On September 13, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe signed into enactment new COVID-19 emergency power guidelines that not just permitted provincial authorities to seize personal property, but also detain or remove people without requiring a warrant.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health recently announced the new seemingly Orwellian orders based on the Emergency Planning Act. The Ministry highlighted the same as necessary to control the rising number of test-positive cases of COVID-19 in the province.
According to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health’s announcement, the primary reason for setting up these new health orders is the region’s rising number of test-positive individuals. So far, 262 people are currently under hospital care after a “fourth wave” of COVID-19’s supposedly more contagious Delta variant took place.
Some notable provisions of the new emergency power guidelines include “assume direction and control of the emergency response of a local authority,” and “acquire or utilize any real or personal property that the minister considers necessary to prevent, combat or alleviate the effects of an emergency.”
The new guidelines also stressed the “temporary redeployment of health care employees to meet the anticipated increase in COVID-19 health care needs.”
Moreover, the new health orders are expected to be followed by all of the residents of Saskatchewan, or else they will be subjected to harsh penalties. The guidelines even provide that violators may face possible jail time if they do not observe the said orders.
Premier Scott Moe disclosed that the new guidelines were established because the province of Saskatchewan appeared to be “very lenient” in the past few months regarding the prevention of the COVID-19 infection. This “leniency” is directed to individuals who still avoid vaccination even though they do not have any valid medical exemptions.
In line with the new health orders, Moe also divulged the requirement of a vaccine passport beginning on October 1 to access and participate in public establishments and events. These include going to gyms, attending concerts and workshops, and having a meal at indoor dining places. However, instead of a vaccine passport, a negative COVID-19 test result is also accepted for admittance.
While Saskatchewan is not the first province in Canada to require a vaccine passport, it is one of the most recent ones to enact draconian rules, which seemingly step on the Constitutional freedoms of its residents. A very close example is that of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who, in the guise of the province’s Public Health Act, signed a policy that prevented unvaccinated individuals from having family gatherings in their respective homes.
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) president, John Carpay, related that this policy is saying that people who haven’t got their COVID-19 vaccine jabs are “worse spreaders of viruses” compared to those who are vaccinated.
Carpay also added that Kenney, along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is on the bandwagon of “scapegoating, demonizing and vilifying the minority of unvaccinated individuals.”
