Edmonton mayor extends lockdown — because SIX people have COVID-19

By Sheila Gunn Reid
|
May 30, 2020

By Sheila Gunn Reid

LET US WORK

COVID-19 has infected tens of thousands of Canadians and savaged the economy. But we’re past the peak and Canadians are getting anxious.

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Edmonton’s Mayor Don Iveson is renewing the local state of emergency.

Edmonton currently has just six cases of coronavirus in the hospital in a health region encompassing more than one million people. That number is fewer than one coronavirus hospitalization per area hospital. By May 29, 2020, the entire region of greater Edmonton, including all the suburbs and bedroom communities, had just 53 active cases of coronavirus.

The curve isn’t just flattened in Edmonton. It’s roadkill.

So why is the capital city’s far left-wing mayor extending the local state of emergency for another 90 days, closing skate parks and spray parks and other municipally managed recreation to children for the duration of the entire summer?

The answer is the state of the emergency gives Mayor Don Iveson power without oversight. In a rare glimpse of honesty, Iveson revealed his motives in a tweet he sent to justify the extension of the state of emergency until the fall.

#yegcc has once again agreed to renew the Local State of Emergency. As you all know, we’re still in the midst of a public health emergency and while we've seen some great compliance behavior modeled by Edmontonians, compliance is not at 100%. #COVID19AB
— Don Iveson (@doniveson) May 28, 2020

The lockdown in Edmonton will continue until Iveson sees 100 per cent compliance from Edmontonians, regardless of how many cases of the Chinese-originated virus the city is experiencing. It’s not about health. It’s about full compliance, control and power.

The local state of emergency gives the mayor powers he doesn’t normally have without having to proceed with the messy business of democracy, again Iveson admits to this in a tweet:

“As long as we are without access to a vaccine, Edmontonians remain at risk. Our Local State of Emergency provides @CityofEdmonton Administration with the flexibility they need to take action, if we suddenly see increasing infection rates, without waiting for a #yegcc meeting.”

Those emergency powers the mayor is hanging onto include the ability to restrict movement within the city, conscript people, fix prices, expropriate private property, and enter any private building without a warrant — all to combat 53 cases of coronavirus.

It’s time to flatten the curve of the pandemic of municipal power grabs.

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