Premier Danielle Smith said she is receiving legal advice on how she can issue “pardons” to Albertans who have been fined or arrested for violating public health restrictions related to COVID-19.
Alberta’s premier made the comments Saturday during a press briefing after her address to members of the United Conservative Party at their annual general meeting.
She says since most of the fines and charges came from the administrative branch of Alberta’s health services, perhaps the premier could waive them.
“It was a political decision to reject the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to put these fines in place in the first place, and I think it can be a political decision to make amends, apologize and eliminate them,” Smith said.
“Things that come to mind are people who have been arrested as pastors, people who have been arrested or fined for not wearing a mask,” she added.
“These are not things that it’s okay to be fined and sued for,” Smith said. “I will therefore review the range of outstanding fines that still exist and seek legal advice on which ones we are able to waive and amnesty.”
In Canada, in most cases, the pardon giver is the federal parole board which uses the Criminal Records Act. Lieutenant Governors of Canadian provinces can issue pardons on the advice of Cabinet. In the United States, the president and most state governors can grant pardons directly for federal or state offenses, respectively.
According to her, while it is important to encourage people who want to get vaccinated to protect themselves, it was also time to stop “demonizing” people who make the personal choice not to get vaccinated against COVID-19. 19.
Smith also claimed she was sticking to her plan to change human rights legislation in the province to include vaccination status and tied health system pressure to mandatory vaccination policies against COVID-19.
The the vast majority of healthcare workers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus and the public health experts have already said Smith’s analysis of backlogs plaguing Alberta hospitals is “misinformed.”
When asked if she would apologize to those discriminated against for not being vaccinated, Smith said she would then.
“I am deeply sorry for anyone who has been inappropriately discriminated against because of their vaccination status,” she said. “I am deeply sorry for any government employee who has been terminated from their job due to their vaccination status, and welcome them back if they want to return.”
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