Postcard From Toronto
We’re publishing a new postcard today, our first in a while. This one is a postcard from Toronto, which has been in lockdown in one form or another since last November. The Ontario Premier Doug Ford hit the “emergency brake” in April, ramping up restrictions, and it hasn’t been released yet. Our correspondent, Catherine Brennan, is more than a little fed up. In the following extract, she writes about attending her first anti-lockdown protest a couple of weeks ago:
I have to admit, I felt somewhat nervous about going to the rally. Would I be arrested? What would these protesters be like? An unruly mob, frothing at the mouth with questionable personal hygiene? One left-leaning politician (and in Canada we’re all rather left-leaning – so this guy is practically falling over), warned that these rallies were full of white supremacists. While I am white, and no amount of self-tan can disguise my Irish legs, I struggled to find anyone to fit that description so cruelly slurred by the noticeably absent MP. How did he know who attended when he himself wasn’t there? So I asked my friend, she of Russian-Jewish parents who fled the pogroms living in barns for two years – was she secretly a white supremacist? I asked the lovely black couple who, very sensibly, set up lawn chairs to enjoy the convivial atmosphere. Why are you here, I asked. They answered, like so many other people I spoke with, that they were worried for their kids, whose lives have been on hold. They too had called their local politicians only to hear canned responses. Like me, they wondered whether a better balance might be struck between absolute risk and relative risk. They were disturbed by the political deafness on how lockdowns have affected kids’ welfare. These were not anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers or any other of the ad hominem name-calling around dissent these days. They were there to show support in a time of great isolation.
Worth reading in full.
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Doug Ford (whom I voted for; a blunder I will not repeat) is the worst combination of cowardice and power-hungriness. A complete disappointment and a failure as a Premier.
I must admit that I’ve had several illusions, beside that of living in a democracy, shattered. Because of their behaviour and supposed national characters, especially those shown in two world wars, I thought Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders had built-in, “up yours and get stuffed” views on life, especially as regards overweening authority. It turns out I was largely mistaken, which gives me no joy whatsoever, as many are as compliant and supine as much of the British people.
That may have the case with Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders back about 100 years ago, but like everything else, times have changed. Like most of the West, Canadians have become compliant sheep reliant on government for their well being. Those who fought for freedoms at Vimy Ridge, The Somme and other battles in WWI and WWII would be turning over in their graves.
I do agree with every thing you say. Canadians, Australians, New Zealander’s and the British – have become compliant sheep -who expect the government to Keep them Safe ——- it is SAD to see…
There are still some people in -In UK who are no sheep yet .. I went on a peaceful freedom protest on 15th April where there hundreds of thousands of people and the BBC and all TV stations and MSM pretended it did not happen —- How scary – Luckily elsewhere in the world it was reported ….. This is not about a virus – it is about propaganda and control.
Thanks Catherine. Great article and your analysis shows that we are in the group of a group of neurotic and overbearing public health officials and -pea brained politicians have been co-opted into the Who’s disaster strategy. . Neither wants to acknowledge that antibodies, natural immunity and vaccination have caused a low level of chronic cases. It’s certainly not lockdown. Instead they cower over whatever a thoroughly compromised and complacent media will say about some extra deaths, as we unlock. Meanwhile they ignore the blunted hopes of young people and an incipient mental and physical health crisis. This should go down as biggest public policy miscalculation in history.
I too, live in Ontario, in Ottawa. I have written my local MPP multiple times and all I ever get is the standard blah, blah, blah response talking about following public health guidelines. It occurs to me that for over a year now, Ontario has not changed any of their public health guidelines regarding what we now know. They continue to spout the same old BS and until they actually start following “the known science,” I’m afraid we are doomed to stay in lockdowns indefinitely. The other thing is, people have to stop thinking about doing things “safely.” Nothing will go back to normal if us lockdown skeptics keep saying, yes, I’m against lockdowns but we need to open up safely. No, all these stupid arbitrary restrictions like painting circles in parks, constant hand sanitizing, people wearing masks alone walking or in their cars, desks six feet apart, arrows at the grocery store pointing the direction you are supposed to go and any other stupid “restriction” has to be removed immediately. We can’t allow any more of these things to dictate our daily lives. Until this happens, and it will only happen when people smarten up, we are doomed to… Read more »
Yes this is true…..Just say NO — if the mass population says no, we are not doing this anymore ——— It is OVER
Poor Canada – for goodness sake people look at the places that didn’t lockdown.
Look at Florida and Texas, South Dakota — Look at the evidence… You are doing more harm that good – Lockdowns just don’t work, they are dong more harm than good ..The recovery rate is approx 99.7% for all more if you are young…. Canada sadly has lost the plot.