Juno News - Canadians needs to keep questioning the lockdown

00:00:00.000 we're really living under quite extraordinary times right now here in Canada and in countries

00:00:09.920 all over the world living under lockdown conditions that were unthinkable just 12

00:00:15.160 months ago unthinkable that people would propose them that they would deem them necessary and

00:00:20.140 unthinkable that people would be so accepting of them now I keep thinking back to a conversation

00:00:24.800 I had last March with a microbiologist and the cases were just sort of coming into Canada we

00:00:30.420 weren't too sure what was going on and I remember asking do we need I think it was a 14-day quarantine

00:00:35.380 for people after they come home from a trip or what have you and this microbiologist said no I don't

00:00:40.060 think we really need it quite right now and also and that may be against people's charter rights was

00:00:44.640 what he said this was a mainstream gentleman who was who's speaking with me and it's kind of

00:00:48.560 interesting that you don't hear that sort of argument now about these charter rights so that

00:00:52.400 kind of component has been shelved but more broadly I think the the criticizing the pushing back and

00:00:58.800 the basic just asking follow-up questions about a lot of these restrictions even that has kind of

00:01:04.640 been brushed aside and we're really encouraged to not do it and I think if I have one basic reflection

00:01:10.860 on all of these restrictions that we live under right now it's that people should not forget just

00:01:16.020 how incredible and extraordinary it is that you're currently being told by the government where you can go

00:01:22.100 when you can go there what you can do in a store sometimes what products you can buy sometimes how

00:01:27.800 many of them you can buy depending on the rules that are in place how many people you can stand

00:01:31.940 with when you're outdoors and so forth it is really quite incredible and and don't don't lose that

00:01:37.520 sense that this is something 12 months ago that we would not be accepting of now I know a lot of you

00:01:42.140 are saying well hold on a second fury but but we need to do these things because of xyz and with the

00:01:46.620 virus and so forth okay fine let us just say for a moment that we do need to do all of these things

00:01:52.100 one must still ask really every day are all of these things still necessary do we still need

00:01:58.560 the ski hills shut down in Ontario for example Ontario is the only jurisdiction that has it

00:02:03.580 because to shut down aspects of society every day you're doing it if it doesn't still make sense on

00:02:10.960 that very day it's quite an extreme thing to be doing that to people and quite an extreme thing

00:02:16.320 for people to be accepting of so do we want to listen to experts do we really want to do everything we

00:02:21.860 can to deal with the virus in a way that actually makes sense certainly we do but I don't think we

00:02:27.120 should lose that feeling of okay guys we need to continually put the burden of proof on on the system

00:02:34.180 on the on the government officials on the public health officials making decisions the burden of proof

00:02:38.880 on them daily to recommit to why these restrictions are in fact necessary because I know we hear the you

00:02:46.260 know hashtag listen to the doctors and so forth but there's quite a vibrant debate going on among

00:02:50.740 infectious diseases specialists ICU doctors I hear from ICU doctors who are treating coronavirus

00:02:56.400 patients those are the people who are really in the thick of it and interestingly enough some of

00:03:00.620 those individuals are the people who are almost least supportive of some of these restrictions that

00:03:06.460 we have they're most supportive of reopening the schools of how we can reopen retail because they've

00:03:11.760 got this firsthand experience on the ground of the people who are most hard hit where they feel they got

00:03:16.640 it from and so forth so I think we really need to broaden the conversation bring in all of these

00:03:22.020 voices and as I said continue to acknowledge these are some really extreme measures and let's just keep

00:03:28.640 talking them out whether or not they're actually necessary don't just sit back and go yeah okay fine

00:03:34.000 let's keep this thing shut for two months regardless of how the facts change so keep the conversation

00:03:40.000 going and never be afraid to ask questions

00:03:46.640 you

Juno News - January 28, 2021