Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce brings out its Weekly Newsletter Feb 5

ICCC Weekly Newsletter

05 FEBRUARY

President’s View

RIPUDAMAN SINGH DHILLON

Time to lift pandemic-related restrictions

The time is nigh for the pandemic restrictions to be lifted globally. There are risks involved in the re-emergence of new variants but after two years of living with COVID-19 the world’s population is conversant with the risks and a majority have taken the right approach to deal with the challenge by getting vaccinated.

More than 80% of Canadians have been vaccinated with two doses and 44% with the booster. It is likely that in 2022, we may need another round of vaccine shots, but that is a small price to pay for a swift return to normalcy. While there are many aspects to handling this challenge, the governments both at the federal level and in the provinces and the cities are proactively advocating for full vaccination of the population. This has proven to be a divisive matter, with a minuscule percentage of the population resolutely choosing to remain unvaccinated. In the larger interest of all Canadians, it would be futile to expect this minority to acquiesce to the majority’s demand. But it is time to realize that the pandemic restrictions have affected the vaccinated — who are substantially more in numbers — than the unvaccinated.

The adversities that small business owners have faced during the last two years have only partially been offset by the largess that the federal and provincial governments have given. But this is not a permanent fix. Canada must acknowledge that robust economic activity will get it back on track and fight inflation (which is at a 30 year high). Equally importantly, it will put an end to the sudden rise of unsavory forces that are threatening to take over the carefully crafted Canadian ethos of accommodation of diverse views.