Saturday, February 12, 2022

LABOUR NEWS ALBERTA TELL KENNEY TO KEEP COVID PROTECTIONS

LabourNEWS

The pandemic is not over but this week, Kenney announced he was removing the vaccine passport immediately and masking rules for students in Alberta schools and children under 12 on Monday. At the same press conference, Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported 1,623 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 129 in intensive care, and 13 people died in the past 24 hours, yesterday, 22 people died. 

Action

Demand safe schools in Alberta!

The relaxing of school safety protections by the UCP government is premature and the AFL is partnering with Support our Students Alberta on an email tool to demand that the Alberta government adopt a more rational approach to ensure schools are safe for every child and education worker!  

Tell Kenney to keep COVID-19 protections in schools until hospitalizations are down and ventilation is improved. Take action.


News

Alberta health care workers call on their fellow citizens to help them push back against the UCP’s reckless decision to prematurely remove COVID-19 protections

The following joint statement released was today from a coalition of Alberta health care unions:

“On behalf of the more than 75,000 health care workers who we represent in Alberta, we want to express our profound concern about the provincial government’s recently announced plan to end the vaccine passport program, remove mask mandates in schools and begin treating COVID-19 as another seasonal illness like influenza. We believe these decisions are premature, reckless and irresponsible. We have no doubt they will lead to increased illness, disability and death. We also think they were clearly based on political considerations, rather than on science or the kind of concern for the public good that citizens should reasonably be able to expect from their governments. Read more.

 


Alberta's plan to remove COVID-19-related restrictions: What you need to know

Albertans are no longer required to show proof of vaccination under the first step of the provincial government's three-part plan to phase out most public health measures by March 1.

Premier Jason Kenney, Health Minister Jason Copping and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw laid out the plan Tuesday, saying hospitalization trends will be monitored as restrictions are relaxed.


Alberta businesses wrestle with fate of vaccine passports

Some entrepreneurs worry ditching the system too quickly could lead to another resurgence in cases — mirroring the province’s reopening of the economy last summer — and potentially trigger more public health measures down the road.

Labour leaders say they’re concerned with the province taking steps to end the vaccine passport at this point.

“Removing these protections will make workplaces less safe,” said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan. “This is all about politics.”


Listen to AFL President Gil McGowan talk about the "freedom convoy" on Global radio 770 CHQR & read his statement: 

The authoritarian bullies who are terrorizing Ottawa do NOT represent Alberta workers

“On numerous occasions over the past week, the so-called “Freedom Convoy” has been portrayed as an uprising of ordinary Canadian workers, particularly truckers. I want to make it clear that the people who descended on Ottawa this weekend – and who continue to essentially occupy and terrorize the city – are in no way, shape or form representative of the vast majority of working Canadians or Albertans, including truckers. 

The workers who I know and represent are at work today, not intimidating innocent citizens or rubbing shoulders with known white supremacists and other extremists. Instead of supporting what’s going on in Ottawa, all but a tiny sliver of Canadian workers are doing what they do every day: providing health care, educating our children, making our cities and municipalities work, producing and moving goods, working on construction projects, stocking shelves, serving customers and doing the myriad of other things that make our economy run."  Read more. Listen to radio interview.

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