Photo by Vince Fedoroff
MAKING THEIR POINT – Protesters of mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for territorial government employees gathered outside the Yukon Government Main Administration Building on Monday, then disrupted the proceedings when they attended that day’s sitting of the legislative assembly.
Photo by Vince Fedoroff
EXPLAINING THE RULES – Dan Cable, left, the clerk of the legislative assembly, talks to the people in the gallery who disrupted Monday afternoon’s proceedings. On the right is Joe Mewett, the chamber’s sergeant-at-arms.
Photo by Vince Fedoroff
PETITION FORMALLY TABLED – Patti McLeod, the Yukon Party MLA for Watson Lake, tables the petition protesting the Yukon government’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy Monday afternoon in the legislature.
Photo by Vince Fedoroff
EXPLAINING THE RULES – Dan Cable, left, the clerk of the legislative assembly, talks to Jonas Smith, a key organizer of Monday’s rally, outside the Yukon Government Main Administration Building.
Photo by Vince Fedoroff
A HEFTY PETITION – Gabriel Mamer-Roode, a page in the Yukon legislature, is seen Monday with the petition tabled in the chamber.
It was a raucous start to the legislative assembly sitting on Monday afternoon.
It was a raucous start to the legislative assembly sitting on Monday afternoon.
People protesting the Yukon government’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy for public servants flooded into the public gallery to see Yukon Party MLA Patti McLeod present a petition on their behalf.
They had staged a rally at noon outside the legislature opposing the policy.
The petition, which has not been vetted by the Star, apparently has more than 2,000 names on it.
It was organized largely through the efforts of Jonas J. Smith.
He had been the Yukon’s candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in September’s election, but was turfed partially for his views on mandatory vaccine policies, and ran independently.
“I am very grateful for the support of the more than 2,300 Yukoners from across the territory that came together in a short period of time to sign the petition opposing the proposed vaccine mandate,” Smith said.
“I think it is important to remember that our neighbours’ careers and livelihoods are at stake, that they are worried about how they will be able to feed and provide for their families this winter, particularly if they are already struggling financially because of the last 20 months of restrictions imposed upon them by people who haven’t missed a single paycheque throughout this whole ordeal.
“I appreciate that it is an emotional and polarizing issue for many, so that is why from the very beginning my message has been one of understanding; urging all Yukoners – those who have chosen to be vaccinated or not – to respect differing perspectives and find a way to accommodate each other’s concerns,” Smith said.
Deputy Speaker Annie Blake was presiding over the sitting for the day in the absence of Speaker Jeremy Harper.
As the spectators grew more agitated after she told them they all had to wear masks while sitting in the gallery, Blake quickly pulled the plug and took a time out.
Both the governing Liberals and the NDP members quickly left the chamber.
The Yukon Party MLAs stayed put for the 15-minute recess.
That left Dan Cable, the clerk of the legislature, to scold the fractious members of the audience and negotiate a promise they would behave.
There was another brief bit of shouting as the house reconvened, but otherwise it was more or less peaceful.
McLeod presented the petition a few minutes later. Only a sitting member can present a petition to the assembly.
Afterward, Premier Sandy Silver said he always encourages the public to attend the legislature, but only if they listen and don’t disrupt matters.
“Anybody from the public is allowed to be in the gallery but the gallery is not for participation. It’s for listening,” Silver said.
“I haven’t seen the petition,” he continued. “It’s my understanding that it has to do with the most recent recommendations of the chief medical officer of health (Dr. Catherine Elliott). The new vaccine requirements are based on those recommendations. They are there for public safety.”
Silver said he was “very disappointed in the Yukon Party” for agreeing to present the petition. He took that as criticism and a questioning of Elliott’s judgment.
Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon was also unimpressed with the behaviour of some of the protestors.
He said he didn’t condone the behaviour of the rowdiest protestors, but also said the number of signatures on the petition warrants examination in the legislature.
“I want to say it’s entirely unacceptable for members of the public to interrupt and disrupt the procedures of the legislative assembly,” he said.
“I think people have a right to come to the legislative assembly and see the proceedings but the functioning of the legislative assembly is important to our democracy to disrupt that functioning is not acceptable.
