Phillips calls on government to implement vaccine passport

By Trevor Busch - LETHBRIDGE HERALD on September 11, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtbusch@lethbridgeherald.com

With the province’s healthcare system coming under increasing pressure from rapidly escalating COVID-19 hospitalizations, Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips is calling on the UCP government to immediately implement a vaccine passport system.
“COVID-19 cases are exploding across the province. That has meant that our hospitals are bursting at the seams. Albertans are dying,” said Phillips during a press conference at the Galt Museum on Friday. “There is an obvious step that the province can take to slow that spread, and to also safeguard economic growth and optimism, and that’s a vaccine passport. Every other major province is bringing these in, no matter what the background of the government in charge there – conservative, others – they’re bringing these very simple tools in. They’ve been endorsed by chambers of commerce in Alberta, industry associations, businesses of all sizes.”
Referencing Thursday’s COVID-19 update from the provincial government, Phillips had scathing words regarding her appraisal of Premier Jason Kenney’s handling of the COVID “fourth wave” in Alberta in recent weeks.
“I think many, many Albertans had their hopes up yesterday – I certainly did – when I heard that the UCP was going to finally announce new measures to reduce the pressure on our hospitals, which are in crisis across the province due to the high level of admissions that we’ve seen of COVID-19 patients over the past few weeks. That pressure is entirely due to the failure of the premier and his UCP caucus to act when the danger signs were obvious.”
Phillips characterized Kenney as missing in action in relation to the crisis the province is now facing from COVID-19 infections.
“Albertans were looking for courage, Albertans who are courageously helping their loved ones through infection, Albertans who are courageously working on the front lines of our healthcare facilities. Albertans have taken up the face of courage all through this pandemic, and where is Jason Kenney? No where to be found. Yesterday, all we got was more cowardice from the UCP government.”
Businesses and industry have been left struggling to implement passport policies at the grassroots level with little to no direction from the provincial government, argues Phillips.
“Now everyone is trying to come up with their own policies, because Jason Kenney is too weak to stand up to the extremists in his caucus. His anti-maskers, anti-vaccine members, anti-science members of his team.”