'There is a fracture': Winkler grapples with divide over vaccine mandates, pandemic measures
Local leaders in Winkler, Man. are trying to find ways to bridge a growing divide over mandatory vaccinations and other pandemic measures.
It’s been no secret many people in and around the southern Manitoba community have been critical of the COVID-19 response.
Over the past two days, large rallies have been held in the community, including one where speakers called for Winkler to become a so-called sanctuary city where people can live in freedom no matter their vaccination status.
Meantime, on Winkler’s Main Street, you’ll find people with mixed views on vaccine mandates.
Marie Skeavington said she wasn’t ready to get immunized against COVID-19 due to concerns over how fast vaccines were developed but now says she will because it’s a requirement of her job.
“I probably will,” Skeavington said. “Well, I have to, actually because if I’m going to run a daycare, well then I have to.”
In videos posted to YouTube of rallies Sunday and Monday near Winkler, speakers voiced opposition to mandates and other pandemic measures.
One man suggested Winkler become a so-called sanctuary city where people can live in freedom whether they choose to get the vaccine or not.
“We need to put a hedge of protection around this community because the wolves are upon us,” the man said.
Henry Siemens, the city’s deputy mayor, said council is aware of the idea but hasn’t received any official proposals. However, he didn’t rule anything out.
“In broad strokes, a sanctuary city, I wouldn’t have ever seen it used in this manner before,” Siemens said, noting he’s fully vaccinated. “When we get that we’ll have all of council review and determine the best way forward.”
He’s concerned some people feel like they’re not being heard. In addition to serving on city council, he’s also a business owner and is concerned about the impact the divide over vaccinations is having on the community’s reputation.
“We have an arrow pointed at us by media, by others — some of which is self-induced, certainly because people have been out there both pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine,” Siemens said.
It’s caused a rift in the community the pastors at Emmanuel Mennonite Church are grappling with.
“We could have a rally going out every highway out of Winkler and we could have them all going out at the same time,” said Karen Schellenberg, an interim pastor at the church. “And all of them would have a different point of view on this issue: vaccinations, masks, mandates all those sorts of things.”
Schellenberg and Pastor Corey Hildebrand are not asking people in their congregation whether they’re vaccinated but feel the majority are. They’re urging people to practise compassion.
“There is a polarization between us, there is a fracture,” said Hildebrand. “But I think in the middle of it we have to remember what the problem is, that it’s the pandemic that we’re battling here and not each other.”
Some worry lives are on the line. With experts predicting a Delta driven fourth wave will hit Manitoba, Winkler-based physician Dr. Don Klassen is concerned low vaccine rates may mean a disproportionate number of people from the area will end up in hospital or intensive care.
“Nobody’s going to go around, giving them the jab in a sneaky or secret fashion but I’ve said to people this is a tool we have,” Klassen said.
Klassen is stressing to people here that tool — the vaccines — works. He pointed to long-term care as one area where it’s reduced severe outcomes from COVID-19.
Siemens said in many cases people need more information to make informed decisions. He said face-to-face conversations seem to be helping.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Israel has briefed U.S. on plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of potential Rafah operation
Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.