Rally against lifting of COVID-19 restrictions hosted outside Alberta legislature Saturday
Approximately 200 people attended a rally at the Alberta legislature grounds Saturday as many continued to voice frustration and fear at the province’s plan to lift remaining COVID-19 restrictions next month.
On Wednesday, the province announced it was shifting its public health response and lifting a number of measures related to quarantine, isolation, testing, and masks.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said the changes in pandemic posture follow a rise in vaccination numbers.
"The data shows that what the vaccines are doing is making it less infectious and less deadly. That's a good thing that allows us to move to that endemic response."
- 'Throwing caution to the wind': Experts react to Alberta’s changing quarantine policy
- 'The inevitable next step': Alberta health minister defends COVID-19 policy changes
- Alberta to eliminate COVID-19 quarantine rules as cases rise among the unvaccinated
Albert Nobbes, event organizer and Alberta Activist Collective member, told CTV News Edmonton the rally was focused on giving people a way to channel their frustration.
The organizer hoped the rally would bring people together and exchange concerns about how the shift in provincial policy will affect their pandemic experience.
“There’s enough misinformation in the air that the only thing we can really do is talk to each other,” Nobbes said.
“We need to get this message out,” he added. “We can’t let this government proceed with dropping the ball in every angle.
“We need them to step up their game.”
The group plans to host more protests on Sunday and Monday.
“We have no intention of stopping,” Nobbes said.
Similar rallies were hosted in Calgary on Saturday and across the province on Friday as well.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.