“The petition was signed by thousands of Yukoners, and I’d like to say I have opposed the way the Liberal government has imposed the policy,” Dixon said.
“While I don’t agree with every single word of the petition, I think with that many people signing it that it deserves to be heard, and it deserves a response from the government.
“It’s now incumbent on the government to explain its policy. I think it’s a testament to the interest in this subject.”
Silver announced Oct. 15 that Yukon government employees, including school staffs, must have been vaccinated by Nov. 30.
The government has not indicated the fate of employees who decline to obtain their shots.
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Comments (77)
Up 16 Down 24
Yukoner on Nov 8, 2021 at 12:24 pm
Pretty sad that coming up on Remembrance Day people are comparing vaccine mandates to the injustices leading up to and of WWII. Those that fought sacrificed greatly for the greater good; you are being asked to make a comparably immeasurable sacrifice for the greater good by getting vaccinated. Buck up.
Up 29 Down 14
ben on Nov 8, 2021 at 10:01 am
Unpopular opinion alert!! People are starting to get very bent out of shape by others comparing these matters to the actions of a certain Austrian born dictator..... and I'm not too sure why, cause there are many parallels going on today. Dictatorships don't just appear overnight, they arise by something known as the "totalitarian tiptoe", whereby historically powerful individuals have eroded at people's freedoms gradually and in increments, until the general population find themselves in a state of brainwashing and acceptance of their position which they would never have accepted if it was done in one go.
Read your history books, people have used states of emergency in modern history to invoke legislation that gave them considerable power over the population and allowed them to slowly keep pressing the subjugation and convincing the population that it's for their own good...... does that sound familiar?
People need to consider at what point is the erosion too much for them.
If you're offended by people likening these mandates to the actions of an Austrian-born, German dictator (whose actions were so terrible he does not deserve to be named), then you really need to consider how generally offensive these mandates are that people are making the cross reference.
Up 14 Down 16
JC on Nov 7, 2021 at 7:25 pm
Oh Josey
Thanks for walking us through your mental gymnastics
Just cause you can write paragraphs about it, doesn't make it legitimate. Equating this situation with the lead up to the holocaust is braindead nonsense.
I guess that's why you advocate it, eh?
Up 4 Down 4
Rolf on Nov 7, 2021 at 5:24 pm
@Joe : Resistance is futile.
Up 21 Down 10
Josey Wales on Nov 7, 2021 at 1:55 pm
Hey anie...I do not like that line...”educate yourself” so I won’t use it today.
What some are trying to convey, is that the entire crazy Austrian program was a whole bunch of incremental steps that led to that dark chapter of willfully ignorant bliss. Many of the mental tactics and yep...language are right outta that period pre 1933 through into 1945.
Also to equate all this to just going out for dinner being interrupted?
But carry on hiding behind a hyperbolically emotional curtain and screaming of all thing not understood.
The crazy Austrian even referenced Canada’s Indian act to advise on a divide strategy.
South Africa did the same thing during their apartheid campaign.
...funny thing, we STILL have an Indian Act...effin crazy eh?
Those things may make you uncomfortable, but comfort has not a big role in the real world...hence intellectual midgets demanding safe spaces.
Up 9 Down 20
JC on Nov 7, 2021 at 11:18 am
So, Hitler used the language of disease and eradication to target Jews and other undesirables. Now, because we use the language of eradication and disease when talking about a literal disease we want to eradicate, it must mean that it's a Nazi-era program of oppression.... did I get that right?
Am I doing the hyper-offensive, terminal brainworms thingy right?
Merciful heavens
Up 20 Down 32
Anie on Nov 7, 2021 at 7:39 am
It is appalling that anyone could compare the imprisonments, torture, starvation and mass murders of Jewish and other nationalities to the inconvenience of not being able to sit in a restaurant because of choice. What have we become?
Up 19 Down 35
Conner Bain on Nov 6, 2021 at 7:25 pm
So nice that the names on the petition are all pubic. Hopefully none of these people seek hospital treatment in the future and take up precious health care resources. The ones that do are not going to get a whole lot of sympathy. It's funny to see the names. Some of these people are smokers... Like how are you worried about the vaccine when you suck on a bunch of cancer causing cigarettes?
