Wednesday will see many planned protests across Canada in regards to COVID-19 vaccine passports. This is reminiscent of the highly criticized protests that happened last week in front of hospitals that left many frontline workers and patients distraught.
The group organizing these protests are named “We Are All Essential’ and they are appealing to business owners, employees, and consumers to come together and stand against the “tyranny of vaccine passports” and protect “freedom of choice”.
Many hope that this week’s protests won’t be as big or disruptive as those held last week. Frontline workers are glad that at least this week’s protests are planned for city halls instead of hospitals.
The protests are planned to start at 1 pm in Vancouver, Nanaimo, Kelowna, Penticton, Kamloops, Fort St. John, along with parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontarios and Quebec.
Police services, including Vancouver police, are aware and ready to do their job if public safety is threatened. They respect people’s right to peacefully protest, and will not stop the protests, but will only focus on ensuring public safety.
BC’s vaccine card goes into effect September 13th in which the requirement is one dose, whereas the two dose requirement comes into effect by October 24th. The fines for not complying are set from $230 up to $575.
The protests are a minority according to polls being conducted. 70% of respondents to Angus Reid Institute’s poll support vaccine passport requirement to access public places, with 77% supporting provincial governments pushing regulatory measures when it comes to vaccination.
Many experts suggest that such protests show how misinformation is rampant with the internet being one of the biggest culprits for this. Most protestors tend to state opinions as facts which is dangerous and polarizing and sheds light on the other epidemic we’re facing as a society.