What have we become?

To be sure, better days lie ahead if we make our voices heard. Governments remain responsive to our concerns and will reverse these policies.

The value of active civic engagement is demonstrated by recent events in my other home country, Finland (thread) https://twitter.com/dockaurG/status/1355258062978867201

2/ In January, parents in the Capital region (Helsinki) grew very frustrated with the ban on indoor group sports in public arenas. These facilities had been closed for 2 months.

Gradually parents started to make their voices heard.

3/ In late January, the Mayor of Helsinki ( @Vapaavuori), with support from local civil servants, reacted to these concerns and lifted the indoor group sports ban for under 20-year olds.

This decision was remarkable in several respects.

4/ First, the Finnish government opposed lifting the indoor sports ban. Helsinki leaders acknowledged these concerns but saw the situation differently and thus lifted the ban.

The local leaders knew that they understand citizens' needs better than do higher levels of government.

5/ Second, Helsinki area leaders were very explicit about the long-term health damage that the closure of public sports facilities would cause, and emphasized that we cannot focus our attention on only one disease.

Such a balanced perspective was just fantastic to see.

6/ Third, Helsinki area leaders -- the Mayor in particular -- were very explicit that restrictions and bans are not what determines the number of infections. What matters is how people behave.

This emphasis gives everyone a strong incentive to learn effective precautions.

7/ Fourth, Helsinki leaders emphasized that children's group sports in particular are very unlikely to have any impact at all on virus spread, and that for children the closure of public arenas had been very disruptive.

It was great to see such emphasis on children's well-being.

8/ Fifth, Helsinki area leaders and civil servants explicitly cited feedback from parents as an important reason for the decision to lift the indoor group sports ban and to open the arenas.

Active civic engagement still has high value.

This remains true also for Ontario.