Up 31 Down 16
Joe on Nov 6, 2021 at 7:14 pm
@Rolf... any business that supports vaccine mandates will be doomed to fail as they will lose a significant percentage of their business forever. I will not produce vax card when asked and I will never return to that establishment again. That's a fact, just as much a fact as vaccination doesn't prevent spread therefore mandates are discriminatory - they are a cheap political wedge.
Up 10 Down 17
JoC on Nov 6, 2021 at 2:35 pm
Just sayin
Yeah yeah, Stacy, we all saw your "brilliant" FB wall of text. Posting it here is *chef's kiss*
"If I replace this word with this one, and this word with this one, you'll see how YOU are HITLER, and I am in AUSCHWITZ"
Imagine, changing words with other words makes statements mean something different! Language is tricky like that...
Oh, and that poem? You, uh, got some things wrong.
Like the title. Oh, and the order.
Also, the poem was about anti-communism leading to fascism, not... whatever you're on about.
Good grief
Up 36 Down 19
Just sayin on Nov 5, 2021 at 10:39 pm
Politicians and Medical officers are on thin ice if they think that following orders and not listening to the constituents that voted for them, is safe and justified. You and all your fellow politicians are on the wrong side of history. Those who forget history will repeat it. You and other politicians will be held liable for not doing your full fiduciary duty and other duties in representing the interests of the people of the Canada.
Crashing the fragile economy will have serious consequences. Destroying Canadians lives, for your fascist agenda, will be returned to you. It has already been established in the Nuremberg trials that just following orders does not excuse your actions. The deaths from suicides, domestic abuse, overdoses, forced medical vaccines, starvation from the loss of jobs, housing and small businesses, people dying at home from lack of medical care is on your hands. Those deaths are way larger in number than the less than 1% deaths from a virus that is no different than any other flu out there.
First, They Came for The Jews
Poem by Martin Niemöller
First, they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Up 37 Down 17
Just sayin on Nov 5, 2021 at 10:33 pm
Have you found yourself quoting or believing the following statements?
1.It is unvaccinated that is spreading this disease that effects our children and the most vulnerable and it needs to stop.
2.It is unvaccinated that are uneducated spreading misinformation on society causing the government to make measures that affect us all. These people need to stop spreading indoctrination and ideology of the unvaccinated.
3.The unvaccinated should at the very least wear recognition in order to protect themselves and identify that they are the unvaccinated.
4.If vaccinated people want to live freely then it is only the unvaccinated that is blocking us from the freedom we deserve, the return back to our society.
5.It should be vaccinated only allowed into places of business and employment because the unvaccinated is not only a danger to themselves but others as well.
Re-read the five quotes but this time change "unvaccinated", with "Jewish community", and "vaccinated" with "German". Then understand your quoting NAZI Germany in 1932 till the end of WW2. Did you know that Hitler created “Ahnenpa𐌁” a racial passport that authorized Aryans to have the best jobs, entrance to museums, public buildings, theatres and Universities? Health Passes have been used before. The 'Gesundheits Pass' which in German means 'Health Pass'. You are participating in the repeat of history. Which side of history do you want to be on?
Up 34 Down 13
Just sayin on Nov 5, 2021 at 10:33 pm
Dear Dishonourable Politicians and Canadian Citizen’s who support mandated vaccines and passports, lest we forget…… history repeats itself when forgotten. So let us remember at this time honoring our veterans’; young, old, and all those that laid down their lives for us, why they fought. They fought for our freedom to choose, freedom to speak without fear, free to worship in our own way, freedom to stand for what we think is right, and the freedom to oppose what we believe wrong. The freedom to choose our own health treatments.
Up 9 Down 19
John B on Nov 5, 2021 at 9:53 pm
Amazing the amount to church going people who signed. They have no problem telling women what to do with their bodies pretty much all the time but this is too far.
Up 17 Down 17
JC on Nov 5, 2021 at 6:05 pm
@ Joe
Wow, maybe you should see it again. One Brian Boone appears 3 times in the first 125 pages. Cindy Carey, twice. Kent Wilbern, twice. A couple Rotondis appear twice. I read every single name, over 306 pages. As mentioned before, the have some kids, too (3 confirmed, 3 more suspected)
They even got Elvis Presley!
