With upheaval from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, enveloping the country, a Conservative MP is setting partisanship aside and offering a message of hope and solidarity to all Canadians.
“This crisis is going to end,” Dane Lloyd said in an interview. “It could end in a few weeks, it could end in a few months, but it is going to end.”
On March 12, Lloyd attended a luncheon at the Rideau Club in Ottawa where Alberta Premier Jason Kenney delivered remarks. During his talk he touched on the Spanish Flu of 1918, a pandemic that infected some 500 million people around the world and caused around 50 million deaths. Kenney emphasized the importance of government coming together with a coordinated response to the CCP virus.
In the House of Commons that afternoon, Lloyd had planned to criticize the Liberals on issues related to Teck Resources’ recent decision to abandon its $20 billion Frontier oilsands mine proposal.
But during the luncheon he changed his mind.
“As I was sitting there, I got a notification that Sophie Trudeau had [the virus], and I realized that I couldn’t give this statement on this Teck Resources issue,” he said.
Instead, Lloyd offered his heartfelt prayers to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife in the House that afternoon, while urging Canadians not to “give in to fear. We are going to carry on, we are going to survive, and we are going to be stronger than ever.”
His comments drew a standing ovation from MPs on both sides of the aisle.
“It was clear to me that Canadians wanted to hear a statement from their politicians showing that we’re in this together and that we’re going to get through this, and a message of hope, and that’s what I decided to say in my statement in the House of Commons,” he told The Epoch Times.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer shared similar sentiments in the House on March 12. “I’m sure I speak for all members when I convey our best wishes to the prime minister and his wife and any other parliamentarians who may be affected by symptoms, and wish him and her a speedy recovery,” he said.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu noted that it was “very encouraging” to hear opposition members calling for Canadians to “pull together” while confronting the crisis.
Lloyd urges Canadians to treat each other as they themselves would want to be treated during the pandemic, and to support their neighbours throughout the ordeal.
Regarding the situation of panic-buying and hoarding goods, he said it’s not necessary. “This is not an apocalypse scenario. This is a temporary situation. Just be kind to your neighbours.”
In recent weeks, consumer hoarding has led to goods such as hand sanitizer and toilet paper being sold out in stores in Canada and the United States. In one extreme instance, a Tennessee man purchased a stockpile of 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer and tried to sell them at marked-up prices on Amazon. A post circulating on social media shows a woman selling toilet paper out of the back of an SUV in the Costco parking lot in Langley, B.C., complete with a “toilet paper 4 sale” sign attached to the vehicle.
There are also uplifting stories amidst the crisis.
In several U.S. states, distilleries have started producing hand sanitizer and donating it to charities. In cities across Italy and other parts of Europe, citizens in lockdown in their homes have started a trend of singing or playing instruments in solidarity from their balconies, with the likes of famous opera singer Maurizio Marchini joining the cause.
Although Lloyd, like many others, criticized the Liberals for their slow response to the virus, he gives the government credit for supporting the health-care system and providing stimulus to the economy, which has been hard-hit by the fallout. Canada’s central bank has also taken strong action by drastically reducing overnight interest rates, lowering the cost of loans and mortgages for families and businesses, he said.
Nonetheless, Lloyd notes the opposition will do their job to hold the government accountable. “There are some shortfalls that we’ve seen, but now is not the time for me to be stoking fear about this, but it’s to be pushing the government to take strong action.
“After this pandemic’s over, when we can review that actions that were taken, we can move forward with a better understanding and learn from our experience, so that our responses will be better in the future.”
