[ad_1]
A child looks up while riding the merry go round as the Canadian National Exhibition reopens after a two-year hiatus in Toronto, Aug. 19.
Photo:
CARLOS OSORIO/REUTERS
Toronto
Canada has been slower than almost any other country outside China to recognize that the Covid-19 pandemic is over. The government announced this week that it’s finally lifting mask mandates for air travel as of Saturday—something the U.S. and European Union both did last spring. Yet in a sign that even Canadians have had enough, last week a video meant to encourage childhood vaccination went viral—and not in a good way.
It was one of five public-service announcements Toronto’s municipal website posted on Sept. 16. They were barely noticed until Sept. 20, when the city quickly took them down after critics including
Andrew Lawton
of the conservative news site True North started tweeting about one of them.
In it, a young girl stares out a window and says, “Mom, can I go outside and play with my friends?” Mom replies: “No, honey, there’s still something going around.” The girl sadly says “OK” and continues looking out the window. Then the on-screen text: “Kids should be out there. Not in here. COVID-19 vaccines available for children six months to 12 years.”
The video was confusing. Is the viewer supposed to assume mom is still afraid of pediatric Covid but refuses to get her daughter vaccinated? It makes even less sense if the girl has had her shots, implying they won’t protect her anyway.
Another video is a bit clearer. A young girl interrupts her mother on a Zoom call, and the on-screen text reads: “She should be in school. COVID-19 vaccines available for children . . .” As Mr. Lawton notes, “Covid vaccines are not required to attend elementary or secondary schools in Ontario.”
City spokesman Brad Ross told CTV News that the campaign was intended to highlight the pandemic’s impact on children and “missed the mark.” But maybe it hit a different mark by highlighting the impact on children of coercive and overprotective public-health measures.
Mr. Taube, a columnist for Troy Media and Loonie Politics, was a speechwriter for former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the September 29, 2022, print edition.
[ad_2]
Source link
(This article is generated through the syndicated feeds, Financetin doesn’t own any part of this article)
