Discrimination or common sense?

The war against the pandemic spread of COVID-19 has sent Islanders underground for several months — at the behest and direction of the chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison and Premier Dennis King.

As a vintage Canadian born during the Second World War, I am fully aware that I am in the highest risk category for succumbing to the virus. For this reason and many others, I am most grateful that the restrictions on travel and assembly set out by Dr. Morrison and government officials have been faithfully followed by most Islanders. I believe that most of the restrictions, both current and planned, meet common sense criteria, although a few do not. For some of our fellow Islanders the siege has been painful. Loss of income; inability to visit dying family and friends, and to mourn their loss; separation and loss of physical contact with children, grandchildren and close friends; loss of interaction with faith communities; loss of access to medical professionals; loss of live cultural and sports activities; and loss of educational opportunities are but a few of the privations that Islanders have experienced.

Now that restrictions are gradually being removed, Islanders must remain vigilant and steadfast in their willingness to follow the guidelines established by health authorities. The expectation that a second wave of the virus will strike in the fall should be of great concern to all of us. If it spreads like the first wave, the very young and the very old will once again be in the front lines. The old because of their physical frailty, and the very young because they will be in daycare centres in which “distancing” and other precautions are nearly impossible to manage.

Despite the fact that all of our cases of COVID-19 have been travel-related, the announcement by Premier King that summer residents would be exempt from rigorous travel restrictions does not pass the common sense test. It appears that it is a political decision, not a health decision. According to media reports, the premier’s decision may have been motivated by threats from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Of course, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the large cudgel it carries. According to the Charter, we are afforded many protections, but they are not guaranteed in times of national emergencies. Surely, the COVID-19 pandemic must be considered to be a national emergency. There appears to be a consensus in the Canadian legal community that Charter challenges would be unsuccessful.

In recent articles published in the Charlottetown Guardian, it was suggested that Islanders discriminate against newcomers which, I assume, includes summer residents. Islanders should find this observation offensive and not supported by experience. Of course, it brings up the old debate about who is an Islander. Were they referring to people who were born here, or to all Islanders, many of whom are Islanders by choice? In my opinion, every new arrival to the Island has enriched our collective experience and I am most appreciative of their contributions.

Many Islanders, regardless of how they are defined, are very concerned about the return of summer residents, not because they discriminate against them, but because they fear that all the hardships they have endured over the past several months will have been for naught. Health officials and their political partners must be supremely optimistic if they believe that the 2,300 returnees expected will quietly and directly disperse to their summer abodes once they reach P.E.I. During the required two weeks of isolation will they not eat? Will they not fuel up their vehicles? Will they not procure personal products and other needed sundries?

I believe that most summer residents are responsible and dependable folk whom we should be glad to welcome back — but, not now, not yet.