The provincial NDP called on Premier Scott Moe to make vaccine passports mandatory for Saskatchewan Roughrider games and large stadium-style events during a press conference on Monday.
Regina MLAs Aleana Young and Meara Conway said the province risks creating another COVID-19 outbreak just when Saskatchewan residents are poised to put the pandemic behind them for good.
“We’re going to shortly see potentially tens of thousands of people in this stadium behind me,” Conway said during a press conference in front of Mosaic Stadium. “These huge stadium events—whether they’re Rider games or music concerts—have the potential to be super spreader events. This is a very reasonable step we can take.”
“We’re not asking folks to disclose whether they’ve got a bum knee or have some sort of underlying condition,” Young added. “This is honestly saying, ‘have you stuck it to COVID? Have you gotten your two shots. Can you make sure that you’re keeping the family in the seats next to you, the volunteers and the players safe.”
Premier Scott Moe officially ruled out any vaccine passports during a press conference on Tuesday, saying it would violate privacy concerns.
Young and Conway rejected that idea on Wednesday, saying the province needed to balance personal privacy with public health.
Manitoba premier Brian Pallister has already announced his province’s intention to create vaccine passports, and both NDP MLAs said Saskatchewan should look at something similar.
“There’s always a balance to be struck between public health and personal privacy, and we believe that requiring those folks who can be vaccinated to be vaccinated at these huge stadium events strikes the right balance,” said Conway, who represents Regina Elphinstone-Centre, the constituency where Mosaic Stadium is located. “They’ve figured it out in Manitoba with similar privacy legislation. We can figure it out here.”
Conway added that the province’s civil service should be able to figure out a way to balance the two issues.
Both MLAs said Moe was pandering to a small but vocal part of his electoral base instead of taking reasonable steps to keep Saskatchewan safe.
Moe rejected that notion during a press conference on Tuesday, when he told reporters their decision was based on policy, and not polls.
“It is entirely possible that you are going to require a proof of COVID vaccination in much the same way that you do now to obtain a Visa to visit some of these countries,” Moe said. “We most certainly do not have the ability to demand that people show a proof of vaccination for whether or not they would attend any large event here in the province.”
On June 8, Manitoba premier Brian Pallister announced that residents will receive immunization cards after they are fully vaccinated. The cards will allow Manitobans to travel around Canada without having to self-isolate for two week when they return home.