Hamilton MP Condemns the Lockdown & wants the Restrictions Lifted
Flamborough-Glanbrook, Conservative MP David Sweet has joined the cause of speaking against lockdowns. He voiced his concerns in a joint press conference with MPP Roman Baber.
Baber, who had already broken his silence on the harms of lockdowns some time ago, ended up being forced out of the Progressive Conservative Party by Premier Doug Ford for expressing his views.
This specific press conference marks the first time one of Erin O’toole’s CPC members has spoken against lockdown’s. Although MP Derek Sloan, who was forced out of the CPC caucus in January 2021, has also started to speak out about the harms of lockdowns.
Sweet had some very strong insight in regard to this topic. “Locking healthy people down is not a sustainable answer to try to stem the tide of a virus, and only creates hardship for healthy people… These many restrictions are causing unparalleled risk to Canadians… Lockdowns by nature are a threat to mental health.” Sweet went on to say that our celebrations, social gatherings, and basically any event that brings us connection is part of what makes us human and is therefore a need.
O’toole has commented stating, “Frustration is understandable but it should not lead to counterproductive behavior… My view and the view of the CPC is that we respect the work being done by our premiers and health officials throughout this crisis.”
Both Sweet and Baber spoke to their concerns surrounding long term facilities. They agree that COVID-19 should be taken seriously but that the focus needs to shift to taking care of the safety of these facilities.
“The priority of the government efforts,” says Sweet, “should focus on the protection of the vulnerable in long-term care facilities, congregate settings, and establishing income supplementation programs for those with pre-existing conditions.”
Sweet also spoke to the obvious harm that our economy and those running small businesses have endured. “ Over 100,000 restaurants have closed in Canada. CFIB says that small businesses now bear 135 billion in debt due to government measures in response to the pandemic. Much of this debt was mandated by governments who wanted PPE, sanitization, plexiglass barriers, and the list goes on.”
On December 26, 2020, Premier Ford announced a strict province wide lockdown for Ontario that came with a stay at home order. No one was allowed to leave their homes for anything that wasn’t absolutely essential. Only recently have some of these restrictions eased slightly. The province has gone back to color coded area identifiers to direct people on the social measures. Sweet’s area is still in red which means they still have strict health restrictions in place.
There have been several Doctors as well who have been stepping forward and speaking to the unnecessary lockdown measure. One being Dr. Kulvinder Kaur Gill, another Dr. Gil Nimni, and Dr. Patrick Phillips. Phillips has even shared his viewpoints with us here at TBT.
A non-partisan group has also been formed called the End Lockdowns National Caucus. The LCC (Liberty Coalition Canada) is in support of this group of elected politicians striving to achieve one singular goal; end lockdowns.
