Chris Clegg
When United Conservative Party leader hopeful Danielle Smith speaks, it is difficult to take her seriously.
After all, this was the traitor who jumped ship Dec. 14, 2014 to join the party in power under former premier Jim Prentice. It cost her dearly. She was all but wiped off the political map before her recent comeback attempt. Even her local constituency supporters were disgusted with her and rightly so! They tossed her out the door like yesterday’s milk.
Last week, she outdid herself during the campaign.
“What happened over the last two years must never happen again. . .Let me be clear: as your premier, our province will never lock down again!”
Of course, she was referring to the Jason Kenney government’s decision to lock down.
The Freedom Convoy people must be overjoyed at Smith’s latest rant!
But take a look at what Smith said with an open mind. It has all the indications of a rambling fool desperate to get every vote she can.
First, and this newspaper has written this before, you can find information in medical journals, newspapers and the Internet that totally supports wearing masks and not wearing masks. Differing opinions on COVID are rampant. People are free to choose to believe what they want to believe. If the medical community can not agree, how is the public supposed to sort it out? Conflicting reports as the pandemic raged on only confused and frustrated the public more. Hence the formation of organizations such as the Freedom Convoy 2022 and the basic right of freedom to choose coming to the forefront.
Smith’s words of “never lock down again” are foolish. How Smith can predict the future is incredible.
It is possible [we hope unlikely] that another virus will come along some day and be more serious than COVID. Perhaps another disease. Perhaps another strain of COVID. It may be the prudent action to order a lockdown. Medical advice may be so overwhelming there is no choice. If in charge, will Smith be so silly to avoid sage advice and “never lock down again” when hospitals are bursting at the seams and morgues are full? Will she be so crass?
Smith sounds like a member of the former federal Rhino Party, which was active in the 1960s to the 1990s. They used political satire to ridicule everything. One was building a railway to Japan to ship natural resources cheaper. No problem. They would use the Rocky Mountains for dirt. They just blocked the view anyway. Smith’s lockdown statement borders on witless satire, not one based on fact.
Every disease is different, every pandemic is different. To callously group them into a single policy is not good judgment and one we hope – if she is elected – does not become the norm of her government.
Freedom of choice is a valued right of Albertans and Canadians, and not one to be taken lightly during a campaign by a desperate candidate trying to woo votes.
However, we suggest to Smith, and all candidates for that matter, to examine the available facts, then make a sound decision.