Single Axel with a Toe Loop
& the perils of government by stealth
As pivots go, this one was at least a single axel.
Danielle Smith campaigned for the UCP leadership on a platform of protecting the rights of the unvaccinated. At her first news conference, a mere 48 days ago, Smith told reporters that the unvaccinated were the group that had experienced the most discrimination of any group in her lifetime.
Today we learned that she wouldn’t go ahead with this legislation in the fall sitting. Quite the pivot.
But then she went for the full rotation: instead of passing legislation, she and her ministers would be phoning any organization that was implementing a vaccination mandate. In fact, they are apparently already doing this — she mentioned funding for the Arctic Winter Games and a film set.
Think of this as government by stealth. No need to pass legislation that would be subject to debate in the legislature and challenge in court. Instead, just put out the word that this is “policy” and pressure anyone who doesn’t comply.
Let’s be really clear about the implications of what Smith said today: it’s apparently government policy that no organization will get provincial funding if it maintains a vaccination mandate. But it isn’t written down anywhere, to make the policy subject to legal scrutiny.
This approach unfortunately extends the approach the Kenney government took to vaccination and mask mandates in the public sector. It’s been evident since the summer of 2021 that post-secondary institutions were being told that they couldn’t impose these mandates (you know, until the province did in September of 2021. But then not after February of 2022).
With the exception of a public letter from the Minister in February of 2022, I’m not aware of any public record of this. But it was very evident from the approaches the post-secondaries took that they were under significant pressure. When the larger institutions finally felt they had to act in August of 2021, they announced it collectively, not individually. Presumably because they were gambling that the government wouldn’t take on all three of them together.
This stealth approach leaves leaders of institutions and organizations to face pressure from their employees, clients or potential customers without allowing them to point to the source of the decision: the provincial government.
Let’s contrast this to the federal Liberal government’s problematic decision to preclude anti-gay or anti-abortion organizations from receiving Canada Jobs Grants. Even though my sympathy on those issues is entirely with the Liberals, I’m not sure it’s a reasonable criterion for a summer jobs program.
But to the Liberals’ credit, they made it a formal criterion. This allowed pro-life groups to challenge the decision in court. The pro-life organizations lost the case, but at least they had their day in court and were able to make the case that the rule was inappropriate.
Alberta organizations seeking provincial funding will not have the same opportunity.
What remains to be seen is whether Premier Smith can stick the landing, or if her attempt to appease her supporters and woo moderate voters will leave her sitting on the ice.
This is even worse than the Alberta Sovereignty (Except It’s Not, Quite) Act. Imagine a Canadian premier personally strong-arming companies to abandon occupational health and safety measures. Imagine saying, “No, you shouldn’t discriminate against people who don’t want to wear safety glasses. I don’t care if there’s a hazard from flying debris, if somebody wants to wear regular glasses or none at all, that’s his choice.”
I wonder what Occupational Safety & Health, not to mention Workers’ Compensation, would say about this.
My mom was placed in long-term care this March. In the nine months since, they’ve reported three outbreaks of Covid-19 among the residents. Since all have been vaccinated, only one person died during the outbreaks—and for privacy reasons, they told only the relative of the deceased what caused the death. Remember the shock and outrage in 2020 when folks in LTC homes were dying, alone, their families forbidden to say goodbye.
This facility has a Covid vaccination policy. No jab—no job. It’s to protect the residents. They’re either physically or mentally compromised, so they have enough problems without severe illness, too. I don’t doubt there are other vaccinations, required by public-health legislation, for other diseases. Flu shot, anyone?
What’s gonna happen in LTC facilities if Smith tries her “drop the vax or else” blackmail?
Smith’s fixation on “vaccine victims” is dangerously unhinged. Yeah, vax refusniks have a choice—but they refuse to accept that there are consequences. They’re not the only ones who get sick. That’s why companies require vaccination, or regular testing to ensure nobody who’s not vaccinated is spreading Covid at work. It’s also why at least some provincial courts (how about the Supreme Court?) have ruled employers have not just a right but a legal responsibility to protect their workers from the spread of this dangerous disease. (And now I wish I’d bookmarked some of those news reports. Oh well….)
If she tried this with anything other than Covid vaccines, Smith would be drummed out of the party for stupidity.
Good article Lisa… a dangerous position for Smith, although I don’t think she quite understands it.. She may be intelligent but some days it certainly doesn’t show and there’s always someone bigger and meaner with a bigger stick who will challenge all this nonsense… she may find herself in the “ penalty box” with Albertans as this is a slim minority she’s catering to…