Alberta not proceeding with Premier Smith's bill to protect COVID-19 unvaccinated
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is reversing a promise to enshrine human rights protections for the COVID-19 unvaccinated in law this fall.
Instead, Smith said she is phoning up organizations with vaccine mandates to urge them to change their minds, tying it to government funding if need be.
Smith is also asking Albertans to call her government to report on those imposing vaccine mandates.
“I'm calling people,” Smith told reporters Monday.
“The Arctic Winter Games wanted $1.2 million from us to support their effort and they were discriminating against the athletes, telling them they had to be vaccinated.
“So we asked them if they would reconsider their vaccination policy in the light of new evidence and they did. And I was pleased to see that.”
- Critics say Smith is bullying businesses over COVID-19 policies
- Danielle Smith declines to give specifics on 'mistakes' referenced in Alberta address
Smith said she heard an Alberta film production has a similar policy for its hairdressers, so she has directed a cabinet minister to call the company to urge it to reconsider.
“I'm quite prepared to make those phone calls and have my (cabinet) ministers make those phone calls if there are other examples,” Smith said.
“If there is still discrimination, I'd like to know about it -- people should contact their MLAs.”
Opposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir denounced the phone calls as intimidation tactics in the service of an anti-science United Conservative government.
“If you believe in science, if you believe in public health measures, your funding will be cut, you will be discriminated against,” said Sabir.
“That is clear cut intimidation and harassment.”
The legislature is scheduled to resume Tuesday for the fall sitting, but Smith said the agenda will not include her promised bill to amend the provincial Human Rights Act to forbid restrictions based on someone's COVID-19 vaccination status.
Smith won the leadership of the United Conservatives mainly by leveraging anger within a faction of the party over COVID-19 vaccine mandates and health restrictions that they deemed unnecessary and a profound breach of personal freedoms.
On her first day as premier last month, Smith called the COVID-19 unvaccinated the most discriminated group she had seen in her lifetime.
On Monday, she said she has revisited the human rights issue and believes the problem has become somewhat moot with most employers not having vaccine rules.
And she said rather than be hasty, she wants a more detailed analysis in order to find more durable, broader, long-term solutions and protections later.
“Just making this one change to this one piece of legislation isn't going to be adequate,” she said.
“(I) didn't want to do this as a bit of slapdash measure. I want to make sure we're solving this problem for the future.
“I think my supporters will understand.”
As recently as five weeks ago, Smith said the human rights change needed to be passed immediately, characterizing it as a stand-alone symbolic line in the sand tantamount to an Alberta declaration of freedom.
In an Oct. 20 speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, Smith told the audience the bill was coming this fall whether they liked it or not.
“I want to give you fair warning: we are going to be making a serious pivot,” Smith told the chamber luncheon.
“We want to send a message to the community, and to the world community, and to the investment markets that this is a place that is open for business, that this is a place that believes in freedom, this is a place that believes in free enterprise and this is a place where we're not going to be making arbitrary decisions that are going to disproportionately impact small and medium businesses.”
The first bill in the sitting is to be Smith's long-promised, controversial Alberta sovereignty act, since renamed the “Alberta sovereignty within a united Canada act.”
Smith has promised the legislation would allow the province to reject federal laws deemed as encroaching on provincial jurisdiction but in a constitutionally respectful manner. Smith has not explained how this would be done.
Legal experts have said such an act as described would be unconstitutional.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Maple Leafs eliminated from NHL playoffs with Game 7 OT loss to Bruins
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
What a judge's gag order on Trump means in his hush money case
A gag order bars Trump from commenting publicly on witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the matter. The New York judge already has found that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, repeatedly violated the order, fined him US$9,000 and warning that jail could follow if he doesn't comply.
Should you save or splurge on makeup this summer?
If you're wondering whether you should splurge or save when it comes to buying skincare products and makeup this summer, we got some answers for you.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
opinion You don't need to be an influencer to earn income from social media
How legitimate are claims by some content creators that the average person can earn passive income from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram? Personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says it's quite possible, if you're willing to put in the initial time and effort.
Ukraine marks its third Easter at war as it comes under fire from Russian drones and troops
As Ukraine marked its third Easter at war, Russia on Sunday launched a barrage of drones concentrated in Ukraine's east, wounding more than a dozen people, and claimed its troops took control of a village they had been targeting.