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FROM TOP: DEREK FORD; WIKIPEDIA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 BCBUSINESS 45 to curtail the spread of COVID-19. "Canada overall—and British Columbia even more so—is benefiting a great deal from having an integrated system where public health is part of the overall health system," says health economist Peter Berman, director of UBC's School of Population and Public Health. Berman, who recently came to UBC after 25 years at Harvard, cites several factors that allowed for this. Perhaps foremost is the ability to effectively take control of the health-care system and make decisions that are in the public interest. This is antitheti- cal to the U.S. profit-based private hospital system, where there's a financial disincen- tive to postpone or cancel elective surger- ies. "The ability of a single entity—i.e., the Ministry of Health—to adjust resources to address a crisis like this, in contrast to the United States, is incredible," Berman says. Of the deaths from COVID that have occurred in Canada, the vast majority were in Ontario and Quebec. As of Novem- ber 1, the cumulative mortality rate in B.C. was significantly less than the national rate: around 5.3 per 100,000 people. Consider- ing that this province was arguably ground zero for the virus's entry into Canada, was there anything specific to B.C.'s response that mitigated its impact? Trust had a lot to do with it, Berman says. And much of that trust was built through frank and transparent public conversations —the sharing of modelling data scenarios, for example, or by freeing up beds, dem- onstrating to British Columbians that the province was ready. "Did that set of actions prevent something worse from happening? Probably not," Berman says. "But what prevented it from being worse was…the cooperation of the citizens, and the trust that was instilled. That was part of the whole process. And I think they deserve some credit for that." W A L K S O F T LY… Berman notes that, unlike many jurisdic- tions in Canada and beyond, B.C. never actually introduced a full lockdown. From the beginning, Dix and Henry avoided a heavy-handed approach, a decision Dix defends. "In our society, a strictly coercive approach would have been counterproduc- tive," he says. "For something to be effec- tive, people have to buy in." There's plenty of evidence to back this up, says UVic associate profes- sor of psychology Frederick Grouzet, who heads the university's Centre for Youth and Society. In most cases, he says, the best approach is a soft approach. "The theory of motiva- tions, and empirical research, tends to demonstrate that it is the best way for long-term impact," Grouzet notes. "For short-term impact, the 'hard way' is more efficient," he adds. "The problem with the 'hard way' is that it could work for a very short period of time. In the long term, that won't work. So it depends on what effect we would like to have." From a crisis management per- spective, persuasion over punishment is also prudent. " COVID introduced a novel element to crisis communication, and that is managing the psycholog y of a pandemic—namely, the fear of the unknown," Renu Bakshi says. "What we learned is that information brings relief. B.C., by sharing data on a daily basis, helped maintain vigilance without hys- teria and took people from the unknown to the known, which is a more comfort- able place to be." And stern crackdowns? In Bakshi's opinion, they're not going to help. "Gaining public confidence and compliance is the key to stopping a virus in its tracks. If it feels like a scolding or punishment, you create rebellion." And when you have a relatively united population that's open to cooperating, that helps, Berman says. "It wasn't necessary to introduce more formal legal measures, L E A D E R S H I P L E S S O N Be prepared to pivot quickly. Shifting gears when necessary is an essential leadership quality. L E A D E R S H I P L E S S O N Attack potential conflicts without resorting to a heavy- handed approach. People—and businesses—respond better to rationale and reasoning than to threats and bullying. COME TOGETHER BC Green Party and BC Liberal health critics Sonia Furstenau and Norm Letnick worked with their NDP counterpart