Open Letter to Members of the Legislative Assembly
March 11, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Red Deer – Mountain View, AB
14 days. 2 weeks. 336 hours. That is how long we were told it would take to “flatten the curve”.
366 days. 52 weeks. 8,784 hours. 1 year. “Flatten the curve” turned into “flatten the middle class”.
We were asked to stay home, safe lives. The initial panic associated with a new coronavirus strain should have worn off but here we are. Still in lockdown, unable to visit our friends or family. Hope fading fast.
It would be easy to look back and criticize the response but I prefer to look ahead. To find hope.
Every day the media announces scary new variants. Public health officials tell us that this isn’t the time to let down our guard. That a small group of Albertans are responsible for our current predicament.
But is this reality? Every day millions of people move around North America to support the just-in-time goods and services delivery system that we rely on. The virus does not ask whether an individual has been deemed “essential” by a government. It simply moves around, person to person, because that is what virus’ do.
We have a year of data. We know who is vulnerable and who there is a “vanishing small” amount of risk, as Dr. Hinshaw has stated. Why does the Alberta government continue to lockdown healthy people in a vain attempt to protect those who are susceptible to the virus? It’s time for change.
So on this day, 1 year after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, I ask that you end the war on small businesses, on smiles, on hugs, on health, on dreams, on family, on friends, on Albertans.
It’s not easy to admit a plan did not work. It takes humility but commands respect and honour.
Let’s follow our American counterparts, end the lockdowns, and bring back hope to Albertans.
Sincerely,
Jared Pilon
Libertarian Party Candidate for Red Deer – Mountain View, AB