Premier Scott Moe was forced Wednesday to clarify comments he made in February when he said that proof-of-vaccinations requirements created two-classes of citizens and appeared to be the most divisive policy in provincial history.
“So, what was actually a pretty extraordinary step to take in this province effectively created two classes of citizens. To my knowledge, this province has never done anything like that before in our history, for any vaccine, or for any other reason for that matter,” Moe said February 8 when he announced the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Moe’s comments were quickly condemned by First Nations People, who said the residential school policy was more divisive than any pandemic-related policy.
Saskatoon Centre MLA Betty Nippi-Albright, a former residential school survivor, called on Moe to apologize Tuesday for his remarks. “We know Saskatchewan has a long, trauma-filled history where one class of citizens were taken from their families, forced to be assimilated, and faced abuse,” she said. “For the Premier to evoke language to justify his political choices was wrong. Will the Premier apologize for those comments he made a month ago?”
Moe rose in the Legislature when asked by Opposition Leader Ryan Meili. Yet, he didn’t apologize for his comments.
“This policy that we had put in to try to make a safer society through the Delta wave in no way, should be compared to those policies of our past and no way should ultimately be compared to those very, very terrible policies that are part of all of our Canadian history.”