Tag: Lockdown

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Did You Fall Off Your Chair Yet?

Today (Tuesday) is the day that we were supposed to “fall off our chair” when we heard the new Covid-19 modeling. I think Mr. Ford may fall off his chair as he overreaches the limits of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
We are now being warned, threatened really, with a collapsing health care system as it will be overloaded by Covid cases. But the public must never allow this smokescreen to be deployed—the health system in Ontario has had shortages, rationing, delays, and hallway medicine for nearly 20 years. People have died because of the failure of politicians and administrators to reign in costs, hire and pay staff, and control the burgeoning hospital bureaucracies.
Recently, the CEO of our local St. Joseph’s Healthcare system was dismissed because it was learned that he traveled in December to a warmer climate. He was fired for the travel, but it ought to have been only for the hypocrisy of being on the lockdown team and thinking that the rules did not apply to him. Anyone ought to be able to travel, but the hypocrisy spoils the public trust at a time we can ill afford.
To make his dismissal easier for him, he was awarded a contract buyout of $1 million dollars to be paid out over the next two years. I have no idea how many hospital beds that could buy (and we are not short of literal beds, or spaces, but the staff to care for those in the beds). Again, note the disconnect between those with golden parachutes on the public dime and those whose businesses and lives have been destroyed. Taxpayers pay for the hospital CEO’’s salary and buyout, and there is nothing for those who truly suffer. It is time to look at those who write the contracts.
We have seen years of waste, scandal, graft, and cronyism in all Ontario government departments for years now. Covid is an excuse to cover incompetence, and the public is blamed for failure to comply, although compliance is very high.
Warnings are being issued that care will be rationed, and some patients may need to be euthanized to best utilize resources. Truth is, all healthcare is rationed at some point, and in a public-only system such as in Canada, the reality of rationing arrives much earlier than where a private system is allowed. Issuing threats like this is an act of desperation—it makes hostages of us all.
A representative system of government such as ours can only work when those elected are held accountable, and at this time many of our leaders are depending upon our being distracted enough that we don’t. In the future, our leaders must never be allowed to get out of a press conference or town-hall meeting without these points being raised. Then they will have cause to “fall off their chair.”
Hang on to your seats! The article is here.
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A Government Overreach and Fumble. Posted on 30 December 2020

If the government hadn’t bungled this from the beginning, by playing favourites with businesses that are large and destroying small businesses and shuttering restaurants, we might not be here. This doesn’t seem related to churches, but it shows either incompetence or hypocrisy on the part of the Ford government, that leaves churches wondering how they allowed themselves to be declared “non-essential” when so many entities, with much larger crowds, are.
 
Setting aside the very questionable value of lockdowns and masks, the government has overstepped its God-given authority by declaring churches, in person, to be declared non-essential. This is not their place. But governments have been declaring themselves an absolute authority over family and church for years:
 
Abortion is legal and financed by the government–an attack on the family.
Same-sex marriage is legal and acceptance is demanded by government–an attack on family and marriage.
Ideologically driven LGBTQP+ indoctrination in public schools–an attack on the family.
The isolation of the elderly to their deaths these past months, almost a year–an attack on the family.
The forced unemployment of parents–attack on the family.
 
There are certainly more.
 
We are to obey and submit to the government as Paul and Peter instruct, but this is not an absolute, no-matter-what-they-decide submission. If it was that, the book of Acts would be much shorter as would be the existence of the church. The early years of the faith was that of defying tyrants.
 
I don’t know much about the Aylmer situation, but I do know that the only reason the showdown is happening is because so few churches are choosing to obey man rather than God.
 
Unless we form some sort of Gnostic Christianity, we cannot be a church (assembly) unless we assemble. We cannot celebrate the Lord’s Supper weekly from home.
 
The idea of civil disobedience is novel and frightening to many but must be carefully considered and not dismissed out-of-hand. We are fools to think that someday our civic leaders will say, “Ok, it’s all over, go back to things as they were.”
 
We need to think how this conversation will sound in three years or more when our larger meetings are still denied.
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From 19 December 2020–A Workaround Illegal Church Lockdowns

We seem to have a bit of confusion in Ontario. Christians understand that Jesus is Lord, and our government believes it is Lord, and all this “Jesus stuff” is little more than a side diversion, like a curling club. Probably not as important, actually.
 
So beginning Monday, churches are limited to 10 in attendance. Now I understand that this is against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, draconian, illogical, tyrannical, and just plain wrong.
 
So, in keeping with the reality of the rightful Lord over all creation, and the death-throes of a would-be empire, I am moving forward for Sunday worship on the 27th of December, and continuing for however long the arbitrary rules apply.
 
Here is our worship schedule:
11 AM–worship in person and online. Limit of 10 in person, so please RSVP. Online is unlimited until some sort of inclusive/diverse censorship kicks in.
 
12:15 PM–second service, limit of 10. RSVP
 
1:30 PM–third service, limit of 10. RSVP
 
You can see where this is going. God’s got all day and so do I. Each setting will include the Lord’s Supper.
 
Please don’t get used to this convenience! After the collapse of the oligarchy, we’ll go back to normal and continue the task of discipling the nations.