https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...-condemns-planned-hospital-protests-1.6173972
People march during a protest against COVID-19 vaccine passports and mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers, in Vancouver, on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. Similar protests are planned Monday in Edmonton and Calgary. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is condemning planned protests at hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary on Monday by an anti-mandatory vaccination group.
Canadian Frontline Nurses is planning protests at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton and Foothills hospital in Calgary.
In a statement posted online, Kenney said peaceful protests are a constitutional right but they also have limits.
"Today's protests must in no way obstruct the important operations of our hospitals, including the arrival and departure of emergency vehicles and workers. Blocking an ambulance is most definitely not peaceful protest," he said.
"In Alberta, local law enforcement is fully empowered to enforce the law in a timely fashion, including the potential use of the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act."
The act, passed in the spring of 2020, allows fines to be levied against any person or company found to have blocked, damaged or entered without reason any "essential infrastructure."
The bill was passed in response to blockades of rail lines in January 2020.
Alex Puddifant, press secretary to Justice Minister Kaycee Madu, told Radio Canada Monday that while hospitals are not explicitly mentioned in the bill, blocking a highway or public road in front of a hospital would be prohibited.
Protesters found to have violated the act face fines up to $25,000 and six months in jail.
Protests are planned in Edmonton and Calgary on Monday afternoon
CBC News · Posted: Sep 13, 2021 12:28 PM MT | Last Updated: 12 minutes agoPeople march during a protest against COVID-19 vaccine passports and mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers, in Vancouver, on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. Similar protests are planned Monday in Edmonton and Calgary. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is condemning planned protests at hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary on Monday by an anti-mandatory vaccination group.
Canadian Frontline Nurses is planning protests at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton and Foothills hospital in Calgary.
In a statement posted online, Kenney said peaceful protests are a constitutional right but they also have limits.
"Today's protests must in no way obstruct the important operations of our hospitals, including the arrival and departure of emergency vehicles and workers. Blocking an ambulance is most definitely not peaceful protest," he said.
"In Alberta, local law enforcement is fully empowered to enforce the law in a timely fashion, including the potential use of the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act."
The act, passed in the spring of 2020, allows fines to be levied against any person or company found to have blocked, damaged or entered without reason any "essential infrastructure."
The bill was passed in response to blockades of rail lines in January 2020.
Alex Puddifant, press secretary to Justice Minister Kaycee Madu, told Radio Canada Monday that while hospitals are not explicitly mentioned in the bill, blocking a highway or public road in front of a hospital would be prohibited.
Protesters found to have violated the act face fines up to $25,000 and six months in jail.