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The National Union of Public and General Employees condemns the anti-vaccination protests being conducted outside Canada’s hospitals and health care facilities. Those who have risked so much while working through the pandemic should not be the target of hateful attacks instigated by those seeking political gain.
Ottawa (14 Sept. 2021) — Like most Canadians, the leaders of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) are shocked and appalled by the recent anti-vaccination protests that have taken place outside our hospitals and health care facilities. They unreservedly condemn these actions and those who have instigated them for narrow political gain. They also want to extend a message of solidarity to all those who work in health care across the country.
“It has been a difficult 18 months for those of you who work in health care. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 94,000 health care workers contracted COVID-19 and 43 died of the disease,” said Larry Brown, president of NUPGE, representing 390,000 workers in the public and private sectors. “More than one-third of you now report concerns about your mental health.”
“And yet, as health care workers, you stepped forward to serve. You risked your own health,” said Brown. “You agonized about the possible impact on your families and loved ones — all health care professionals and staff did, not just physicians and nurses, but critical care health providers and cleaners too.”
“Perhaps even more inspiring is how many of you returned to work from retirement. And there are those who volunteered to work overtime; those who worked entire weekends processing hundreds of thousands of tests; those who struggled to meet new cleaning protocols while short-staffed; and those who stayed late to provide extra care,” said NUPGE’s Secretary-Treasurer Bert Blundon. “Overwhelmingly, you responded to the need to care.”
Blundon continued “all of this is why these protests outside hospitals and health care facilities have struck such a nerve with us and the vast majority of Canadians. To target these workers in this way is unacceptable. It has the most selfish and ignorant amongst us callously targeting the most dedicated and caring of workers.”
Brown went further, “there are people who apparently believe Elvis Presley is still alive. There are people who believe Trump won the US election. There are people who believe all kinds of utter nonsense. They have the right to their peculiar lack of connection to reality.”
“Some people are anti-vaccine. They think that somehow adhering to sane and sensible rules for our mutual protection is unfair. These folks have a very tenuous connection to reality as well. They are so far outside of the rational world that it’s hard to believe they are serious. However, they seem to firmly believe in their points.”
“But they do not speak for all Canadians. The vast majority of Canadians appreciate the sacrifices health care workers have made to keep us safe. They appreciate the fact that you have worked yourself to exhaustion on our behalf. You know that you have our thanks and support!”