{"id":5199,"date":"2020-12-17T08:02:52","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T13:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=5199"},"modified":"2020-12-17T08:03:59","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T13:03:59","slug":"one-womans-passionate-plea-to-premier-doug-ford-no-more-lockdowns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=5199","title":{"rendered":"One Woman&#8217;s Passionate Plea to Premier Doug Ford: &#8220;No More Lockdowns!&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/END-THE-LOCKDOWN-PROTEST-KELOWNA-COURIER-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/END-THE-LOCKDOWN-PROTEST-KELOWNA-COURIER-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/END-THE-LOCKDOWN-PROTEST-KELOWNA-COURIER-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/END-THE-LOCKDOWN-PROTEST-KELOWNA-COURIER-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/END-THE-LOCKDOWN-PROTEST-KELOWNA-COURIER-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/END-THE-LOCKDOWN-PROTEST-KELOWNA-COURIER.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>One Woman&#8217;s Passionate Plea to Premier Doug Ford: &#8220;No More Lockdowns! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Premier Ford,\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>As  you may be aware, Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault has decided to shut  all non-essential businesses for two weeks, beginning Christmas Day, as a  result of new COVID 19 infections in that province. Essential  services such as grocery stores, supermarkets, drugstores, hardware  stores and garages will not be affected by the measure, which will  apply\u00a0<a>from December 25 to January 11.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Apparently,  you have refused to rule out similar measures for Ontario &#8211; or at least  in the GTA &#8211; which would appear to have the lion\u2019s share of new COVID  19 cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>I am strongly opposed to this  potential new lockdown in Ontario &#8211; as I believe that it will do very  little to thwart the rising daily number of\u00a0new COVID 19 cases. The current lockdown\u00a0in the City of Toronto and Peel Region, which\u00a0have been in place for a few weeks now, has completely failed to do much of anything,especially given the fact that those who most enthusiastically support these job destroying\u00a0and small business ruining lockdowns &#8211; would appear to hypocritically have no problem with public schools and other facilities remaining\u00a0open.  I am guessing that the potential electoral backlash from those many  parents who use public schools as a type of glorified baby sitting  service &#8211; resonates much more with lawmakers than any business lobby ever  could &#8211; hence the aforementioned glaring hypocrisy and contradiction?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Never  mind that public schools are far more likely to be vectors of COVID 19  transmission &#8211; than any restaurants offering indoor dining \u00a0&#8211; which are  already operating at 75% or less capacity &#8211;\u00a0and which have implemented expensive social distancing and contact tracing measures &#8211;\u00a0along with regular decontamination protocols &#8211;\u00a0all  at great financial cost &#8211; ever could. Nevertheless, in my experience,  very few, if any, elected public servants are prepared to deviate from  the proverbial script &#8211; much less the iron yolk of mass conformity  during these times.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>An eye on the next  election cycle and one\u2019s Sunshine List six figure salary as well as  OMERS pension &#8211; would appear to bury any righteous objections &#8211; much  less the use of critical thinking skills and deductive reasoning  abilities in most of our public servants (surely an argument for strict  term limits and recall mechanisms &#8211; to say nothing of ranked ballots &#8211;  at all levels of government &#8211; if there ever was one) &#8211; when their\u00a0primary  focus at ALL levels of government should be individually advocating  tirelessly with your government to find ways to mitigate and alleviate the restrictions on workers and business owners.Instead, many, not all, but many of your Liberal and NDP aligned opponents, both provincially\u00a0and  municipally, largely give your government a blank cheque, when it comes  to these draconian lockdowns, and rather focus on demanding that your  government run up even higher deficits\u00a0to cover income supports for all of those dislocated by these unnecessary lockdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Unfortunately,  no real organized opposition or individual dissenting voices, with the  notable exception of MPP Randy Hillier, currently exists\u00a0at  Queen\u2019s Park, but I believe that that will soon change with the formal  registration in the early new year of a new populist provincial  political party, which will finally give a voice to the\u00a0the  tens of millions of Ontarians who have had their jobs and businesses  taken away from them as a result of these repeated lockdowns.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Being a skeptic or a critic during these Covid 19 times &#8211; is increasingly an audacious and revolutionary act. However, for a growing number\u00a0of  Ontarians like myself, fidelity to truth, facts, common sense, personal  freedom, individual liberty, property rights and bodily autonomy\u00a0are paramount.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>I  have absolutely no doubt in my mind that any new lockdown in Ontario &#8211;  or enhanced lockdown &#8211; for those Ontario regions which have already been  under this statism run amok for the past few weeks &#8211; will result in the  cancellation of countless numbers of surgeries and diagnostic imaging  in hospitals &#8211; as hospital CEOs are already asking their staff to \u201cmake  room\u201d for an anticipated wave of COVID 19 cases. I wonder how many  Ontarians will now die as a result of cancelled surgeries and\/or  diagnostic testing? In the UK this year,over 2000 people have  died from pancreatic or liver cancer alone &#8211; as a result of British  hospitals cancelling surgeries, diagnostics and treatments.You  are aware that cancer, HIV\/AIDS, clogged arteries and sclerotic organs  do not take a vacation just because COVID 19 gets disproportionate  attention, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>I also wonder how many idiots with a mild cough or sniffle will now flood ERs all across Ontario\u00a0as a result of your government\u2019s extreme and disproportionate overreaction to these rising &#8211;\u00a0but  primarily asymptomatic cases &#8211; where there is a very low  hospitalization rate and an extremely low mortality rate? The vast  majority of COVID 19 deaths are the result of comorbidity &#8211; with those of very advanced age and immunodeficiency being the primary victims.