City council votes to remove COVID-19 restrictions in P.A.

Before the vote took place, many city councillors shared their reluctance to the motion, believing that it’s too soon for the province to lift these measures.

Councilor Dennis Ogrodnick was one of those who voted against the motion, believing the province was basing its decision on politics instead of listening to what those in the medical community are saying.

“I think and wish that governments of all levels would listen to what the experts are saying. The people that have trained their entire lives for making these tough decisions; I wish we would listen to them and keep politics out of this.”

Terra Lennox-Zepp also voted against the motion, saying she’s worried that lifting the restrictions could lead to higher cases and more stress on local health care workers. She added the city went above and beyond by implementing measures for city-owned facilities, something not in the provincial rules.

Like Ogrodnick, she had hoped the province would listen more to Medical Health Officers and follow their advice.

“Let’s end these restrictions the same way we started them, by following the advice of our Medical Health Officers.”

Despite voting for the motion, Mayor Greg Dionne said he’s frustrated with the province and will challenge them and find a solution to help the thousands of people waiting for surgery or who died because they waited too long.

“So, you lift a mandate. What is that going to do for the over 40,000 people that are on the waiting list for surgery? I want the government to come clean and tell us how many people have died over the last two years because we couldn’t get a bed because the hospital was filled with unvaccinated COVID patients.”

“To me, you got to prioritize who gets the hospital bed. Is it the innocent person that got cancer that did nothing wrong? Or is it the person that had the choice and decided not to take their choice?”

In November, the provincial government released statistics showing that about 26,000 surgeries were postponed from the middle of March 2020 to October 2021.

In December, the province said about 35,000 residents were on a waitlist for surgeries but the Health Minister admitted that number could be higher.

At that time, the province presented a plan to eliminate COVID-19 surgical backlogs by 2025 and achieve a three-month wait time by 2030. The plan also called for an increase of 7,000 surgeries in 2022-2023; 6,000 the following year and 5,000 the year after.

Other councillors who expressed reluctance to vote on the motion said they felt handcuffed and obligated to follow the provincial rules, even though they felt it was too soon.

Councillor Ted Zurakowski shared comments from the public library’s recent monthly meeting where they acknowledged that they wanted to follow the city’s direction on COVID-19 measures.

In announcing the dates for the lifting of restrictions earlier this week, Premier Scott Moe said the proof of vaccination policy was creating divisions in the province and that it had run its course. He added the vaccine is not stopping people from getting the virus, something many medical experts have refuted.

–With files from 980 CJME

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @pa_craddock

by Derek Craddock

City council votes to remove COVID-19 restrictions in P.A.

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