It is truly terrible how people made to quarantine in the hotels cannot verify when meals will be brought, cannot order in (whether paid for or sent in by family) and if anyone has a specific meal request for health reasons, no idea if anything appropriate will come if at all. There could be grounds for a legal case or more.
Highlights the importance of having Internet access and a mobile device. I'm stunned that PHAC cannot track everyone (I would not be surprised to eventually hear "insufficient budget/people power" is the main reason). For the savvier quarantinees, those who know the MPs social media handles in whose ridings their quarantine hotels are situated, they can post their concerns directly to them as well as PHAC and any other federal entity they think should be notified. Perhaps some MPs or even MPPs are tracking requests on social media for help if there are meal issues and such.
Red Cross is an organization relying on on few staff (to release funds/acquire goods) and mostly volunteers (actual distribution/set up/face contact) to handle group emergency needs in large places. I think for Red Cross to basically be the de facto catering/needs supplier might have overstretched actual staff resources. The impression is also that hotel staff seem keen to avoid having more than basic interaction with quarantinees, even if an issue might involve something malfunctioning like a toilet in a room. No wonder Canadians rely on media/social media to vent and even shame entities into doing better. Bonus points if the Canadians know who the US House Representatives are in the state ridings where the crossings back to Canada are made and alerting the US people on social media of how the crossings/passport verifications are working or not.
A few federal ministers ought to be made responsible for ensuring meals and needs are are actually being covered at all of the quarantine hotels across Canada, not just providing sound bites for news networks while not setting foot in the hotels or tasking key staffers to assess situations twice per week. Maybe the federal government could incentivize the ministers by cutting their pays and office budgets to get better response and allocate cut funds to quarantine meals and supports.
