►
From YouTube: OCTOBER 4 2021 Statements Roly Russell
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
2nd Session
42nd Parliament
A
A
I
suspect
that
most
of
you
in
this
house
have
had
similar
conversations
with
strangers,
friends
or
family
members.
These
conversations
are
straining
already
brittle
relationships.
Science,
though,
provides
us
with
data
to
inform
our
decisions,
and
a
vocal
minority
of
people
are
eroding
that
value
with
pseudoscience
concocted
in
a
world
of
social
media.
A
Vaccination,
science
and
public
health
may
have
catalyzed
these
challenges,
but
is
the
potential
for
magnification
and
propagation
of
misinformation
on
longer
time
scales
and
more
diverse
topics
that
keeps
an
exhausted
person
like
myself
up
at
night.
This
is
to
be
sure,
not
new.
Eight
years
ago,
jim
hogan
wrote
that
quote
the
public
square.
The
forum
for
free
debate
that
we
depend
on
in
a
democracy
is
being
choked
by
misinformation,
denial
and
bitter
adversarial
rhetoric.
It
is
causing
the
canadian
public
to
turn
away
in
despair,
creating
an
epidemic
of
mistrust
and
what's
worth
disinterest.
A
So
my
call
to
action
here
is
simple:
let's
all
listen
openly
and
compassionately,
you
do
our
best
to
actively
correct
misinformation.
This
cannot
be
done
by
government
nor
grassroots
alone.
It
must
be
a
collective
effort.
We
can
all
help
reduce
the
mistrust
and
despair
swirling
around
us.
This
shared
opportunity
holds
true
whether
we
are
school
teachers,
scientists,
fruit
pickers,
legislators
or
any
other
active
participant
in
society,
the
truth
matters,
and
while
we
can
get
to
truth
on
many
different
paths,
not
all
paths
lead
to
truth.
A
I
wanted
to
triage
that
initial
conversation
into
the
realm
of
things.
I
won't
ever
change
so
I
can
give
up
on
now,
but
I
realize
that
would
be
unfair
for
everyone.
So
yes,
I
tracked
down
that
constituent
to
continue
a
difficult
conversation
in
these
strange
times.
It
seems
an
ability
to
communicate
compassionately
and
honestly
has
the
potential
to
quite
literally
save
lives.