The immunization record policy was the hot topic of the Prince George-Peace Rivers-Northern Rockies candidate forum that was hosted by the Prince George Chamber of Commerce tonight (Monday).
The NDP’s Cory “Grizz” Longley, the Conservative’s Bob Zimmer, Amir Alavi with the Liberals, Ryan Dyck with the PPC, Dave Jeffers with the Maverick Party, and Catharine Kendall with the Green Party were in attendance.
Canada’s Fourth Front candidate Phil Hewkin was not in attendance.
Some candidates seemed to be a little on the fence about the issue, however, the Conservative and PPC candidates showed clear disapproval for the policy.
Moderator and UNBC Political Science Professor, Dr.Gary Wilson asked, “Canadians are divided about the issue of vaccine passports and other mandates aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 virus, what is your position on this issue?”
“My position and the position with the NDP is we are for science and we are for moving forward with our society rather than having to deal with a bunch of people who put the people that work so hard to keep us safe in harm’s way,” said Cory Longley with the NDP.
Longley addressed the hospital protests across BC, and called all attendees “horrible human beings”, he also showed clear dismay for one party’s affiliation with the rallies.
The PPC’s Ryan Dyck scoffed at Longley’s statement and addressed that he was most likely talking about the PPC since many supporters are outspoken about being against the vaccine and immunization record policy, and claimed the policy tramples on people’s rights.
“I have been at some of the protests and I’ve encouraged them not to protest in front of hospitals because it’s not productive and I really am about peacekeeping. But I would say this is a disaster, pushing this stuff through is causing us immeasurable harm,” added Dyck.
The Conservative’s Bob Zimmer also disapproves of the immunization policy and believes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau politicized the pandemic for his own personal gain, Zimmer notes anyone that is concerned about it should contact the Premier and their MLA.
“We do not support mandatory vaccination and support the right for you to make your own health choices when it comes to vaccines. For those who are unvaccinated, we continue to believe in reasonable measures such as rapid testing to help protect everyone, especially the most vulnerable,” said Zimmer.
Meanwhile, Amir Alavi with the Liberals supports the mandate and referred to other times when similar policies were used in the face of a public health crisis.
“Go ahead and check the other previous times that we had to deal with vaccinations, go check the TB (Tuberculosis) vaccination period back in 1950, and see how the whole society was being channeled through to making the right decision. I believe that the soft mandates that are moving forward are the right path do but definitely not in division language,” added Alavi.
Dave Jeffers with the Maverick Party says his party promotes the right to choose whether or not to get vaccinated, however, he recognizes the importance of getting inoculated but also shared disapproval over the government’s efforts.
“I am double vaccinated and am very pro-vaccine. It’s important to get vaccinated and understand the science behind it. I think this has been an epic failure on behalf of the government in the rollout and explaining the science and explaining the efficacy in the benefits and risk and everything else and that rollout was just a dismal failure,” Jeffers stated.
Catharine Kendall with the Green Party says getting vaccinated is imperative to the safety of all Canadians, but said the issue has become far too politicized, and creating mandatory legislation won’t work.
“Canadians need to be literate in transmissible disease prevention and at this time they are not. They’re becoming polarized on the topic to ‘vaxxer vs anti-vaxxer’ making it a human rights debate. Creating mandatory legislation for vaccines does not work as well as we think it will. Individuals with medical conditions, religious or cultural convictions and those that live rurally and remotely will require flexibility,” she explained.
Throughout the forum, a range of other issues such as climate change, gender-based violence, and housing affordability was discussed as well.
The election will take place on September 20, and the deadline to apply to vote by mail is tomorrow (Tuesday, September 14th) at 6:00 pm.