British Columbia has been a success story during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks in large part to the leadership of Dr. Bonnie Henry and the government of British Columbia. However, COVID-19 cases are steadily rising, and many people are left wondering why more proactive measures are not being taken.

85 new cases were announced today. This is one of the highest per day case counts in BC since the beginning of the pandemic. It has become clear that certain people are unwilling to follow public health guidelines despite the potentially fatal consequences for people in their community. We need to take action to stop this type of selfish behavior.

I call upon the BC government to do the following:

1) Make masks mandatory in all public indoor spaces AND ensure access to free masks for those who cannot afford them.

2) Institute a minimum two week return to Stage 1 to get ahead of infection rates AND provide the financial resources for individuals and businesses to do.

3) Create legal consequences for those who break public health guidelines in the form of heavy fines and volunteer service provisions to those in quarantine due to COVID-19.

This is an urgent and serious matter that all those who sign this petition are begging you to do more in order to protect us and our loved ones.