There again, between the exhaustion and verbal (and sometimes physical) assaults they have endured, itвЂ™s hard fault them.Д«ut the vast majority of them met the explosion of demeaning stupidity of the anti-mask, anti-vaccine, anti-science crowd with calmness, kindness and patience. Maybe a few doctors have allowed their partisan stripes to flash too brightly on social media and maybe a few others have allowed the frustrations over government buffoonery to boil over. (That said, we should all be grateful to those who unwaveringly speak the truth without fear or favour in a world where the only reward is anger and abuse.)Д«ut while there is no shortage of people to thank this weekend, there are specific reasons why our lists should begin with doctors.ДЇew of us can grasp the intelligence, talents, skills and sacrifice needed to become such a medical professional. This is a great weekend to remind ourselves we simply need to be kinder to each other - a reminder applicable to everyone, including journalists who offer critical opinion. So do farmers who are feeding us in a year when drought made growing anything difficult.ДЄnd, yes, thanks go to our politicians caught in this maelstrom. Article contentДЄnd there are also those from other walks of life that deserve our gratitude.Д«usinesses who have struggled to keep their doors open and all frontline workers whoвЂ™ve trudged to thankless jobs - often rewarded with customer abuse in these tense times - deserve our thanks. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This is not to suggest we shouldnвЂ™t be equally grateful for nurses and other health professionals including first-responders who are also risking their health and well-being - occasionally, even having to weave their way through anti-vaccination protesters who are now starting to show up inside hospital doorsteps for reasons more critical than protest. Heaven knows what policies we would have - or not have - in place without him.

Perhaps Shahab - who is taking heat from many, including fellow doctors at the end of their frayed ropes as the crisis deepens into record cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths - is the first doctor we need to thank this weekend. We missed his compassion, humanity and - most certainly - his calm, quiet common sense. On behalf of all of us who have leaned on a doctor to make it through the worst moments of our lives, thank you. ThatвЂ™s what doctors do because they live these tragedies with us. Saqib Shahab attends such press conferences, the first thing he does is offer his condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. Yet there wasnвЂ™t so much as an acknowledgement Thursday of those who have died. How many more would there have been without dedicated physicians? Who knows? 29, 42 more Saskatchewan people with COVID-19 died.

We were reminded of that Thursday at Premier Scott MoeвЂ™s news conference - an event that was in desperate need of an authoritative voice telling us of the dire COVID-19 situation we are all now in.Д«etween that news conference and the previous formal COVID-19 press conference with Health Minister Paul Merriman on Sept.

Doctor of common sense