OCLA received an email on January 30, 2021, from a Canadian couple planning to return home from travel in Russia.
The writer of the email describes the relatively sane conditions in Russia and compares them to the draconian reality in Canada:
“Just to give you some perspective, in Russia we are free. They did impose a lock down for the first couple of weeks that the pandemic was announced. They did a progressive reopening afterwards and the entire economy was reopened. They did get a second wave, the case numbers are high here, but they did not impose any additional lockdowns. For perspective, we are in a city that had as many case numbers in a day that Canada did for the entire nation. However, people here look at the low mortality rate and apply common sense in how they are dealing with things. Russians are certainly more courageous than the average Canadian.”
The full message is below:
Subject:
Help- My wife and I are in Russia
Message:
My wife and I are in Russia, and we were supposed to return to Canada
on the 16th of February. We were watching the news closely, and we
were both appalled at these new measures. It is beyond reason to me
why this severe and draconian set of measures were necessary in light
of the national Covid numbers decreasing. My wife and I had our plan
set, given the last set of measures imposed at the start of January,
to do the test at the airport and to go directly home from the
airport. We had provisions being delivered to the house and we were
prepared to sit in our house for the 14 days alone. The government is
not clear if their suggested $2,000.00 bill would apply to both of us
jointly or separately. I do not understand how this is constitutional;
furthermore, it would seem to spit in the face of common law as well.
I’ve stayed at 5+ star hotels in the past and haven’t had to pay
anything close to two grand. I’ve seen what these hotels look like,
and it is more a prison than a hotel. I’ve seen the type of food they
are serving at these hotels and I can put forward that people in jail
eat better than what one would expect in one of these facilities.
We are not reconsidering our return, for the price to push our tickets
forward is far less expensive than the anticipated stay expense at
this prison hotel. I think the concentration of people in a
non-medical, hotel facility puts us in greater danger than had we been
allowed to just go home.
Just to give you some perspective, in Russia we are free. They did
impose a lock down for the first couple of weeks that the pandemic was
announced. They did a progressive reopening afterwards and the entire
economy was reopened. They did get a second wave, the case numbers are
high here, but they did not impose any additional lockdowns. For
perspective, we are in a city that had as many case numbers in a day
that Canada did for the entire nation. However, people here look at
the low mortality rate and apply common sense in how they are dealing
with things. Russians are certainly more courageous than the average
Canadian. Yes, they ask people to wear masks in businesses, the
subway, and in malls. No, they are not limiting family gatherings and
there is no enforcement unit running around looking to give people a
hard time. Yes you can get a ticket for certain things, but these
incidents are few and far between. The case numbers here are starting
to lower despite the fact that everything is open. I can use the
subway, I can go to a restaurant, all stores and other businesses are
open for business.
I grew up in the era where people in the West thought ill of the
controlling Soviet Union. I can not believe that I can personally say
that a person is free in Russia and not free in Canada. The world has
turned upside down, and I feel safer here than I would back home. It
is mindblowing to me that the Canadian Government helped illegal
border crossers come into the country, brought them to a normal hotel,
gave them income, food and other benefits at taxpayers expense;
specifically, we sanctioned and paid for what is technically illegal
activity. In my situation, my wife and I are citizens, we pay our
taxes, we had no forewarning that these measures would come into play
when we left Canada, and we are expected to pay an exorbitant fee to
be treated worse than a prisoner upon our return to Canada. This is a
disgrace. I am so ashamed of my government.
I’m at my wits end over this. I don’t know if you could offer any
guidance.
