Canada’s snowbirds are being unfairly villainized

It would appear from the opinion pages of most media outlets that the view of the “snowbird” population — Canadians who head to warmer climes for the winter — is not only negative, but in many cases malicious.

We have been accused of being pandemic spreaders, if not originators; extremely selfish; and recently by the Star’s Shawn Micallef, even “feral.”

With apologies to Al Gore, here are some inconvenient truths about snowbirds:

Wuhan, China is not a popular snowbird destination. Contrary to various opinions, we did not start this pandemic. Nor are we considered “superspreaders” by any statistical measure. For the most part, snowbirds tend to head south in the winter to Florida, California and Arizona.

By heading south, we are not a burden on the overstretched Canadian acute care system. This makes room for more vulnerable Canadians who need to stay in Canada for health or economic reasons.

Snowbirds buy travel insurance, and if needed can take advantage of the more robust U.S. health care system. According to a 2017 report, the U.S. has 25 per cent more acute care hospital beds per capita than Canada.

Snowbirds are an older demographic, and as a result are more prone to health-related injuries both physically and mentally. Not being able to exercise safely due to cold weather impacts us. Staying days on end in a gloomy environment is not good for anyone, and is especially bad for this demographic.

COVID vaccines are available to resident snowbirds in the U.S., and many thousands of Canadians have taken advantage of getting the vaccine this way. This means that everyone in Canada not vaccinated moves closer to the front of the line, thanks to snowbirds.

Based on the stringent new Canadian testing requirements for travellers, snowbirds returning home are arguably the most COVID-free population on earth. They need a negative test to get on a plane and they get tested again upon arriving in Canada, spending up to three days in mandatory quarantine.

Yes, I’m a snowbird — but my days of being “feral” are well behind me. I admit I can be selfish. The major reason my wife and I came to our place down south was to get the vaccine.

My wife regularly volunteers at a food bank.

She is not considered an essential worker, but if you have ever been to one you would wonder why not. We also need to help our working daughter with our grandchild. As most of my family would like to keep us around, they were delighted we got vaccinated.

And yes, I am strongly against punishing returning snowbirds by interning them in hotels for a number of days.

Frank O’Brien lives in Bradenton, Fla., and Mississauga. Formerly a chief credit officer, he is now a full-time