Councillor's Duty

Ross Sutherland, Councillor, Loughborough District, South Frontenac | Feb 16, 2022

Protecting our community from the pandemic has been, as it should have, a priority of South Frontenac Council, including COVID restrictions on employment and following public health guidelines, which I supported; and restrictions on our local democracy, some of which I thought were reasonable, and others not so much.  Nonetheless, they had the support of the majority of Council and I followed them.

As an emergency nurse, a condition of employment, long predating the pandemic, was a requirement to be vaccinated against the flu, or I could be laid-off without pay during flu season.  Among dozens of other employment requirements in a variety of workplaces, I had to have a TB test and be negative, or have the TB treated, or lose my job.

For decades we have had school vaccine mandates for children which has saved millions of lives.

I had an interesting conversation with a vaccine mandate protester who agreed that ICU admissions and death rates were probably significantly higher (13 times) for the unvaccinated.  He then asked, why should it not be his choice to be vaccinated since he is the one getting sick?  The most direct answer could be provided by someone who cannot get cancer treatment or a surgical procedure because the ICU beds are full of the unvaccinated; or, from anyone who has to pay the added health care costs of his unnecessary illness.  

The good news is that we are getting close to 90% vaccinated and mask wearing, even in unregulated spaces, is common. Thanks to those people we should be able to ease or end COVID restrictions sooner than later.

Mandates, and other public health measures, from childhood vaccines of seat belt laws, have been well debated for many decades. Then governments make laws, which have been tested in court, which some oppose, sometimes me, nonetheless that is the way our democracy works. We then come together and go forward as a community and have elections, or we shatter as a society.

Which brings me to the convoy.  It has become increasingly clear that the organizers of the convoy have deep roots in insurrectionist movements, white supremacy organizations, Islamophobic groups, business-deregulation parties and anti-democratic movements bent on destabilizing our country.  It is also increasingly clear that a significant amount of the money funding these occupations comes from foreign sources heavily tied to the anti-democratic movements in the United States.

We need to strengthen our communities, expand our democracy, protect our health care system, create a more inclusive and equal society and respect the obligation to exercise our rights in ways that do not interfere with others’ rights to freedom and safety.  The truck occupations fail on all accounts.

Ross Sutherland, Councillor, Loughborough District, South Frontenac.