Check It Out: Canadians tell their stories

By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com

A TV show called “Faytene” has been receiving tons of emails and phone calls from people who have tough stories to tell and are desperate to find someone to advocate on their behalf. Faytene Grasseschi, who hosts the show, said these people aren’t expressing any dishonour to their government leaders, but also acknowledge that their stories need to be heard.

When asked why she advocates for Canadians, she said it’s because government isn’t just about government. The policies that are made by our leaders and are instituted on the ground impact people, like our children and our moms and dads. She shared a sample of some of these stories, that represent many, many other similar experiences.

Joe McCrae from Melfort, SK shared a story about his son, Joel who was diagnosed with a disease that causes pressure on his brain. Joel had a headache, collapsed and was rushed to Saskatoon where he had an MRI. Joel required laser surgery which was available in Winnipeg, and performed in 2017. Now he needs to get an MRI every six months to see how his brain is doing, but in May of 2020 his scheduled MRI was cancelled. In October of 2020 he was playing outside at school, collapsed and had another incident. He was supposed to have laser surgery in November in Winnipeg, but it was also cancelled due to Covid. Now he is waiting for another rescheduled laser surgery.

Joe hears from numerous people who thank him for speaking up about situations like these that are very hard on families. He said, although it takes courage and strength to speak up, it’s still worth it, because Canadians have to keep fighting for their families and their rights and freedoms. Joe has set up a go fund me page which raised over $11,000. The funds go towards situations similar to his son’s where financial help is needed.

Barb Elliott from Toronto also shared her story about her attempt to visit her senior-aged mother who lives in her own home in New Brunswick. Three scheduled trips had been cancelled since April, 2020. Barb recently booked a flight, with intentions to quarantine with her mother and then stay an additional week to celebrate her mom’s birthday. When she landed in New Brunswick at midnight, security officials required her to register online to enter the province. Brenda registered online and visited a customs officer, where she was denied entry into the province. She was told the only way she could enter was if her mother was dying or had died. She was then escorted outside into the parking lot where she had to break the news to her mom who had arrived to pick her up.

Brenda spent the night in a motel room where she contacted a constitutional lawyer from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. This is a non-profit law charity that defends the freedoms of Canadians. The lawyer said, although her constitutional rights had been breached, if she refused to return to Toronto, she would be arrested, sent to jail and fined. All this, in spite of the fact that both she and her mother had received negative test results and were prepared to quarantine.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has received at least 800 similar stories. Brenda has also heard many, many sad stories since she posted her experience on line. She reached out to her premier and other MPP’s, and noted that one MPP called her personally and offered some advice.

Liz Fidey from Ontario shared her story concerning her 24 year old son who has an intellectual disability. He was terminated from his day program when he told the program’s staff he didn’t want to get the vaccine. The day program was his life, teaching him skills and providing him with social interaction with his friends. Even though he was willing to obey all the rules such as masking, sanitizing and social distancing, he was terminated. He had been attending the program full-time for the last three years. Now he is at the bottom of the list to be admitted to another day program, which are all restricted in numbers at the present time.

The stories of these three individuals are not unique. Instead, they are similar to the stories of thousands of Canadians throughout the country.