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Why did I create SpeakNow Canada?

Throughout much of my life, I was not as politically aware or engaged as I now wish I were. Raising a family and being all I needed to be for them and my friends made my focus small and insular.  I engaged a bit during election seasons, always voted, and then presumed I had done all I could do to be a part of Canada’s plans and agendas for my future as a Canadian.

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When COVID first began to be talked about I presumed it would be like SARS or other viruses that had raised alarms globally throughout my life and I didn’t take it seriously.  Then while watching the Edmonton Oilers play one night, it was announced that this would probably be the last game for a short while as the virus needed to be given time to pass. Then I started to get more curious and concerned. Over the next many months, I listened to all the government’s briefings on the seriousness of the virus, and that we needed to do our part to not overwhelm the healthcare system and I fully complied. Whatever they asked of me I followed. I felt rebellious that first Easter, I hadn’t seen my children or grandchildren in months, so I made a big turkey dinner divided it into family packs and delivered it to my children’s homes visiting with them for a few minutes keeping my distance.  I was the personal caregiver for my brother who was suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s and with the information I was hearing I could unknowingly give him this terrifying virus and due to his frailty, I could kill him if I unknowingly was infected. I began to think that the only way I would ever feel safe was when a vaccine was available to me, and I could then be around people and trust I wouldn’t die, and I wouldn’t kill others. I was completely sold on it all. There were a lot of announcements and restrictions put in place that didn’t make sense, but I followed anyway, hoping that whatever they were asking of us would lead to the end of this nightmare.

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Then the vaccine rolled out. I had many friends opposed to it being it was rushed and even 2 of my children didn’t want to get it. I am so grateful I didn’t shun or criticize them. I believed fully that I would then be safe to be around the vaccinated and the unvaccinated alike. The first shot left me with a sore arm but overall, I felt ok.  When I received the second shot, I got quite sick for a few days. I then knew that I wouldn’t be taking another. In my mind, the isolation from people was now over for me. I started seeing more of my family and friends and hoped that life would return to normal. But it didn’t. The restrictions and mandates continued. My 2 daughters who hadn’t wanted the shot succumbed to getting it as their ability to participate in life was made impossible. They needed a health passport on their phones to do almost anything.

Going into the fall and winter of 2021 was a very dark time for me. The on-again off-again isolation and fear and confusion were messing my mental well-being completely. Working on a balance between anxiety and depression took all the energy I had. I worked from home and slept a lot.

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Then in January 2022, I began to hear the first rumblings of a protest coming from truckers. At first, I thought this was a rebellion. I wasn’t surprised that people were feeling frustrated, I knew where I was at emotionally, but I didn’t know what to make of this uprising. It took me a week or more to have my curiosity overtake my fear and then I became engrossed in all of it.  I started to hear things from these brave souls that I hadn’t heard before. The suffering that Canadians had endured from job losses to jab injuries to loss of relationships and families being torn apart blew my mind. I hadn’t known. Slowly over the next couple of weeks following the convoy and seeing Canadians pour out in the thousands to support and add their voice to the demands for change started to fill me with hope pride and excitement in being a member of a great country again. I learned so much from so many about the blatant infringements on our rights and privacy that had been forced on us by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments and by all the governmental institutions and businesses. I had felt the hypocrisy in allowing the big box, liquor, and convenience stores to remain open and the individually owned businesses to be shut down, but I hadn’t known the devastation that befell thousands of businesses across Canada.

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Over the next few weeks, I felt like I was having my brain completely rewired by a thousand electricians. I was reminded of my rights that Canada has a constitution and that much of the pandemic process had violated and hurt millions of Canadians' lives. I also firmly believe that with this mass of people standing up for what had been done wrong, the governments would surely hear and change course and work towards helping everyone get back to the normal I thought we had before this reported pandemic.

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But all that was being heard from the government were insults, threats, and lies. I was utterly shocked. I hadn’t felt that my trust and expectations in the government had been too high, but they were higher than they should have been. I had always presumed that the government served the people. I knew sometimes they made terrible decisions and implemented laws and regulations that I did not agree with, but I still believed that they would change course when enough people opposed them.

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My disillusionment was more than I could contain when instead of attempting to work with Canadians to find solutions regarding the laws and mandates that were too restrictive, the government chose to enact the Emergencies Act.  This was the biggest slap in the face that I ever personally felt. Law-abiding faithful Canadians were now being charged as criminals and abused in a way only ever seen in other countries and regimes. I was devastated.

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As I watched the Canadian government turn on its citizens, I was overwhelmed by the injustice I saw in it all. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t have a clue what I, one person could do. All I could think of was to write to the entire government and implore them to end this nightmare and remember that they were elected to serve not to dominate their constituents.

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So during Question Period in the House of Commons, I went on my computer and opened the Members of Parliament contact page, drafted a letter and proceeded to copy each MP’s email address and pasted it into individual emails then wrote a subject line and then pasted my letter…. I did this for hours. Later that afternoon an announcement was made that Prime Minister Trudeau was calling off the Emergency Act enactment, which of course I was happy about, but when I looked at the progress I had made on my email journey I had only written to about 250 of the 338 Member’s of Parliament. I chose to end this exercise as the debate was over and the sentiments, I was sending now felt mute. Somehow this made me feel like I had failed.

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Over the next many months, I attempted to move on in life. I went back to working, spending time with family and friends and trying to lay it all down.  But seeing Canadians forced to retreat in shame and many being charged and fined for being part of this cry for justice wouldn’t leave me.  I believe that if provided an opportunity Canadians would still want their voices to be heard.

This is when the idea of SpeakNow Canada started to form. The government made it clear that it won’t listen to protestors, but they do accept being communicated with by mail or email. I dreamt of all the Canadians who tried to be heard by standing on highways or driving through the country beginning to speak to the government in a manner that was acceptable to them. This led me on a two-year journey to create a platform to allow for just that.