COVID-19: MP Greg Fergus hosts virtual town hall meetings

With COVID-19 causing plenty of distress and uncertainty for residents across the riding, Aylmer MP Greg Fergus hosted back to back online public forums on April 8 and 9 to get a pulse on the population’s biggest concerns. Fergus explained that the forums were part of his mandate to conduct 24 public town hall meetings over four years and that, just days before he was set to send out invitations to his next round of public forums, the pandemic forced the government to shut down all public gatherings.

Unable to hold the meetings in person, Fergus decided to connect with the community via the Internet with two online forums – one in English and the other in French.

Held via video conference, Fergus said that the forums were successful because they gave plenty of residents a platform to voice their concerns and to further educate themselves on the situation at hand. “It was really, really good,” he said. “I got some great questions, clarified a couple of things … my team and I took extensive notes, as we always do, and we can’t wait to report back.”

Over the two evenings, Fergus noted that around 100 people participated and that participants were mainly concerned about a lack of certainty on proper social distancing measures and when life could be normal again. “What’s allowed, what’s not allowed?” he said. “What type of gathering can we do? How long will this last? How do we maintain as normal a life as possible while we stay home?”

Financial troubles, tax payments and how to seek government assistance were also important issues among participants, Fergus noted. Some also enquired about the effectiveness of wearing protective equipment like masks to prevent the disease from transmitting, which Fergus encouraged while also stressing that it won’t make one immune to the virus. “Don’t think this is going to give you special powers and that you can get really close to people,” he said.

As the riding hasn’t seen as significant a spike in coronavirus cases compared to other places, Fergus said he feels happy with how the population has coped with the crisis so far. “Considering that none of us have been through this before, I think the riding is doing particularly well,” he said. “We have had no fatalities. Although we’ve had a number of cases, it’s way lower than many, many places in the province and the country. I’m thrilled that people are taking it quite seriously here.”

Financial impact on Aylmer

Fergus noted that the pandemic’s impact in the riding has been most significant on small business owners. With many local enterprises negatively affected by the crisis – some having to temporarily shut down – Fergus said that the federal government needs to be flexible in its methods of supporting Canadians in need, especially small businesses and people who have lost employment. “When you’re out of work because of the pandemic, it’s not funny,” he said. “There are no other jobs for them to get. It’s not a normal economic situation … that’s the reason why we need to be as generous as we can with income support. Same thing for supporting businesses. It’s nothing that they did wrong … they’ve been forced to shut down. So how can we help them keep their heads above water until we get beyond this?”

Working from home, the majority of Fergus’s energy of late has been focused on calling constituents and businesses to take note of their concerns, to provide them with information on the government’s financial relief programs and how to take advantage of them. He said that he’s also advocated for the implementation of measures that can allow more Canadians to benefit from federal funding. “Just making sure that we’re helping people navigate all the things that they are trying to get done to take care of themselves and their families,” he said.

Fergus added that senior citizens have also been severely impacted and stressed the importance of supporting them during the crisis. With loneliness a problem for the elderly before the pandemic, Fergus said that the issue has amplified since the outbreak. “Just pick up the phone, say hello,” he said. “Create some contact as much as possible and let them know you’re thinking about them.”

 “Keep strong everybody,” he said. “We are going to get through this together. It’s going to take a lot of work and everyone helping each other out. But we will come out on the other side of this. Our lives will be different until we develop a vaccine. But we should be able to develop a greater sense of normalcy in the coming weeks and months.”