Open for possibilities
Please let me start by thanking our Chief Public Health Office and the provincial government employees who have been on the front lines executing and implementing the public policy and protocol throughout this COVID-19 crisis!
Our province is the envy of the world on our handling of this pandemic and every Islander should be very proud of what we all have accomplished so far, but we still have much more work to do in order to beat this virus and keep our province healthy.
On July 3 at 5.30 a.m., I stood on the TransCanada Highway by the Confederation Bridge welcoming Atlantic Canadians to our Island as we opened the now famous "Atlantic bubble". I was there to support our premier and let him know even though it was a tough decision his government made; it was the right decision at the right time.
The "bubble" has been a huge success in that it has proven we can travel and benefit economically, although in a much smaller scale inside the bubble, if we continue to follow the safety protocols in place.
We are now four months into the "bubble" and I truly believe we can get much more economically out of the "bubble" than we are presently, and I will give you some examples.
In every Atlantic province, Loblaws, Walmart, Costco, Sobeys, and many other large retailers have been operating successfully under their assigned protocols without incident. The QMJHL hockey league has been operating inside the "bubble" very successfully now for many weeks. Yes, they have had a few bumps in the road but have done a great job following the assigned protocols.
This leads me to believe that minor hockey tournaments should be able to take place, under assigned safety protocols. Likewise, Atlantic University Sports should be able to follow similar protocols.
These activities are huge economic contributors: they rent buses, hotel rooms, buy fuel, purchase tolls on our bridge and food from our restaurants and pay much needed taxes which benefits every Islander.
I look at the great job our public schools have done bringing back the students safely and successfully, and it begs the question as to why our university does not have students back fully on campus or why many federal employees are not back in their offices in both Charlottetown and Summerside. These activities can be done safely and are critical in keeping our Island’s small economy moving forward.
We already have a "new" normal now because of COVID-19 and it could be with us for a while longer. Let’s keep working to get more out of the Atlantic bubble economically and socially, and do it safely.