Kenney to change COVID-19 rules, says his own Christmas plan would violate current restrictions
Alberta will relax COVID-19 restrictions next week so more people can gather together for Christmas, Premier Jason Kenney said.
Kenney detailed his own Christmas plans Friday, which he said would not comply if he left current fourth-wave restrictions in place.
"I'll be gathering with three family members, we're all fully vaccinated, come from three households, only four people. But we wouldn't be able to do that based on the current rules," he said at a hospital announcement in Calgary.
Kenney didn't detail the changes, but said they would be a "modest, common sense relaxation."
He promised an announcement on Tuesday, when Alberta's current state of emergency is set to expire.
The province had 70 COVID-19 patients in ICU on Wednesday, down from 266 on Sept. 28.
The premier said he wants to see the total number of ICU admissions fall below 173. There were 183 total patients in the ICU as of Monday, according to provincial data.
"That number is important, because that allows us to go to 100 per cent of surgical capacity. We no longer have to set aside beds for COVID patients, for example," he said.
Kenney said the province needs to be cautious with the Omicron variant now circulating, but said he wants Albertans to be able to celebrate the holidays.
"I don't want to create a situation where we have millions of Albertans violating the rules, when we're not in a current emergency situation," he said.
"We do expect there will be future waves. There will be a fifth wave at some point."
The premier applauded citizens for following rules that helped to flatten the fourth wave of infections, and said he expects "voluntary compliance" from Albertans on the new plan.
"We're not a police state. Unlike Australia and other places, we are not going to put a cop on every corner to check people's papers," he said.
Kenney and health officials in Alberta have been previously criticized for relaxing restrictions too soon, and the premier apologized in September for moving the province from a pandemic to an endemic response.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.