In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the opportunity to learn, adapt and innovate from the symptoms that created the crisis were largely wasted. Now we face an unimaginably greater crisis, this time affecting not just the financial system but our entire economy, public health system, and everyday patterns of life. If we are to derive some benefit from present pain, Canadians need to learn the lessons and distinguish between short-term corrective measures and the opportunity to correct structural flaws. People yearn for a return to normalcy. But what will the ‘normal’ look like after this?

The dictionary definition of ‘crisis’ is a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, especially for better or worse, is determined. Its use in medicine is even more blunt: a c