A couple of folks have shared with me the responses they received from NDP MP's when it came to how they voted February 14th with respect to ending mandates and forcing the liberals to present a plan to Canadians for doing so. When I read both, one from Randall Garrison and the 2nd from Laurel Collins they were a mirror of one and other, which leads me to believe that all NDP MP's are using this reply.

To assist you in replying to them, I've copied both their original response as well as my rebuttal to them. I've also attached a PDF that you can download that contains the reply as well. On the PDF you will notice my reply in RED but with locals I cannot use any colour expect black, so I would recommend that you download the PDF, thereby making it easier to see my reply.

Hello Joanne,

Thank you for writing to me regarding Monday’s vote in Parliament, which the Conservative Party framed as a “vote to end all mandates and restrictions.”

The Conservative motion comes at a time when Canada’s capital city is, in the words of police, “under siege” and several of our international border crossings are illegally blocked. Suffice to say this is an exceptionally challenging time to have a rational conversation as a country.

With all due respect Randall I would hardly say it’s under siege. I’ve seen footage from Ottawa from independent journalists and from what I can tell, bouncy castles, outdoor hockey games, cleaning up any garage and debris plus feeding the homeless plus of course spontaneous singing or our national anthem if you can clarify for me which part of this is the kind of behaviour of a mob hell bent on “sieging” our capital I would welcome it. I would also remind you that there was no “hue or cry” when Antifa and BLM occupied some of our cities and acted in a manner which was far from what we are witnessing here. The point on which we can agree is that it’s a challenging time to have a rational conversation, however why is that, could it be that the PM along with out other elected civil servants ignored a portion of the citizens of this country. Citizens who were simply seeking an explanation based on the “underlying science” behind the decisions taken. If there is one thing the “convoy” has proven to Canadians and others worldwide, it’s that no one in authority pays attention till you say “NO” and your actions inconvenience them. I don’t only hold the PM responsible for this, I hold all the opposition parties as well as there was deafening silence, from parties such as yourself, who at one time were the “champions of working men and women!”

The motion calls for certainty at a time when very little about the pandemic is certain. It is true, some indicators are pointing in a promising direction, but we are not out of the woods yet. There remains a real risk that prematurely lifting all restrictions could result in serious consequences for Canadians’ health and the integrity of our health care system. Other countries have already made this mistake.

Would you kindly name these countries and specifically cite what misstates have occurred and what the results of these have been? From where I sit, Sweden, has chosen to go it against the grain from the beginning and from all accounts based on the number’s things have worked out. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been some loss of life (which is tragic at any time) however the other Scandnavian countries in spite of all they’ve done have also incurred this. When Sweden took this approach they were vilified by the international community and predictions of monumental death counts were forecast, well it appears this hasn’t materialized which is exactly why the mainstream media rarely speaks of Sweden. Not sure if you knew this or not on of their neighboring countries, Norway, recently removed all restrictions, so if we were lauding the Scandinavians perhaps, we should follow suit? I would also point you to the state of Florida, they have the largest % of seniors in all of the United States and to date there has been no catastrophic meltdown given they’ve not imposed any of these measures for quite some time now. I would also direct your attention to a recent John Hopkins study which concluded “Lockdowns Had Little To No Impact On Reducing Covid-19 Deaths!” I would be happy to forward this to you.

Calling for an end to all vaccine mandates by the end of the month as the Conservative motion did would be both reckless and disrespectful of the efforts that we have all put in together to get this far. By following the advice of public health officials, we’ve achieved one of the world’s lowest death rates per capita — a third of the death rate in the United States. Canada’s chief public health officer has indicated it’s time to re-evaluate the country’s approach, and I support that.

First off to compare us to the U.S. is like saying “you’re the tallest of the seven dwarfs” as the U.S. has had a failed Covid policy as is reflected by their outcomes. You state we’ve achieved one of the lowest death rates per capita, well when I go to Worldometers that doesn’t appear to be the case. Simply take a look at the “third world countries” in South America, Asia and Africa and they’ve faired far better in deaths per 1.0M of population than Canada. Given they have far less resources than “first world countries” shouldn’t their results be an abysmal failure, which would beg the question to be asked, what are they doing differently? To coin an old phrase “inquiring minds want to know” well apparently in Canada they don’t, at least in the “political class!” Even in Asia take a look at Japan their deaths per 1.0M in population stand at 167 while Canada is 937, please tell me how that’s one of the lowest in the world? I would encourage you to take a look at the progressive policies Japan implemented from the start to protect their citizens, policies which were undergirded in protection not politicization. You may not be aware but Japan has no forced vaccine mandate, they feel that their citizens should be left with that individual choice, unlike Canada!

I know there are residents who are done with the pandemic and simply want all restrictions immediately lifted. Many are still very concerned for the health of their vulnerable loved ones. I hear you. We need to hang in there and stick together a while longer. For me personally I’m done with the “politics of Covid and the pandemic.”

Respectfully sir, we are all concerned about the health of our fellow citizens, however, it seems clear from the data that the approach taken thus far, hasn’t done what it’s been sold as doing. What Canadians are looking for is not perfection in their politicians, but some humility and introspection. Canadians can clearly see that the approach taken isn’t working, but instead of elected civil servants and public health experts admitting as much and being willing to take a different approach (such as what’s working elsewhere) they vilify those who disagree and double down more on a failed approach.

For all of the reasons above, I voted in opposition to the Conservative motion. I strongly believe that public health measures must be evaluated based on science, not political considerations.

Totally concur, however respectfully sir, to date this hasn’t occurred amongst those whose duty it’s been to lead this charge. You cite all the reasons above, well based on what I’ve shared with you, do those reasons still apply?

Like all Canadians, we want to see a plan to move forward but the federal government has to do that by working with public health experts and with the safety and security of Canadians in mind. We must never again allow our health care system to be pushed to the brink of collapse. The federal government must step up immediately with the long-term funding needs to protect and expand public health care across Canada.

In all the time I’ve lived in Canada all there hasn’t been a time when the funding was ever enough. According to those in charge, it’s always on the brink, this is nothing new. If the solution simply were more funds, than I would put you how is it that “third world countries” have achieved far greater success in tackling covid, given their limited resources. I would also remind you that we have spent ourselves into oblivion and saddled the next generations with massive amounts of debt. At the end of the day these new funds will not come from the “federal government” as you say, they are going to come out of the pockets of the “taxpayers,” government isn’t an enterprise that is self sustaining and wealth creating.

The federal government must not wait until this pandemic is over to begin acting on critical lessons learned. The Liberals must step up immediately and show leadership by:

Providing stable, long-term funding via the Canada Health Transfer to increase capacity in the health care system.
Improving access to PCR and rapid antigen testing and personal protective equipment for all Canadian health care workers and households.
Improving access to booster shots for all Canadians.
Waiving intellectual property rights on global COVID-19 vaccines and accelerating Canada’s vaccine donations.

Respectfully sir what you say is “half true,” it’s time that all elected civil servants from all parties stepped up and finally displayed leadership. There has been a “pandemic” of leadership at all levels of government and across all parties. There should be no one, from any party taking a “victory lap” based on the results thus far, it’s not deserved, that’s why Canadians are frustrated. I would challenge you to show true leadership and not rely upon talking points when it comes to Covid, in the past it may have been sufficient, however for the first time Canadians are waking up and realizing they have a role to play in democracy and that’s to be engaged and hold those who’ve been given the responsibility of governance to merit it.
Thank you for writing,

Randall