On Wednesday, May 12, 2021, Philip Lawrence, Conservative Member of Parliament for Northumberland – Peterborough South; co-sponsored by riding MPP David Piccini and endorsed by riding Mayors, Chiefs and Warden, sent a letter to Honourable Minister Bill Blair regarding securing the border.
“The Government’s failure to secure the border and prevent the further spread of variants has cost Canadians their lives and livelihoods. We have a small window of opportunity to act, and we must move now.” – MP Philip Lawrence, MP Northumberland – Peterborough South.
May 12, 2021
Honourable Bill Blair
Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Minister Blair
It has now been over a year since the COVID-19 virus made its way into Canada and the pandemic is at its worst point ever. As Canada continues to record high case counts, hospitals are facing dangerous ICU capacity issues. While Canadians have faced lockdowns for the better part of the last year, the curve is continuing to steepen.
Throughout the pandemic, COVID-positive flights have continued to land in Canada. With them, they have brought the risk of new variants. These variants continue to present a great risk to our country; not only are they more transmissible by nature than the original COVID strain, but they present a possible threat to the effectiveness of vaccinations.
Canadians are being told not to go to work, and not to send their children to school. Many have been in isolation for over a year. Canadians mental and physical health is suffering now more than ever, yet hundreds of international flights continue to land in Canada each week, bringing in the variant strains. We have a small window of opportunity to act, and we must move now!
On behalf of my ridings’, Mayors, Chiefs and Councilors, today we are calling on Justin Trudeau to take action and secure Canada’s borders. He must temporarily suspend flights from all hot spot countries immediately, implement mandatory PCR testing for interprovincial travel and fix the loopholes at our land crossings. The risk to Canadians has been and continues to be, too great.
Sincerely
Philip Lawrence Member of Parliament
Northumberland – Peterborough South
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
