Red Deer South MLA Jason Stephan talks about the devastating social and economic consequences of a lockdown.
While the consequences of a lockdown may be severe, the consequences of not locking down are many times more dire.
Brazil is a proponent of no lockdowns and it is hard to imagine Alberta would want to emulate the devastating catastrophe taking place there. Alberta recently recorded its 2000th death while Brazil is presently averaging 4,000 deaths per day.
Stephan’s belief that people should have the freedom to choose for themselves what measures they wish to take is noble but naive. There will always be people who take the high road and there will always be some who are driven purely by greed and self interest.
The reason we have leaders is to take us through this minefield and make decisions that are reflective of the greater good to all. Rights and freedoms are all well and good but along with these rights come responsibilities. If exercising one’s rights infringes on the rights of another, I would suggest this is not satisfactory.
The Red Deer MLA has adopted a position which he is obviously loath to abandon. He dismissed his Christmas holidays in Arizona as safe and told unimportant Albertans like me who stayed home that international travel “does not negatively impact Albertans Covid curve if done responsibly.”
As a reason to not have lockdowns Stephan explains that no one under 20 has died from Covid in Alberta. While this may well be true, if neglects to mention that anyone can spread the virus and infect and possibly kill innocent bystanders.
In short, the opinions that Stephan has kindly shared with us would appear to be rather far from the truth and simply made to advance his very questionable agenda.
Ted Davis, Red Deer