The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the ‘us versus them’ mentality among permanent and seasonal residents, according to the Town of the Blue Mountains (TBM) mayor.
“Precautions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have led to the spreading of negative ‘us versus them’ commentary relative to seasonal versus permanent residents and this is causing divisions in our communities, which could take years to heal,” says TBM mayor, Alar Soever, in a notice of motion he has prepared to present at an upcoming Grey County committee of the whole meeting.
“This type of behaviour is counter to our community values and does not reflect the sentiment of the vast majority of our residents,” says Soever. “All of our residents, both permanent and seasonal, are part of our community.
Soever will be presenting his motion at Thursday’s meeting, in an effort to “get the message out” that everyone is a part of one community - seasonal and permanent residents alike.
“We as county councillors should show leadership to our communities, similar to that shown by the mayors of Muskoka District who issued a call to their communities to end the divide between seasonal and permanent residents,” he states.
Soever will be asking Grey County to consider issuing a similar letter to the community to encourage the “end of the divide” and requests that all the lower-tier municipalities in Grey County endorse the letter.
“A lot of our so-called seasonal residents are up here now and everyone seems to be doing a good job and the results are the proof of that - there have been very few cases and no [COVID-related] deaths in Grey County,” he says.
In his notice of motion, Soever sends his regards to the health unit, Dr. Ian Arra, the chief medical officer for Grey Bruce Health Unit, as well as all healthcare workers.
“A special thank-you goes out to our long-term care employees who have managed to contain outbreaks in several of our long-term care facilities, again without a single death,” Soever states.
Soever is hopeful his county counterparts will endorse his notice of motion and the message of inclusion can be spread beyond the TBM borders and throughout Grey County as a whole.
