions and legis- lation in important ways, such as public servants and informal “off- stage” negotiations between political parties.94 The media also plays a crucial accountability role. In today’s media environment, “trusted and true” traditional news sources continue to be influential, but they compete for space with sources of information on social media. In the context of a pandemic, where accurate data matters greatly, the cost of an informational vacuum or, alternatively, of misinforma- tion, is terribly high. Governments have an obligation to be transpar- ent about the data they are relying on in making policy, and about the trade-offs they are making. A lack of transparency jeopardizes public trust in government. In an information vacuum, misinformation can more easily take hold and spread. One significant dimension of the COVID-19 response has been governments’ willingness to partner with private corporations to ensure stable supply chains for PPE and other essential supplies. This section considers the accountability gap that can emerge when gov- ernments rely on private companies in this way.95 92. We are grateful for a conversation with Gabrielle Appleby on this point. 93. Paul Daly, this volume, Chapter B-6. 94. MacDonnell, this volume, Chapter B-1. 95. Yee-Fui Ng, “Political Constitutionalism: Individual Responsibility and Collective Restraint” (2020) Federal LR (forthcoming).