Trudeau holds firm on vaccine mandates as provinces drop restrictions

Feb 9 2022, 9:23 pm

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding firm on vaccine mandates and travel rules as some provinces drop COVID-19 restrictions.

During a question period on Wednesday, members of the opposition grilled Trudeau about when he would end vaccine mandates and federal COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The prime minister stressed that the federal government will always be guided by science when it comes to making these decisions.

“You can’t end a pandemic by legislation. You need to end the pandemic by relying on science, by public health measures, and by vaccinations,” said Trudeau.

These questions come as Alberta and Saskatchewan begin lifting COVID-19 restrictions.

Alberta lifted its restrictions on Wednesday, introducing a three-step plan to begin what Premier Jason Kenney called the “return to normal” in a press conference on Tuesday.

Step one is currently in effect, which includes the end of the province’s vaccine passport program.

In Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moe says his province will soon start to manage COVID-19 the same way as other communicable diseases.

In a video posted to his Twitter account last week, Moe says that “COVID-19 is not ending, but government restrictions on your rights and freedoms … will be ending.”

The Saskatchewan premier also announced that they would end proof of vaccination requirements by February 28.

“I understand how frustrated Canadians are, how much we need to see an end to this pandemic, but we can’t do it by decree,” Trudeau reiterated in the House of Commons on Wednesday. “We can only do it by continuing to trust science and getting people vaccinated.”

Anti-vaccine mandate protests continue across the country. The so-called Freedom Convoy, which parked in Ottawa for almost two weeks, is making its way to Toronto.

Isabelle DoctoIsabelle Docto

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