Alberta business group slams decision to eliminate COVID-19 vaccine passport program
Global News
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce believes prematurely lifting restrictions could lead to reduced revenues for businesses, as people choose to stay home.
A major business group has slammed the Alberta government’s decision to eliminate a proof-of-vaccine program, calling it “akin to ripping the Band-Aid off before the wound has healed.”
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce issued a strongly worded statement Tuesday evening, just hours after Premier Jason Kenney announced that businesses will no longer have to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination from patrons as of midnight.
Alberta’s Restrictions Exemption Program, or REP, was introduced last fall in an effort to curb spiking case rates and encourage vaccination. It requires Albertans to show proof of double vaccination or a negative rapid test result to obtain entry to businesses operating under the program.
The program is the first to go as part of the province’s three-step plan to lift public health restrictions.
“The restriction exemption program has served its useful purpose. It has done its job,” Kenney told a news conference.
But chamber president and CEO Deborah Yedlin said that public health measures like the REP and masking remain critical to ensuring people feel comfortable dining at restaurants, attending sporting and entertainment events, going to gyms and going to work.
“Today’s announcement on the immediate removal of all pandemic measures and restrictions ignores the importance of consumer confidence in our economic recovery,” Yedlin said.
She added the chamber believes that prematurely lifting restrictions could lead to reduced revenues for businesses, as people choose to stay home and minimize the potential for exposure to the virus.
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