Editor:
It is indeed shameful in the midst of a worldwide pandemic for CEOs in the travel sector such as our Canadian airlines and tourist firms to be using social media to encourage people to travel against the advice of our health experts. Earning 200 times what your average Canadian worker earns and refusing even to reimburse folks for cancelled flights – it’s ethically inexcusable and demands government intervention to put a stop to this unfettered greed that places immediate profits over the health and safety of our courageous frontline workers.
The same applies to those politicians who videotape their holiday messages of good will to stay safe and shut-in while they are actually at a Caribbean resort. I hope Canadians will remember who these officials are when the next election comes around. “Do as I say, not as I do” is the most egregious example of those irresponsible and selfish members of our elite who should set examples for all.
Canada can do so much better, but we must all now accept additional temporary safety measures – and enforce them if necessary – to get us out of this nightmare sooner in order to have a resurgent, robust economy that does not prosper on the backs of the most vulnerable and courageous. As pandemic expert Yaneer Bar-Yam, founder of EndCoronavirus.org, has noted, other countries have successfully done so, including Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Vietnam, but their focus was on the safety of the whole community and a sensible strategic economic recovery not falsely dichotomized with safety restrictions.
Jürgen Dankwort, Sechelt
