A message from Red Deer South MLA Jason Stephan

This week I stood in the Alberta Legislature making a Member Statement sharing the sentiments of many constituents in Red Deer which I share.

Lockdowns and shutdowns destroy livelihoods, undermining long term mental and emotional health. Young adults and our children, generally at lower risk from COVID, can be particularly vulnerable, and need to see less fear and excessive risk aversion and more freedom and hope.

The statement:

Please find attached the full text of the Member Statement with the references to the Speaker removed. The video of the member statement is available here:

I am blessed to be the father of two adult sons and a teenage daughter who I love.

Like many parents, I am concerned about the impact health orders are having on the mental health of our children.

I feel job watching my sons become independent of their parents, to seek happiness as the individually see fit.

Yet, like many parents, I see the work and effort of young adults threatened by calls for lockdowns with devastating economic consequences.

This ought not to be.  Some of the loudest voices calling for lockdowns, will not lose a penny of pay, while those impacted may lose it all.

COVID should be respected; but children are low risk – not a single school age child has died from COVID in Alberta.  Yet, there is excessive risk aversion – a single positive COVID case in a high school should not result in 118 other students sent home to isolate, just because they were in the same class, notwithstanding physical distancing is respected, with good health and no symptoms.

School sports, colleges and universities are too shut down.

There is excessive risk aversion and fear – with negative long-term health impacts for children and young adults at low risk from COVID.

There needs to be a principled vision of hope.

The WHO defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Orders, lockdowns and shutdowns are not healthy – imposing long term physical, mental and social health costs, especially on our children.

Click this link to see this statement as it was made in the Alberta Legislature: https://www.facebook.com/JasonStephanMLA/videos/137607104371116/