National Day of Observance for COVID-19

On March 11th, 2020, COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic. On March 13th, 2020, Edmonton City Council had to suspend meetings until the end of the month so that staff could focus their time and resources on responding to the pandemic. As I reflect on the last year, I have experienced a wide range of emotions. I expect that is the case for most of us. I want to take some time to reflect on what has happened.

The first emotion that comes to mind when reflecting on the last year is sadness. Almost 2,000 Albertans have lost their lives. At this point, many of us either personally experienced, or know someone who has personally experienced, the loss of a family member, friend, or neighbour. While I haven’t lost anyone personally, I know many other people who have experienced that loss. This is unlike anything we have ever experienced in our lives and I hope we don’t ever forget about the impact on the lives of those that we care about.

That sadness also carries over to the impacts on our mental health and economic health. I had members of my immediate family be laid off or see their small business severely impacted. I know many people who struggled with social isolation. We didn’t get to celebrate birthdays, holidays, weddings, etc. with our family, friends, and neighbours which was incredibly hard. While the steps taken that affected our mental and economic health were absolutely critical to prevent greater loss of life, it will still take years to fully recover.

One final area that I was sad about was watching people I know well head down a dark path. I have friends and family members who got caught up in conspiracy theories. That transition started innocently enough as people were trying to look for answers to a situation that really didn’t have any. That led people to believe false information and think that doctors, politicians, community leaders, family members, etc. were part of some nefarious plan.

These people found a new family online and for a number of my friends and family members, there’s nothing I’ll be able to do to help. I feel sad and helpless that I cannot help those people I care about.

I also experienced anger and frustration. This is understandable considering we were dealing with something we’ve never experienced before. I was angry and frustrated that when compared to other jurisdictions with much larger populations, we experienced more loss of life and a greater impact on our mental and economic health.

I realize it’s easy for me to say that because while the City was able to make some smaller decisions related to the pandemic, the main decisions about how we respond were made by the provincial government. There will be plenty of time once we are all vaccinated to review the different actions that were taken but that anger that I felt is significant when looking at the success of other jurisdictions and believing that we could have been in a better position to respond to this once in a lifetime situation.

Uncertainty has also been something that I’ve felt over the last year. It’s extremely hard to determine what is going to happen in a post-COVID world. Will we be ready to respond as a city, province, and country to any permanent changes to our world? Will our economy be able to adapt to a world that was already drastically changing prior to COVID-19 but will now be amplified by everything that has happened? It’s hard to not have all the answers but it’s important that we talk about what we don’t know so we can start to come up with the answers.

Photo by Alex Pugliese, Edmonton in Winter

The final emotion I wanted to highlight is hope. Even with everything that happened over the last year, I have experienced hope more than any other emotion.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I saw almost every Edmontonian find ways to help each other out. Health care staff worked tirelessly over the last year to help keep us all safe and healthy. We had community leaders set up grocery delivery service for seniors who were unable to leave their homes. There were drive-by parades to celebrate birthdays and other special events. People would come together to provide financial support for people they didn’t even know that were laid off. I could write pages upon pages of amazing stories that prove we are a city that leads with compassion. That compassion towards each other gives me so much hope.

As the year has continued, that desire to help each other hasn’t left us. I know there are examples of where we weren’t always as kind towards each other as we should have been, but I still receive many examples of kindness from people across the city and that reinforces why I am so hopeful about our city’s future.

We know that we are a city that will always come together during challenging times. We know that while the recovery won’t be easy, we are not going to leave anyone behind. We know that in order for Edmonton to become an even more amazing city, we need to support our neighbours who are experiencing much tougher times than the rest of us.

Over the past week, I’ve been able to start door-knocking after having to take a few months off to comply with the provincial health regulations. The conversations I have had at the doors are what inspire me. Even when people would provide feedback on a smaller local issue that is bothering them, they would almost always talk about how it was even more important to help our neighbours who need the most support.

Most Edmontonians are ready to work together to get through the most difficult time many people will ever experience in their lives. Most Edmontonians operate from a place of compassion towards others and that is what we need to get through this.

I’m also hopeful because we see the light at the end of the tunnel. I got the call from my parents a few days ago letting me know about their appointment for their first shot of the vaccine. Chances are that you, or someone you know, is also getting their vaccine soon. It gives me great hope that as long as we stay diligent over the coming months, we will be able to come together as a community to celebrate those important moments in our lives.

Please take some time to reflect on the last year. Be willing to talk through the emotions that you have experienced. Reach out to your family, friends, and neighbours to give them the opportunity to do the same. If someone needs support, know that this city is full of people ready to help however they can. If you don’t know where to start to get the necessary help, please contact me.

Once you’ve had a chance to process all those emotions, it is my hope that you will also experience hope for our future.