premiere of Alberta, Canadahe said he was working on a plan to pardon residents fined or jailed for violating coronavirus protocols and apologized to unvaccinated Canadians who faced “discrimination.”
“I am deeply sorry for anyone who has been inappropriately discriminated against as a result of their vaccination status,” Premier Danielle Smith said on Saturday. “I feel deeply sorry for any government employee who has been fired because of their vaccination status, and I welcome them to come back.”
According to Rebel News, Smith’s comments are the first time a Canadian provincial leader has apologized for discriminating against the unvaccinated.
Canada had some of the toughest coronavirus mandates in the world, including mandating vaccinations in federally regulated workplaces, shuttering businesses for months and jailing citizens for violating lockdown protocols.
FILE PHOTO: Wildrose leader Danielle Smith reacts with a smile after losing the provincial election April 23, 2012 in High River, Alberta. REUTERS/Mike Sturk/File Photo
(REUTERS/Mike Sturk/File Photo)
Smith spoke at the annual general meeting of the United Conservative Party on Saturday and later told the media that he was considering pardoning people jailed or fined for defying lockdown orders.
“It was a political decision to repeal the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the first place to enforce these fines, and I think it may be a political decision to amend and apologize for that and remove them,” Smith said.
CANADIAN MP TRUDEAU SAYS CREATING TWO CANADAS AFTER EXTENSION OF EMERGENCY ORDER DESPITE PROTESTS
He said the people who “come to mind” are pastors who have been punished for disobeying the country’s COVID regulations.
Panoramic view of downtown Edmonton. Monday, August 9, 2021, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(Arthur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“These are not the normal things to be fined and prosecuted for,” Smith said. “I will therefore look at the outstanding fines that are still outstanding and get some legal advice on which ones we can cancel and grant amnesty.”
Canadian pastor Arthur Pawlowski, for example, has been arrested and fined multiple times since 2020 for violating lockdown measures, including more than 50 days in jail after addressing a truck convoy in Alberta.
CANADIAN SHIPPERS PROTEST ORGANIZER RULED, JUDGE CITES ‘COMMUNITY SAFETY’
Earlier last week, Smith also called on businesses in the state to shut down coronavirus vaccine made its demands and said it was working to make it illegal to discriminate against people based on their vaccination status.
“What will happen in the fall is the amendment to the Human Rights Code, which makes it illegal to discriminate against anyone. The COVID vaccine status,” Smith said Thursday, according to CityNews.
“I recognize that there are still some organizations and some businesses in Alberta that do that [discriminating]and I just want to give you fair warning that we’re going to take serious action on this,” Smith said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Smith was sworn in as prime minister in October. 11 after former Alberta premier Jason Kenney resigned as leader of the United Conservative Party earlier this year.
