Prospect of vaccine passports being nixed draws mixed feelings

After months of having to show a QR code before going into a restaurant or sitting at a food court, the province may soon do away with the restrictions exemption program.

This week, Premier Jason Kenney said the rules would hopefully be gone by the end of March as long as COVID-19 numbers trend downward. He then said on Twitter that it could be even sooner and by the end of February.

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Alberta premier hopes to start lifting COVID-19 health measures by end of month

The date appeared to get moved up even further on Wednesday when, in a statement penned by United Conservative Party Caucus Chair Nathan Neudorf, it was indicated the vaccine passport system could be nixed “within days.”

Statement from United Conservative Caucus Chair Nathan Neudorf on the Restrictions Exemption Program. ⬇️#AbLeg pic.twitter.com/95xhXiKnLH

— United Conservative Caucus (@UCPCaucus) February 2, 2022

More vocal support for removing the restrictions is coming from other members of the party, including one cabinet minister.

“My position on vaccine mandates is that they need to end,” Environment Minister Jason Nixon said in a letter posted on Facebook. “You’ll note that the Premier said they’ll be gone imminently, and I’ll hold him to it.”

Highwood MLA RJ Sigurdson also posted that the program “needs to be lifted as soon as possible” and that it hasn’t resulted in a significant drop in COVID-19 numbers.

My personal stance on the REP has been requested. The REP has not resulted in the relief to our health care system, nor has it limited the spread of Covid as were the intentions. I believe the REP program needs to be lifted as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/ffOxwMfTKV

— RJ Sigurdson (@RjSigurdson) February 3, 2022

The possibility of the program being lifted is drawing skepticism from the opposition NDP, with concern that this could create a repeat of the choice to repeal restrictions in the summer of 2021 ahead of a significant spike in infections.

“Public health decisions must be made based on science, and not on the never-ending political melodrama of the UCP,” said Health Critic David Shepherd. “As we approach the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, I know all Albertans are looking forward to a return to normalcy. That transition must be managed responsibly in a way that keeps Alberta families and businesses safe.”

Shepherd and the NDP are calling for information to be revealed publicly that justifies the decision, including public health officials going in front of Albertans to show modeling and scientific data.

“The hard truth is the UCP has zero credibility on this issue after their disastrous ‘Best Summer Ever’, their refusal to act for weeks on end as the fourth wave crashed into Alberta. Their internal politics led to the preventable deaths of hundreds of Albertans, and the cancellation of life-saving surgeries for tens of thousands more.”

For those who have borne the brunt of these restrictions, though, the possibility of no longer checking vaccination status at the door sparks some optimism.

“It gets me excited,” said restaurant owner Leslie Echino. “I think people would be less afraid to go out, because I think all these rules are making people still stay so fearful in thinking that restaurants are dangerous. All the restrictions that have happened in the last year have happened to fitness and restaurants. We’re one of the industries that is constantly having to evolve and comply and go above and beyond the safety measures required.”

Echino said it would ease staffing concerns, as well as cut down on incidents of staff getting harassed by people who do not want to follow the rules.

In conversations with staff and customers, there’s hope the program would be removed and it would come as a welcome development for everyone.

She added that it seems especially unfair for restaurants to continue having to deal with these restrictions after there has been no transmission of the virus among any of her three businesses so far.

“I think people’s confidence is probably quite high of going out now. I think with the restrictions, people have just had it. They’re like we need to get back to work, we need to get our economy going. If we’re not checking every single kid at school, why are we checking every single person at a restaurant?”