00:00:00.000I'm Jessica Schwintaniewski for True North, and I'm out in Toronto today at Trinity Bellwoods Park.
00:00:12.120Now, some of you may have heard of this park before.
00:00:14.560This is where the original Cove Idiots were dubbed and where the city of Toronto fenced off cherry blossom trees and painted social distancing circles in the grass two years in a row.
00:00:26.020Now, in recent weeks, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced his reopening plan.
00:00:31.820We're now in a position to look at a slow and measured reopening of the province.
00:00:37.440And working in lockstep with our public health officials, we have created a plan to safely reopen in the coming weeks.
00:00:47.220With these lockdowns, thousands of small businesses were forced to shut their doors and millions lost their livelihoods.
00:00:53.680We now have a mental health crisis in Canada, and we are over a trillion dollars in debt.
00:01:00.100Some may argue these lockdowns saved lives by theoretically slowing the spread of COVID.
00:01:06.980That being said, were the lockdowns worth it?
00:01:30.460Maybe they shouldn't have forced this big of a lockdown from a personal opinion.
00:01:35.580I think the lockdown has been, like, so long, like, way too long on people that, like, mental health actually, like, worth thinking about right now, also economy.
00:01:49.120I think it's been worth it because slowly but surely we are improving.
00:01:53.480So, we're hopeful at least have a half a summer, you know, not like last year, people were depressed and, like, pretty much drinking themselves to sleep.
00:02:02.960It just doesn't make sense to me, you know, like, if you're locking down, people are losing their jobs, mental health.
00:02:08.800Like, I've gained a lot of weight since the pandemic started.
00:02:18.400First of all, the first lockdown should be a little bit longer because I think that that's the time when we're more, like, not sure what's going on.
00:02:26.480Like, people are more, like, not afraid, but, you know, like, we're just more careful about everything.
00:02:32.580And if that time was a little bit longer than what it was, it probably would have been better.
00:02:37.080I mean, if the lockdown from way, like, early from the beginning, if they actually locked down, not partially, but completely, like, as many cities, other cities in the world did, I think we have might done better.
00:02:55.020I have a son, too, and I saw a lot of moms struggling, kids struggling mentally, emotionally, physically.
00:03:03.840What I've seen in my surroundings, it was, it did more harm than it did good.
00:03:11.320Can I ask, did you yourself follow the stay-at-home order?
00:03:16.700No, but that's because, again, I live alone and I kind of just make sure that I'm, you know, safe.
00:03:26.940To a certain degree, no, no, I did not.
00:03:44.260And I feel healthier than I've ever felt before.
00:03:47.720And I think it has something to do with me meeting with friends, you know, enjoying my time outside, getting fresh air, being together with people that I love.