Premier hopes community will come together to heal as COVID restrictions lift

Premier Tim Houston said the pandemic has strained and broken many relationships beyond repair

CITYnews halifax \ Chris Halef

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Nova Scotia’s premier says he hopes the community can come together and mend broken relationships as the province plans to lift all COVID-19 restrictions next month.

On Wednesday, the province announced it would be speeding up its reopening plans by removing all COVID-19 protocols as of March 21, as long our situation remains on course.

But Premier Tim Houston said the pandemic has strained many relationships.

“We live in increasingly divided communities and sadly some relations have been broken beyond repair,” he said. “Others in time can be mended and that’s my hope, but it’s up to each of us to play a part in healing our communities.”

During the pandemic, there have been varying opinions among community members with some supporting public health restrictions while others opposed them.

“We can have different opinions on the path to return to normal,” he said. “But we need to get back to a respectful place where we find ways to respectfully disagree.”

Houston said he’s hopeful Nova Scotians can get back to a place where we all stop attacking others for having different opinions and where we remember we’re all on the same team.

“There comes a point in time where the benefit of the restrictions is outweighed by the impact of those restrictions,” added Houston. “Particularly on our children, on our seniors, on our collective mental well being. We’ve reached that point.”