Premier Jason Kenney speaking at a Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce event in July 2021. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Alberta won’t mandate COVID vaccines as Ottawa suggests other provinces might

Jan 7, 2022 | 5:11 PM

EDMONTON, AB – Alberta’s Premier is reiterating his belief that vaccination is a personal choice and not something that will be forced on the people.

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos stated Friday that some provinces might look to implement COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Responding to inquiries from Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole about increasing the supply of rapid tests, Duclos replied that this alone will not be enough to overcome the pandemic and the various variants.

According to the minister, it will require far more people to get vaccinated.

Although conversations have yet to start between the federal and provincial governments about potentially creating vaccine mandates for all people, he says they could happen in the near future.

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This is something that other countries have already done, as places like Greece have introduced regular financial penalties for those who choose to remain unvaccinated while Singaporeans who have not been immunized will have to cover their own medical bills if they get COVID.

In Alberta, however, Premier Jason Kenney tweeted that nothing like this will be happening in the province.

Last year, the Alberta Government removed its ability to coerce people to take any particular vaccine under the Public Health Act, a power it has had since 1910.

“Alberta’s Legislature removed the power of mandatory vaccination from the Public Health Act last year and will not revisit that decision, period. While we strongly encourage those who are eligible to get vaccinated, it is ultimately a personal choice that individuals must make,” Kenney said on Twitter.

READ MORE: Officials on reopening plan, vaccine safety, and speeding up second doses for dialysis patients

COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed in Alberta over the last couple of weeks with active infections at just under 40,000 as of Thursday’s update. While hospital admissions due to COVID have increased as well, it has not been at nearly the same rate as cases.

READ MORE: Nearly 5,000 new COVID cases in Alberta Thursday