Just in time for the holidays, PM Justin Trudeau is holding an emergency call at 6 pm EST concerning the spread of the non-deadly Omicron variant, which has yet to kill a single person worldwide.
It isn’t clear what restrictions, if any, will be imposed. It is worth noting that Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was planning on loosening restrictions today — but delayed the press conference to Wednesday.
Given the federal government’s poor judgement and overreaction to COVID-19 over the last two years, it’s likely that federal measures will be extreme, possibly threatening the Christmas season for all Canadians.
According to Brian Liley, it is expected that Trudeau will announce the following: travellers must be vaccinated to enter; no foreigners can enter the country; provincial advisories against travel or provincial stay-at-home orders. It is also likely Trudeu will pressure Premiers to put limits on indoor gatherings even at home with family.
Regarding the call between @JustinTrudeau and the premiers tonight.
Hearing:
Must be vaccinated to enter.
No non-citizens.
Advisory against non-essential travel.
Feds will also push provinces to enact domestic measures including limiting Christmas gatherings, even family.— Brian Lilley (@brianlilley) December 14, 2021
As has been the norm, the Federal government has pressured Premiers throughout the pandemic to enact restrictions on their behalf without directly curtailing the liberties of Canadians — that was until they announced travel restrictions and vaccine mandates for federal workers.
Currently, there seems to be some division among the Premiers, with Alberta’s Jason Kenney wanting to ease restrictions for the holiday season, while Ontario’s Doug Ford has already announced a bolstering of such restrictions.
Indeed, last Friday, Kenney tacitly admitted that there was no emergency in Alberta, announcing the easing of restrictions so that Albertans can legally assemble for the holidays.
“I’ll be gathering with three family members. We’re all fully vaccinated, come from three households, only four people. But we wouldn’t be able to do that based on the current rules,” Kenney said.
While he did not mention any future lifting of all restrictions, he continued, saying, “I don’t want to create a situation where we have millions of Albertans violating the rules when we’re not in a current emergency situation,” Kenney said.
Unfortunately, Trudeau appears poised to shut it down even as Canadians are out and about buying presents for their loved ones.
