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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 1, 20 21 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook.com/waterloochronicle @wlchronicle WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira Regional Director of Media Heather Dunbar Advertising Representatives Fran Hendry, Katrina Anderson, Jan Bodanka, Matt Miller, Lisa Humphreys, Cassandra Dellow, Zaid Shahabuddin, Managing Editor Robyn Wilkinson Online Editor Adam Jackson Reporters Bill Jackson CONTACT US Waterloo Chronicle 475 Thompson Dr., Units 1-4 Cambridge, ON N1T 2K7 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-623-9155 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at waterloochronicle.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA EDITORIAL LETTERS & COMMENTARY LET'S STOP NAMING THINGS AFTER PEOPLE RE: Macdonald statue taken down (see waterloo- chronicle.ca, June 14): While I don't object strongly to the removal of the statues of Sir John A. Macdonald and others, and his name removed from schools, I would suggest we take a broader view. Governments at all lev- els should refrain from naming any future build- ing, street or institution af- ter a person. Regardless of how upright or politically correct individuals may appear to be while they are alive or even decades after their deaths, new informa- tion might come to light about their beliefs or ac- tions, which would cause us to see them as an embar- rassment or criminal or both. Similarly, because soci- eties values, beliefs and customs change over time, practices now viewed as perfectly acceptable by mainstream thinkers may within a century, or even within several decades, be thought to be utterly repul- sive. Given that possibility, governments should pre- pare an ongoing process of removing people's names from all existing struc- tures. The result might be a blander history, but at least there would be fewer visible reminders of the human condition. PETER DURKSEN, BRESLAU CANCELLING VACCINATION APPOINTMENT SHOULDN'T BE SO DIFFICULT Recently, I received my second Pfizer vaccine shot at a nearby Shoppers. Lined up (no appoint- ment), waited, got my shot. Easy. Being a good citizen, I decided to cancel my scheduled appointment in July. You can only cancel by phone at Waterloo Region's general number. You can change an appointment on- line, but you can't cancel. After waiting on hold because "your call is im- portant to us," I finally hung up when my call was no longer important to me. But that was not the worst. The message before go- ing on hold said -- among other things and the words may not be exact -- "We will not change an appoint- ment if it is within the next two weeks. It will take a minimum of two to four weeks to make a change." A change should take two to four minutes, not two to four weeks. Even two to four minutes is too long. Another example of why G7 Canada is 50th in the world in administering sec- ond shots. MARCIS ESMITS, CAMBRIDGE It wasn't that long ago that the federal government was being lambasted by critics for not being aggressive enough about border controls. Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives spent hundreds of thousands on an ad campaign blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for allowing the pan- demic to spread. Premiers, especially of conservative stripe, damned the government for not shutting down travel sooner or firmly enough. Things change quickly during this pandemic, and now the same critics are condemning the government, this time for being overly cautious about reopening borders. It seems a little unfair, perhaps fickle, but that's pan- demic politics, and to a point the frustration is under- standable. Everyone wants out of this as quickly as pos- sible, and while things are moving along reasonably well in many areas, cross-border travel is still shrouded in complexity and confusion. Here are some things we know for sure. Things are getting better. As of July 5, some fully-vaccinated travel- lers wanting to get into Canada can do so without a hotel or other quarantine, provided they have proof of that vaccination, and they have negative tests on depar- ture and arrival. They will still need to have a quaran- tine plan in case their arrival test comes back positive, but provided it is negative they don't have to isolate beyond that. No hotel quarantine, no home lockdown, for travellers arriving by air or those coming across land borders. This is a good thing, especially for Canadi- ans abroad wanting to come home, their families and friends. But it's just a small step to reopening overall, and that is not good enough for many in the business and the tourism sector. There's still no word on a plan for a broader reopening and the current non-essential travel restriction remains in effect until at least July 21. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce lamented what is calls Ottawa's excessive caution. So when will we see plans, detailed or otherwise, for a broader reopening? Trudeau addressed the matter last week, saying more loosening could happen by fall. But it was also clear he supports the government's caution, and he has a good reason to. It's called the Delta variant. It is a startling 60 per cent more transmissible than previous variants, and people with only one dose of vaccine are much more vulnerable. It will become the dominant variant in On- tario within weeks, health experts say. Just weeks ago we knew little about Delta, and now we know enough to be very worried that it could derail Ontario's reopening. This is the main reason for the government's ultra- cautious approach, and from this vantage point that caution seems reasonable. Other lesser factors are the level of full vaccination in the U.S., which appear to be stalled around 46 per cent. That has American health experts warning of a fall surge if vaccination continues to lag. Given all this, is it really unreasonable for the Cana- dian government to adopt a go-very-slow approach to reopening? We would argue not. GO-SLOW APPROACH ON BORDERS IS SOUND