By Staff
March 16th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington Member of |Parliament and Member of the Trudeau Cabinet said this morning:
I understand that these are worrying times. I want you to rest assured that the time to act is now. We have the opportunity to stem the spread of Covid-19 by practicing social distancing and staying home if we’re feeling unwell. The measures the Government is putting in place are precautionary in order to try and avoid the crisis situation that other countries around the world are facing.
Karina Gould – Burlington MP, Minister in the Trudeau government.
These are scary times, I know. But we all have a role to play in protecting ourselves, our families and friends, and our community at large. We are experiencing something that most of us have never lived through before. But if we are responsible, caring and compassionate, I believe we can get through this safely. I will continue to send out regular updates with the latest information from the Government of Canada. It is important we maintain calm. Panicking might actually worsen the situation.
The Prime Minister and key Cabinet Members will be holding daily press conferences to update Canadians on the evolving situation. Please tune in at 1pm today for the first.
To help prevent the spread of Covid-19 I have decided to close my constituency office to in-person visits and postpone our Volunteer Income Tax Clinic until further notice. My staff and I will still be fully operational by phone and email. Please see below for further information.
If you have returned from traveling abroad, please self-isolate for 14 days upon your return. The Government is also asking Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel.
As I have said, COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving global challenge. Over the past weeks and month, we have taken significant steps to ensure that Canadians are kept safe and to slow the spread of the virus. As a government, we will continue to make decisions based on recommendations of medical experts, public health authorities, and top scientists.
Karina in campaign mode – out in the community.
As we progress through this challenge, I will continue to write to you with updates to make sure that you are informed and reiterate important information as a reminder to continue to use best practices.
As I have said, to help limit the spread of COVID-19, you are encouraged to:
• wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• monitor symptoms for a fever and dry cough
• coughing or sneezing into a tissue or the bend of your arm, not your hand
• and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, with unwashed hands
• practice social distancing and to stay home if you have any symptoms.
For more information on the resources available to Canadians and how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, please visit Canada.ca/covid19 or call the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 information line at 1-833-784-4397 between the hours of 7am and Midnight 7 days a week.
I know these are difficult times, but Canadians, and Burlingtonians, are a resilient bunch and we will get through this together. The Government of Canada stands by our commitment to Canadians and will continue to look for ways to support citizens and businesses through this situation.
Very well said Stephen. Your experiences unfortunately mirror mine to a tee, especially when it comes to our MP Karina Gould. She was elected to represent all of the constituents of Burlington, not to pick and choose who she represents.
If she doesn’t want to answer the tough questions and pertinent concerns from her constituents, then maybe she should just step down.
Avoiding, or not answering constituents concerns, or having her assistant answer them is not what I was expecting from our elected representative, nor should anyone else be accepting of this.
I am still awaiting a reply to my email as to why the federal government thought it was a good idea to ship 16 tonnes of PPE to China in February, when the WHO was warning the world at the time of a coming Corona virus pandemic…and what role our MP played in that decision?
On Thursday the Burlington Post’s entire front page was devoted to an appeal from Joseph Brant Hospital to the public, for unopened, not expired boxes of:
Surgical masks, N95 masks, Face shields, Gloves, and Gowns. The same PPE equipment that was shipped to China in February, that our frontline healthcare providers so desperately need now.
Time to step up. It’s way past time for our representative in Ottawa to start dealing with the real issues and concerns for all of the constituents in Burlington.
“Burlington MP Karina Gould will keep in close touch with her constituents”. Really?
I sent an e-mail to her four weeks ago regarding the blockades. I’m still awaiting a response from her office. ..not even so much as the courtesy of an e-mail acknowledgement.
What is it with these Burlington Liberal MPs and MPPs? Their communication skills are nothing short of pitiful…or do they only respond to loyal Liberal Party supporters? Two years ago I wrote to former MPP Eleanor McMahon, and it took two months to get a reply with the usual boilerplate drivel. Paddy Torsney’s standard response time was about six weeks. I’m surprised I didn’t get a letter delivered by a carrier pigeon. So much for electronic communication.
Spare us from blandishments and the usual recitations about “washing hands” and “social distancing”. Instead, try focusing on responding to real constituents with real issues and real concerns, and stop treating the public like we’re all three years old.