Ian Profiri is JURIST’s Staff Correspondent for Canada. He files this dispatch from Calgary.
Late Wednesday evening, the Alberta government surprised Albertans by declaring a State of Public Health Emergency in a purported effort to protect what has become a fragile healthcare system in the wake of the fourth wave of Covid-19.
At approximately 10pm MST, Premier Jason Kenny of the United Conservative Party (UCP) announced new emergency restrictions in order “to save lives and prevent an ongoing crisis in [Alberta’s] healthcare system.” The Premier remarked that Alberta may run out of available staff and intensive care unit beds within the “next ten days.” Alberta currently has the highest number of active cases in Canada.
Premier Kenny then apologized for the decision to enact the provinces previous ‘open for summer’ plan, which Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw recently admitted set the trajectory for this new wave of Covid-19 infections in the province.
The emergency procedures limit participation in indoor physical activities, dining, and entertainment; as well as denying the ability of unvaccinated persons to gather at indoor social activities. Masks remain mandatory in all indoor public settings, including in schools for grades four and above, and there are mandatory work-from-home orders unless “the employer has determined a physical presence is required for operational effectiveness.”
The most impressive change results from the UCP’s newly introduced Restriction Exemption Program (REP). As of 20 September, the REP will allow businesses to forgo the above capacity and operating restrictions if they agree to require people to provide proof of vaccination, proof of a negative Covid-19 test administered within 72 hours, or documentation of a medical exemption to the vaccine before using the facilities.
Essentially, Alberta has introduced a vaccine passport system in everything but name.
Other provinces have already taken the lead on the implementation of vaccine passport systems. Québec, Ontario, British Columbia, the Yukon, and Nova Scotia have all introduced vaccine passport systems, creating a beginning of the patchwork system that is growing across Canada
The provincial restrictions all have some variations between each other, but ultimately control access to areas of a high likelihood of transmission of Covid-19. Bars, restaurants, nightclubs, gyms, and entertainment events are all included in each province’s restricted areas; while varying access to private gatherings and group activities such as weddings, religious worship, and general assemblies.
Québec took the extra step and implemented a province-wide vaccine passport system for its residents called VaxiCode. This system gives users a QR code that they can use as proof of their vaccination status when entering areas that require proof. The other provinces ask residents to print off some manner of receipt showcasing their vaccination status.
Today, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced on his Facebook page that the prairie province will be following Alberta’s lead and introducing a proof of vaccination policy. Patience for the stubbornly unvaccinated is running thin, according to the Premier; both famously libertarian-conservative provinces have introduced plans for restricting a person’s access due to their decision not to get vaccinated. Neither the Saskatchewan oo Alberta premiers should be given too much credit, however; the announcements were made only when both healthcare systems were on the verge of collapse. This is despite the prevalence of groups within the provinces, from professional sports teams to large employers, already mandating proof of vaccinations for their attendees and employees.
The announcements also come after a spate of extraordinary anti-vaccination protests at hospitals across Canada caused serious concerns and uproar due to the demonstrators’ antics, which often bordered harassment. There was a palpable fear for the health and safety of healthcare workers and those in their care as threats and chastisement became common.
All three major federal party leaders expressed disgust over the action of the anti-vax protestors. The Conservative Party leader and the New Democrat Party leader, Erin O’Toole and Jagmeet Singh respectively, both condemned the protests and agreed that these type of protests around hospitals was “unacceptable” and “wrong.” Impressive, considering how diametrically opposed the two parties are. Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau went so far as to say his party will “make it an offence to obstruct access to any building providing health services.”
Oddly, Trudeau’s idea mirrors Premier Kenny’s oft-criticized Critical Infrastructure Defence Act (Bill 1) which was introduced after Indigenous protestors rallied on railways to show solidarity with Wet’suwet’en First Nation protestors fighting against the Coastal Gasoline pipeline. The protests crippled the railway network, causing financial grief for the province. Bill 1 gives the Alberta government the ability to declare areas “critical infrastructure”, making protests upon them illegal. Kenny’s government, however, did not enact this power during the hospital protests (nor at any other time since introducing the legislation).
Aside from the timing of the announcement, which caused affected parties to go into a tailspin (here, at the University of Calgary, faculty and department heads apologized profusely as classes were cancelled or moved online as late as the morning after the announcement), the overall response of the new measures has been one of frustration and discontent.
Doctors expressed dismay at the lateness and weaknesses of the announcement, and calls for the resignation of top UCP members continue to grow across political lines. And as if exemplifying the overall mood of Albertans at this moment, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr Theresa Tam, remarked that provinces “should learn from the west” on how not to respond to Covid-19.
