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Alberta urging businesses to drop mandate

KI E R AN L E AVI T T

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says that she’s personally calling event organizers and businesses with vaccine mandates in place and asking them to reconsider.

The premier’s comments came Monday in response to questions from reporters about her government’s decision not to follow through on her promise to protect unvaccinated people under the province’s Human Rights Act in the legislative session that’s starting this week.

Smith outlined how she’ll consider making changes on a “case-bycase” basis, when she hears of what she deems to be vaccine discrimination.

When she hears that events or businesses have vaccine mandates, the Alberta premier or one of her ministers will call and ask them to reconsider, Smith said at a news conference.

Smith pointed to the Arctic Winter Games, a circumpolar sporting event, which wanted $1.2 million in support from her government.

“They were discriminating against the athletes, telling them they needed to be vaccinated,” Smith said.

“We asked them if they would reconsider their vaccination policy … and they did, and I was pleased to see that.”

Alberta NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir slammed the government for using “threatening” tactics.

“For the government of the day to call businesses, to call non-profits and threatening them that if they don’t drop mandates, if they don’t drop public health measures, their funding will be cut … it should not be happening.”

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2022-11-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://torontostar.pressreader.com/article/281595244548541

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