THE RIGHT TO DISAGREE

I am 74 years old and have lived on P.E.I. for the past 20 years. I believe that we Islanders are among the luckiest people in the world right now — we’ve escaped the terrifying scenario that has befallen many of our sister provinces and territories as well as the rest of the world because our medical and government leadership sought to take immediate steps to protect the populace by locking down the various access points to our province. They also demanded that anyone entering the province be quarantined for the maximum 14 days. This resulted in our only having 27 cases of COVID-19 on P.E.I., something we should all be very proud of.

The government has laid down detailed requirements, in the form of requisitions which must filled out and approve before a visitor will be allowed to come and reside here for the summer. And, like a lot of you who, like I, are worried about the possibility that these visitors may be bringing the virus to the Island and start spreading it around, it seems highly unlikely that that will happen, given all the prerequisites that have to be fulfilled. I disagree with the decision to do this and I have to wonder why and who were part of the thought process that could endanger the safety we all feel right now. But it has to happen sooner or later and I feel that, if done like this, in a staged, carefully orchestrated manner, we should not fear the result of anyone coming to here. Yes, I'm worried — as a senior, and as a member of my community — but I believe we don’t have to resort to threatening anyone like what has been going on these past couple of days. Disagree, sure, it’s your right to do that — but it’s not your right to threaten or besmirch anyone.

Terry Tanner, Summerside