FUREY: It's not just 'business' that's hurting — it's all of society, it's life itself

People wait to ordering takeout outside a coffee shop along Queen St. W. near Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto, Ont. on Sunday Feb. 28, 2021. PHOTO BY ERNEST DOROSZUK /Postmedia Network

 

The other day someone was telling me how they were only now just getting started with a volunteer program to assist refugees in Canada get on their feet, a year after they’d first signed up for it. Add in the time it takes to get everyone up to speed on turning what was supposed to be an in-person experience into a much less rewarding virtual program and you can see how the weeks turn into a year of delay. But that’s just one of the millions of stories of meaningful activities that make our country what it is and make us who we are that have been put on hold for an entire year. It boggles the mind when people shrug off the devastating effects of lockdowns by simply saying that at least we’re putting people’s health ahead of «business» or «the economy.» That’s not what is going on at all.

What we have locked down is pretty much all aspects of society aside from the purchase of essential goods and online consumerism. Obviously, large indoor gatherings involving high-risk seniors will be some of the last things to reopen. We’ve learned so much this past year about who is at high risk of COVID-19 and where and how it spreads, but instead of using this information to make smart decisions about reopening society, it’s become clear that too many Canadian public health officials have developed a cultlike obsession with stamping out every single case of this virus, no matter the harms that they cause along the way. Instead of putting in the work to find ways to make things happen, they look for every opportunity to shut things down.

All you need to do is look south of the border to see how Democrat and Republican leaders alike are coming up with creative solutions and responsibly reopening things. We’ve certainly seen many businesses collapse across Canada and good people have gone deeply into debt or lost their life savings. What we’re really seeing is the atrophying of our entire society.

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Source: Anthony Furey | Toronto Sun