On the heels of federal Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos stating provinces will likely move to mandatory vaccination policies, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney took to Twitter to reject the idea for Albertans..“Alberta’s Legislature removed the power of mandatory vaccination from the Public Health Act last year and will not revisit that decision, period,” said Kenney in a tweet..“While we strongly encourage those who are eligible to get vaccinated, it is ultimately a personal choice that individuals must make.”.In a Friday press conference, Duclos announced provinces are likely to soon introduce mandatory vaccination policies to deal with surging COVID-19 cases..“What we see now is that our health care system in Canada is fragile, our people are tired, and the only way we know to get through COVID-19, this variant and any future variant, is through vaccination,” Duclos said on Friday, during a news conference..Duclos said based on his “personal understanding of what we see internationally and domestically” and the conversations he’s had with health ministers across the country over the last few weeks, he believes discussions around mandatory vaccination policies will be coming in the near future..“Fifty per cent of hospitalizations in Quebec are due to people not having been vaccinated,” said Duclos..“That’s a burden on health care workers, a burden on society which is very difficult to bear and for many people difficult to understand..“That’s why I’m signaling this is a conversation which I believe provinces and territories, in support with the federal government, will want to have over the next weeks and months.”.Duclos said rapid tests, masking and social distancing are effective tools, but believes vaccination remains the only way out of the pandemic, but said the decision to implement mandatory vaccination policies would be up to each province..Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, in a Thursday news conference, called on Canadians to work towards accommodating those choosing to remain unvaccinated and to continue to allow for measures like rapid testing..O’Toole said Trudeau is contributing to vaccine hesitancy by attacking those who have yet to receive the COVID-19 vaccines..In an effort to avoid service disruptions and worker shortages for people like truck drivers, O’Toole said “reasonable accommodations” should be provided..Canada is scheduled to enforce a vaccine mandate for border-crossing truck drivers by January 15. It is expected the US will implement similar rules by January 22. .Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
