the prime minister of Alberta, Canadahe said he is working on a plan to pardon residents who were fined or arrested for violating coronavirus protocols, and apologized to unvaccinated Canadians who faced “discrimination.”
“I deeply regret anyone who has been inappropriately discriminated against as a result of their vaccination status,” Prime Minister Danielle Smith said on Saturday. “I deeply regret any government employee who has been laid off from their job due to the status of their vaccinations, and I welcome them if they want to come back.”
Smith’s comment marks the first time the leader of a Canadian province has apologized for discriminating against the unvaccinated, according to Rebel News.
Canada had some of the strictest coronavirus mandates in the world, including mandating vaccinations at federally regulated workplaces, closing businesses for months, and arresting citizens if they were found violating lockdown protocols. .
FILE PHOTO: Wildrose party leader Danielle Smith reacts with a smile after losing the provincial election in High River, Alberta April 23, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Sturk/File Photo
(REUTERS/Mike Sturk/File photo)
Smith gave a speech at the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting on Saturday and later told the media that he is considering pardoning people who were arrested or fined for breaching lockdown orders.
“It was a political decision to scrap the Bill of Rights and Freedoms to put those fines in the first place, and I think it may be a political decision to amend and apologize for it and remove them,” Smith said.
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She said the people who “come to mind” are pastors who were sanctioned for disobeying the country’s COVID rules.
A panoramic view of downtown Edmonton. On Monday, August 9, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“These are not things that it’s normal to be ticketed and prosecuted for,” Smith said. “So I’m going to investigate the range of pending fines that are still out there and get some legal advice on which ones we can cancel and grant amnesty to.”
Canadian pastor Artur Pawlowski, for example, has been repeatedly arrested and fined since 2020 for violating lockdown measures, including being jailed for more than 50 days after driving into a truck convoy in Alberta.
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Earlier last week, Smith also called on companies in the province to end their coronavirus vaccine requirements and said he is working to make it illegal to discriminate against people based on their vaccination status.
“What will also happen in the fall is a change to the Human Rights Code to make it illegal to discriminate against anyone based on their vaccination against covid state,” Smith said Thursday, according to CityNews.
“I recognize that there are still some organizations and some businesses in Alberta that are still doing that. [discriminating]And I just want to give you fair warning that we’re going to make a serious turn in that direction,” Smith said.
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Smith was sworn in as prime minister on October 1. 11, after former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney resigned this year as leader of the United Conservative Party.
