A coalition of health care unions wants Premier Jason Kenney to stop the rollback of public health restrictions, saying “a vocal minority of extremists” is driving the move..The union heads are demanding a reinstatement of the vaccine passport and mandatory masking for school-age children amid nationwide Freedom Convoy blockades and rallies..The premier ended the vaccine passport on Feb. 9, 2022, and as of Monday, masking for youth 12 and under in K-12 schools is no longer required..Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan, affiliated with the NDP, took to Twitter on Saturday to spell out who the “extremists” are by hashtagging the contentious #FluTruxClan..The joint statement was signed by McGowan, as well as United Nurses of Alberta President Heather Smith, Health Science Association of Alberta President Mike Parker, Canadian Union of Public Employees President Rory Gill, United Steelworkers, Local 1-207 (long-term care workers) 2nd Vice President/Business Agent Misty Lafond, and Liuna 3000 (long-term care workers) Regional Director Ryan Ermet..“On behalf of the more than 75,000 health care workers who we represent in Alberta, we want to express our profound concern about the provincial government’s recently announced plan to end the vaccine passport program, remove mask mandates in schools and begin treating COVID-19 as another seasonal illness like influenza..“We believe these decisions are premature, reckless and irresponsible. We have no doubt they will lead to increased illness, disability and death..“We also think they were clearly based on political considerations, rather than on science or the kind of concern for the public good that citizens should reasonably be able to expect from their governments..The joint statement said the “emergency service system is overwhelmed” and that “Alberta health care workers exhausted and demoralized.”.“We are tired of watching people die and we are afraid these irresponsible decisions by our government will lead to more unnecessary deaths over a longer period of time..The joint statement calls on Albertans to push back on behalf of health care workers..“Please support us by calling on the provincial government to stop letting public health decisions be set by a vocal minority of extremists who don’t represent the will of the majority of responsible Albertans..“Specifically, please join us in urging the government to do three things:.Reinstate the vaccine passport program and use it as a tool to encourage Albertans to get their boosters. This is the best way to keep people out of our hospitals and to reduce illness, disability and death caused by COVID-19.Reinstate the mask mandate for schools and continue the province-wide mask mandate until at least the end of the current wave. At the same time, the government should be providing, free of charge, higher quality KN-95 or N-95 masks to all Albertans. This is necessary because the science clearly shows that COVID-19 is airborne.Introduce paid sick leave for all Albertans. If workers can’t afford to stay home when they’re sick, we will continue to experience wave after wave of infection.”.The premier headed off similar criticism from another union on Feb. 9..The premier took to Twitter to speak to the Alberta Teachers Association, saying dropping the masking requirements for children was important because “kids have been paying an unfair share of the burden as we tried to protect our health care system from COVID-19.”.The premier said teachers shouldn’t look at children as “vectors of viral transmission,” particularly as teachers are “almost entirely triple vaccinated.”.His message to the Alberta Teachers Association was “let’s let kids be kids after too long years of this. Don’t you dare treat kids as though they’re unsafe. We need to get life back to normal for kids starting right now.”.Amber Gosselin is a Western Standard reporter..agosselin@westernstandardonline.com
