Mr. Speaker, I would like to add my voice to those who are thinking of Alberta during the most recent outbreaks. I spent five years of my life there, and in 2013, when I was personally evacuated, I saw first-hand what a good neighbour looks like. There was hardly a person I knew who was not picking up scrap from their neighbour's yard and making sure they had groceries and were taken care of.
However, during this debate, I sit here stunned. Living in Nova Scotia, I sometimes hear people say, “Where you stand depends on where you sit.” We have had the benefit of a thoughtful pandemic response from a public health point of view. We are in a lockdown now, after seeing our cases go into double digits and now triple digits for a few days. The collective response has been one of acceptance.
We know that the option is not between a lockdown and not a lockdown. The option is between having a short and serious lockdown or a lengthy and drawn out lock down. Those who have studied pandemic responses around the world, as seen during COVID-19, have found that the jurisdictions that have embraced a strict and swift lockdown have seen a lesser impact on their economy and their public's health, and fewer restrictions on their civil liberties.
I am curious if the member could offer commentary on the importance of following the epidemiological research and science to understand that we need to be neighbourly once again and need to support Albertans with financial supports, federally and provincially, to ensure that they can afford to do the right thing and stay home.