Canadians condemn Alberta premier: ‘Has Danielle Smith ever met an Indigenous person, Black person, Brown person?’
Danielle Smith, sworn in Tuesday as Alberta's new premier, has drawn the ire of Canadian doctors and residents with her comments on unvaccinated Canadians. A day after being sworn in, Smith pledged to amend the Alberta Human Rights Act, said she will change the health system within three months and alter the provincial human rights law to protect those who choose not to get vaccinated.
"(The unvaccinated) have been the most discriminated-against group that I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime,” Smith told reporters.
Smith says Alberta won't have any vaccine mandates, which will help attract more employees to the province.
Moreover, she has warned Albertans of upcoming rapid changes to the management health care team in the province. She has already decided to replace Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, and recruit a new team of advisors in public health.
I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a situation in my lifetime where a person was fired from their job or not allowed to watch their kids play hockey or not allowed to go visit a loved one in long-term care or hospital, not allowed to get on a plane to either go across the country to see family or even travel across the border. We are not going to create a segregated society on the basis of a medical choice.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
Her statement on the ongoing discrimination being faced by several unvaccinated groups was received negatively by doctors, medical professionals, and several residents of Canada. After a massive backlash, the premier tracked back her comments in a statement.
I wanted to clarify my comments at yesterday's press conference. Here is my full statement: pic.twitter.com/AIXmv6hBxB
— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) October 12, 2022
Here is what people across the country are saying about Premier Smith's comments:
Danielle Smith expressed concerns about how the unvaccinated were treated. I can personally assure her that we treated all of them in the ICU during the delta wave with kindness, dignity and respect, even while some of their families called us murderers and threatened our lives.
— Darren Markland (@drdagly) October 12, 2022
Somehow I missed the part of the pandemic where unvaccinated people weren’t allowed to marry the person they love. Or own property in their own name. Or vote. Or have clean water.
— Jennifer Howard (@howard_jennifer) October 11, 2022
Has #DanielleSmith ever met an indigenous person? A Black person, a Brown person, a Woman? A Brown Woman in a Hijab? A woman without a hijab in Iran? How do you live on this planet in this century and miss every freaking frame of every scene? https://t.co/jBjkuSCJaw
— Charles Adler (@charlesadler) October 12, 2022
Danielle Smith, Alberta’s new premier, is more upset at how unvaccinated people were treated than the horrible discrimination faced by many Indigenous Peoples, Black People, Muslim People & LGBTQ2S+ People...even today.
Seriously…how out of touch with reality can a person be?— Dr. Amit Arya (@AmitAryaMD) October 12, 2022
I can't remember a Canadian official ever saying anything more offensive in my entire lifetime than what Danielle Smith just said.
— Conrad Nobert (@conradnobert) October 11, 2022
Danielle Smith was born in 1971. At a time where Apartheid still existed, where you were fired for have a disability, being gay or contracting AIDS, where marital rape was still legal. But sure the unvaccinated had it worse.
Jesus Christ— Kristin Raworth (@KristinRaworth) October 11, 2022
So...Danielle Smith thinks unvaccinated people are the most discriminated against group she's ever seen.
Someone please tell her about: Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women. Residential Schools. Systemic racism. Genocide.
This is what discrimination actually looks like.— Naheed Dosani (@NaheedD) October 12, 2022
Danielle Smith claims the unvaccinated are the most discriminated against group. What a disgusting thing to say! Does she live in Canada?https://t.co/7w7A9fbfTl
— Birgit Uwaila Umaigba 🇳🇬 (@birgitomo) October 12, 2022
Danielle Smith's comments today on discrimination were completely disrespectful and tone deaf in light of all the work we are collectively committing to with respect to truth and reconciliation.
🧵 #ableg #yyc #yeg— Rachel Notley (@RachelNotley) October 12, 2022
These are the words of someone who has obviously no understanding of what discrimination actually is.
— jann arden (@jannarden) October 12, 2022
Say what you will about Danielle Smith, but I actually learn a lot from her. For example, I had no idea that you could sleep through every science AND history lesson since third grade and still become premier.
— Aaron Hoyland (@aaronhoyland) October 12, 2022
It’s beyond the pale that Danielle Smith can’t think of a group more discriminated against than anti-vaxxers.#ableg #abpoli
— Irfan Sabir (@MLAIrfanSabir) October 11, 2022
it’s hard to remember/imagine anything more offensive to the lives we lost in the pandemic and to the communities that have endured histories of systemic discrimination in our country than what Danielle Smith just said.
— Andrew Baback Boozary MD (@drandrewb) October 12, 2022
