​Mixed response to Freedom Rally in Kincardine

To the Editor:
RE: “Grey-Bruce Freedom Fighters draw crowd to Victoria Park, Kincardine”

I won’t be supporting any business that displays these signs!

I want to know when I enter a business that it is safe!

Rhetha Roy
Kincardine
 

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To the Editor:

Some people may think this is just about a vaccine and it will all stop there when, in fact, it is about our freedom of choice as Canadian citizens.

If we give this freedom away, there is no turning back, folks. What will be next? Really, what comes next?

Maybe people who don’t understand this should sit down and think about the things they value in life and ask themselves if they are prepared to give them up.

You can say it couldn’t happen in Canada … well you are sitting back and letting it happen already!

Mark Finlayson
Kincardine
 

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To the Editor:

At this point in the pandemic, I find it increasingly difficult to demonstrate compassion for those who are more concerned with individual rights than collective responsibility.

You do not live alone. You are not isolated from the rest of us and your decisions impact everyone around you. Our shared objective must be to protect the most vulnerable members of our population – those who are most likely to suffer or die from COVID-19 – and ensure that our extraordinary healthcare workers are not overwhelmed with what is, essentially, a vaccine-preventable illness for most who are exposed.

Apparently, there are some in our community who believe it is an imposition to provide vaccination status before entering the Davidson Centre in Kincardine because it, somehow, violates personal rights. There is more personal information attached to my Bruce County library card than my vaccine receipt. I wonder how many freedom fighters are concerned about this when they check out a library book.

We’re not in this together if everyone isn’t adhering to the social contract and thinking more about keeping our community safe and protecting our finite health-care resources than about the perceived inconvenience of carrying a piece of paper. Conflating public-health measures with the erosion of personal autonomy is selfish and misguided.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission has, unequivocally, stated that personal preference to forgo the COVID-19 vaccine does not require accommodation, as it is a singular belief and not a discriminatory act under the Code.[1]

Your rights are not being violated because you chose not to get vaccinated and that choice now prevents you from participating in certain aspects of public life.

The expectation that you show a piece of paper – similarly to how you already use identification to access a multitude of community resources and businesses – is part of how we all continue to live together in a productive, safe and peaceful society. For those who are vaccinated, many of the privileges we previously enjoyed are once again available as COVID-19 infections continue to drop primarily due to vaccination rates and public-health measures.

This discussion is about the well-being of our entire community, both locally and globally. Most people have willingly done what has been asked of us in order to move beyond this crisis. Given this, I fail to understand why we’re giving more attention to those who are clearly in the minority: As of Oct. 18, 85.2 per cent of eligible (age 12-plus) Grey-Bruce residents have received one dose, and 81.5 per cent have received two doses.[2]

I find it infuriating that we continue to amplify the voices of 14.8 per cent of our community who seem to lack communal concern.

I am furious that a worldwide pandemic has been egregiously framed by some in terms of personal rights and freedoms. This group is extremely small, yet its attempt to circumvent public-health measures and leverage alleged constitutional rights is disheartening and dangerous. 

Choices have consequences and they are free to get vaccinated, download a vaccine receipt, and ensure that our community stays safer every time they show it to someone who asks. It is the very least we can do to protect and continue to care for each other.

Sarah Pelton
Kincardine

[1] www.ohrc.on.ca/en/news_centre/ohrc-policy-statement-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-and-proof-vaccine-certificates [Retrieved Oct. 19, 2021]
[2] www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca/COVID-19/Vaccines [Retrieved Oct. 19, 2021]