Alberta To Phase Out Vaccine Passports, Kenney Condemned For Comments On HIV/AIDS

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says his government will follow the lead of other Canadian provinces and immediately start phasing out COVID-19 health restrictions.

He calls it a prudent plan to get Albertans’ lives back to normal as COVID-19 hospitalizations decline.

Kenney says the plan’s first step will see vaccine passports to access non-essential businesses, such as restaurants and bars, end Tuesday at midnight.

On Monday, it will also remove a mask requirement for children under 12, including schools.

Kenney harshly criticized for HIV/AIDS comments

During the press conference, Kenney compared public opinions towards the unvaccinated population to how people treated those with HIV and AIDS in the 1980s.

“The choice not to get vaccinated is not just a personal choice. It does have personal consequences,” Kenney said. “It’s never okay to treat people like that. To stigmatize people in that way, in a way that kind of reminds me of the attitudes that circulated in North America in the mid-1980s of people with HIV/AIDS.”

AIDS was first recognized in the U.S. by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1981. From the time AIDS was identified to 2020, the disease has caused an estimated 36 million deaths worldwide.

Kenney, who said those with HIV/AIDS had to be distanced from others, went on to call views on those that remain unvaccinated “terribly divisive attitude.”

Yes, we encourage people to get vaccinated, but treating people who have made a different decision as though they are unwelcome as members of our society is not acceptable.”

Saskatchewan announced earlier in the day that it, too, will no longer require that people provide vaccine passports starting Monday. It is also ending its indoor mask mandate at the end of the month.

Premier Scott Moe said the benefits of providing proof of vaccination to enter businesses like restaurants no longer outweigh the cost. Moe says the passport has created deep divisions in the province.

Saskatchewan was the first province in Canada to announce a plan to lift all COVID-19 restrictions.

Québec will loosen specific public health measures across the province by March 14, except for mask mandates and the vaccine passport system.