Trucks are rolling across Canada to protest federal COVID-19 restrictions, and millions of Canadians of all stripes, colours and political affiliations are supporting them. It’s time!
It’s true that some people have been seriously ill with COVID, but most who have died and were hospitalized had serious underlying conditions that are rarely mentioned. For most people, COVID and its variants have left people with a sore throat, a light cough, low energy and the sniffles.
However, for the past two years, we’ve had restrictions, lockdowns and passport mandates that have destroyed businesses, torn families apart, broken relationships, left many people isolated and lonely, decimated communities, churches and associations, and caused havoc in the lives of our youth and seniors.
In most cases, the medicine doled out by the government to protect us has been much worse than the disease. There’s little scientific evidence to suggest that closing gyms, restaurants, churches, offices, schools and businesses – or wearing masks, for that matter – made us healthier.
Canadians need to rise up with the truckers to demand change. We need to say that enough is enough. We can do this through our daily actions:
- Stop spending our energy demanding to see vaccine passports for entry into gyms, pubs, restaurants or our country.
What difference do these passports make, except leave a bad taste in our mouths and cost businesses money in higher labour costs? Recently I went into a restaurant where I wasn’t asked for my vaccine passport. Though ready to comply, the absence of this intrusion was a relief: I left a bigger tip.
- Start having parties and gatherings with more than 10 people. Is there any difference between 10 people or 20 people?
At this point, most people who have been infected with one variant or another are vaccinated. Let’s get back to socialization and support all people.
Teams need to play before spectators; musicians need to make music again in front of fans. Conferences and events need to offer opportunities to gather in person. We need to heal the divisions that have been forced upon us by health officials and government leaders.
If you choose to wear a mask or get booster shots, good for you. However, please respect the rights of others who have different views than yours.
- Let’s demand that our politicians treat everyone equally, irrespective of their health status.
Politicians who are resistant to change should be asked to step down, including the leaders of opposition parties who are out of step with the reality that most Canadians are experiencing.
The World Health Organization recently said that requiring vaccine passports for travel should be avoided because they’re a source of discrimination. Travel restrictions are out of date and no longer needed. Canadians need to demand that this draconian measure be removed to let airlines flourish again.
Why vaccine reluctance continues to make sense by James Bryson
Boycott businesses that are standing in the way of normalcy by subjecting people to their own mandates to further agendas opposed to the collective good.
The time is here to drop all restrictions. The variants have come and gone, and so should the masks and passports. Other countries – England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and a host of others – have dropped restrictions for gathering and travel. It’s time that Canada joined that trend.
While the truckers have led the way, it’s time we all stood up and demanded change for the health of our businesses and the mental and physical health of our citizens.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is an award-winning business coach and a partner with Pivotleader Inc. Have a differing opinion? Email [email protected]. For interview requests, click here.
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