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But the belief is that the health system will endure. It’s unlikely Canada will see an Italian-type failure, because we intervened earlier and the containment strategy has been more robust, said one senior government official. Testing and contact tracing has been slow but it will be ramped up across the country, he said.

There are concerns in the public service about the massive amounts of spending, particularly if some of it proves to be “sub-optimal” in terms of results. In common English, bureaucrats are worried the government will get ripped off by bad actors, overpay for purchases or hand out wage subsidies without adequate scrutiny. But the public policy approach at this point is that perfection is the enemy of good — the belief is that mistakes will be forgiven in the circumstances.

Business groups are complaining about the eligibility rules for the $71-billion emergency wage subsidy, and in particular the glitch in the application process that means payment may be delayed six weeks.

But this is lightning speed for a government spending program.

As Samuel Johnson remarked about a dog walking on its hind legs, while it is not done well, the wonder is that it is done at all.

What is keeping policy-makers awake at night is how they will restart the economy once this is all over

The system was not built for the massive demands that are now being placed upon it and, while the speed may not be optimal for a business weighing whether to retain workers, billions of dollars will soon be flowing to workers and those who have been laid off.

The Liberal government has often seemed to be a step off the pace, hesitant to be bold, as in the case of releasing death projections. But it has generally arrived at the right destination eventually.

However, if panic is not setting in over the health or fiscal crises, there is real anxiety about what kind of Canadian economy will emerge from the tempest.

In a typical recession, the architecture of the economy remains intact and growth comes back as demand recovers.

But small-business confidence is at an all-time low, according to a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Many of those companies are not coming back.

There are also likely to be seismic changes among global players, as they attempt to mitigate the supply-chain shock that has held the world economy in its grip.