Twelve Alberta mayors call for province to implement COVID-19 vaccine passport

EDMONTON – Twelve Alberta mayors are calling for Premier Jason Kenney to bring in provincewide COVID-19 vaccine passport rules, while a member of his United Conservative caucus is telling him to back away from them entirely.

The mayors in Edmonton and surrounding communities want the government to bring in the passport, calling it the best way to compel more people to get vaccinated and end the pandemic.

Ontario, B.C., Quebec, and Manitoba are implementing such passports, allowing only vaccinated people to access non-essential services such as bars, restaurants and sporting events.

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Kenney has said Alberta won’t bring in provincewide rules but noted that some businesses, along with Alberta’s national hockey and football teams, are mandating vaccinations already.

He said the province is developing a machine-readable QR code that can be downloaded or placed on a smartphone to make it easy to prove vaccination status.

But UCP caucus member Peter Guthrie is publicly calling out the QR code plan, calling it the first step to a provincewide passport that would be unfair to those who choose not to get vaccinated.