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Letter: What is freedom?

‘Freedom has been appropriated by a minority of Canadians to mean my freedom and no one else’s.’
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Dear editor,

My dad was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, as were many other young men of his age group. The few men of this era who are still with us must now sit and watch the memorial of the unknown soldier be desecrated in the name of freedom.

What is freedom? A state where a small minority is listened to over the wishes of a large majority? This freedom is not mentioned in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Canada is not a tyrannical dictatorship; it is a highly respected member of the world community. To be a member of a community is to be respectful and work together.

The small minority that are crying for this freedom do not want to be participants in a country that supports freedom. In my opinion they want a country that does not listen to the majority but only to a few: them.

They want the close to 90 per cent of Canadians (including truck drivers) who are vaccinated to sit and watch as their hospitals are at over capacity. To watch health care being rationed or delayed because our medical personal and infrastructure can’t keep up to the 19 times admission rate (vaccinated compared to unvaccinated admission per capita) admissions. To watch life threatening or life altering surgeries being cancelled or delayed. To watch the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier being desecrated.

My wish for us is to stop and think about what is freedom? Is it getting my way all the time or is it living together and working for the common good? Is it driving around with a bumper sticker or sign demanding freedom and holding a country and its people hostage? Is freedom living free of tyranny where a few people can overtake the well-being of the majority?

Freedom to live with hope, respect, adequate food, clothing, shelter and being able to elect our government and wait to elect a different government if we don’t like the present one; freedom to receive health care (in a timely fashion) that Canadians have become accustomed to: These are some of the freedoms I believe our WWII vets fought for.

Somehow freedom has been appropriated by a minority of Canadians to mean my freedom and no one else’s. This small minority is causing much trouble and heartache for most Canadians along the way.

I submit this letter to speak up for all (patients and staff) who have suffered from delayed, cancelled or any other form of inadequate health care, caused by the tyranny of the minority.

Just my opinion – I have no plans to organize a GoFundMe site or to block or impede access to critical government infrastructure.

Lynne Martens,

Ponoka