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Of course, the sensationalizing media will no doubt fan the flames of public hysteria over any new or enhanced lockdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>If you are so concerned that Ontario\u2019s hospitals will be overrun with new COVID 19 cases &#8211;\u00a0which is apparently your justification for &#8211;\u00a0what  in my opinion &#8211; are these  illegal and unconstitutional  lockdowns &#8211; which trample all over my fundamental rights and freedoms &#8211;\u00a0then  why have you not over the course of this calendar year &#8211; since the very  beginning of the pandemic &#8211; established a parallel healthcare system &#8211;  perhaps operated by the medical corps of the Canadian military &#8211; which  could erect vast tent cities on the outskirts of any and all sizeable  Ontario population centres &#8211; for the sole purpose of diagnosing and  treating those with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID 19. A toll  free number could be established and an over the phone assessment would  determine if a person has or likely has COVID 19. This would immediately  remove the threat to civilian hospitals of being overrun &#8211; and separate  medical transportation to such COVID 19 centres could transport those  who have or think they may have COVID 19. I am thinking a hermetically  sealed special ambulance &#8211; equipped with oxygen tanks.Of  course, it would have to be strictly voluntary for anyone to go to these  COVID 19 treatment\/recovery sites &#8211; but it would result in not  requiring these economically destructive lockdowns. Such facilities  would be open and transparent &#8211; with full access for visitors and the  media. Why are you and the other Premiers not already discussing this  option or at least something along these lines with the Prime Minister?  Surely, anything to avoid a lockdown and paralysis of the economy should  be your very top priority?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>You also could create a separate provincial medical corp made up of recalled recently\u00a0retired physicians, nurses,  etc. to exclusively\u00a0diagnose and treat COVID 19 patients inside of a plethora of provincial government owned buildings &#8211; both those in use and those which\u00a0have been decommissioned. There are also countless municipal government buildings, schools, community centres, military bases,airport hangers, etc. There is no valid reason why civilian hospitals need to be overrun and ICU  and ER beds taken by severely ill COVID 19 patients &#8211; assuming there  are truly going to be that many of them &#8211; I have my doubts &#8211;\u00a0and  this can all be accomplished in my opinion &#8211; without the need for any  current or existing lockdowns. You simply are not thinking outside of  the proverbial box here.\u00a0<br>I am quite certain  that your well paid team of literally thousands of physicians, public  health officials, policy wonks and other assorted bureaucrats could  conceive of many different ways to deal with this supposed \u201cimminent  tidal wave of Covid 19 cases\u201d which are both creative and anything but  the status quo. The fact that you or no other national or sub national  elected leader has bothered to think outside of the proverbial box and  devise creative solutions to this issue &#8211; makes me and a growing number  of people highly suspicious as to what is really behind all of this  madness.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>I believe that the COVID 19 pandemic  is very real &#8211; but I question the degree to which it is truly a danger  to those who are not already of an advanced age and\/or who have serious  immunodeficiency. I also believe that many state (governments) and  non-state actors (big businesses, banks and pharmaceutical corporations)  all over the world &#8211; are exploiting this tragedy to advance their own  self serving agendas. Not all of them, but many of them.Too many things do not make sense -nor do they add up &#8211; as it were.\u00a0<br>I  am also very disheartened to see you and many other public servants  ,state, \u201cI will listen to the advice of the medical experts\u201d as the  standard scripted generic reply to any inquiries such as mine. The  medical officers of health are NOT all seeing and all knowing. They DO  NOT possess a monopoly on solutions. In fact, some of them even publicly  disagree and contradict each other concerning which measures to take  and when to take them. The recent disagreement on whether or not to put  York Region into lockdown between Dr Kurji and Dr Williams comes to  mind. Yet, so many of our elected officials meekly abdicate all decision  making to these unelected \u201cexperts\u201d. It is truly shameful to say the  least. What ever happened to shopping around for the proverbial second  opinion? Why do you and most of your public sector ilk always side with  the very worst case scenario where COVID 19 is concerned?\u00a0You  seem to automatically assume that whichever \u201cmedical expert\u201d paints the  most dire and bleak scenario &#8211; is the correct one by default &#8211; yet this  comes at the expense of my livelihood, dignity,freedom and liberty.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>While  I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that this email will fall on deaf  ears &#8211; where appealing to you to publicly oppose a lockdown is  concerned &#8211; I would like to take this opportunity to at least ask you  not to begin any new or enhanced lockdown until Christmas Day &#8211; as per  Quebec\u2019s example? Individuals and businesses both need as well as richly  deserve sufficient time to prepare for it. Furthermore, the days  leading up to Christmas Day are the most important all year for the vast  majority of businesses. This time of the year is truly the economic  lifeblood for most businesses and their employees &#8211; especially  retailers.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>May your critical thinking skills, deductive reasoning abilities and healthy skepticism\u00a0wisely guide all of your future public policy decisions.\u00a0<br>Be bold, be strong, be courageous and\u00a0work smarter &#8211; not harder.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Best<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>,Sara Makhlouf\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One Woman&#8217;s Passionate Plea to Premier Doug Ford: &#8220;No More Lockdowns! Premier Ford,\u00a0 As you may be aware, Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault has decided to shut all non-essential businesses for two weeks, beginning Christmas Day, as a result of new &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=5199\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2136,1358],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5199"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5201,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5199\/revisions\/5201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}