I don't agree with the mandate, but I'd never sign this manipulative bull****, and I will never stand with people giving it their all to paint themselves as innocent-yet-defiant, freedom-fighting martyrs. It's embarrassing.
Up 14 Down 11
Rolf on Nov 5, 2021 at 5:46 pm
Can a list of the business people that have been signatory on this petition - possibly be published on FB?
Up 33 Down 32
Joe on Nov 5, 2021 at 2:09 pm
@ JC.. wow funny thing is when I read the names on that petition I don't see any duplicates, matter of fact I see many business owners and long term Yukon residents. I must also say that the petition was not well circulated and I know the five adults in my household would have signed, vax or not. I pity all those who have drank the kool aid and stand by while our freedoms and rights are eroded. Oh well, history has shown us that discrimination and disrespect of minorities come back to bite you later on.
Up 17 Down 12
JC on Nov 5, 2021 at 1:31 pm
The Whitehorse Star edited my comment to remove "Literal Children"
But I wasn't saying it to belittle adults who signed it. I said it because there are names and "signatures" of *actual children.* This can be confirmed by finding their names in news articles.
So the question is: what legitimacy does their inclusion on this petition offer, and what legitimacy does it detract from? Surely children more often than not know about bodily autonomy, but to say a 10 yo (let alone their younger sibling) understands what they're signing here, let alone what it means in the context of current social, political, and economic landscapes, would be a hard sell indeed.
Up 27 Down 10
YukonMax on Nov 5, 2021 at 6:57 am
I do not recall any negative comments from YG employees working from home.
We (the taxpayers) should have signed a petition that required everyone to stay at their posts.
Up 38 Down 17
North_of_60 on Nov 4, 2021 at 9:41 pm
The biggest issue at this point is that so many people have gone along with the C0vid Crisis narrative for so long, that now they have to defend it at all costs, no matter how absurd it becomes.
Up 22 Down 20
JC on Nov 4, 2021 at 6:23 pm
So, the petition can be found online
https://yukonassembly.ca/sites/default/files/2021-11/petition-35-1-05.pdf
Know what I see?
Duplicates like crazy
Zero surprises
Oh, and someone even signed as the Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant
What a valuable document!
Lol forever
Up 26 Down 40
Anie on Nov 4, 2021 at 2:24 pm
Pure blood, I don't think anyone gives a tinkers if you get the vaccine or not. You are not important. We just want to take appropriate steps to keep you away from the rest of us. Other than that, you just don't matter.
Up 51 Down 15
Rei Ayanami on Nov 4, 2021 at 1:00 pm
It's not the unvaccinated's job to protect the vaccinated. That's the vaccine's job.
Up 37 Down 43
wow, some people should take a break on Nov 4, 2021 at 11:31 am
No one is going to change anyone's minds at this point, and it's a waste of time to try. Remember a year or so ago, when the folks opposed to masks and vaccines had a saying 'you do you'? Well, the situation has reversed now, but I'm quite willing to think and say that to the people who seem to believe we're in some kind of 'apartheid', 'segregation', 'fascist' oppression, and they think that they're freedom fighters or martyrs. Not even close.
I just booked a vacation in a warm spot for a few weeks, with vaccine mandates and tight restrictions, and I'm very much ok with that. The people there didn't blink, as they knew it was the way to reduce cases and hospital stays, and to keep the economy going.
Up 57 Down 20
Gordie Gee on Nov 4, 2021 at 3:05 am
Silver was; “very disappointed in the Yukon Party” {for agreeing to present the petition}.
Right.. ! Disappointed indeed that he isn't head of a one-party-state, with NO opposition?!
The smug arrogance abounds..
Up 31 Down 27
Gordie Gee on Nov 4, 2021 at 2:58 am
To those who are absolutely certain the vaccines are safe, effective and accomplishing anything for the 'greater good', I admonish you to watch this video. Resist the temptation of "argument ad hominem". I invite anyone to point out the holes in what these highly educated & experienced professionals are saying: https://youtu.be/qg17-THctGA
Up 7 Down 27
TheHammer on Nov 3, 2021 at 8:11 pm
Pureblood@ Do you mean Type O positive? I had ten blood transfusions in Thailand. The Donors are the young men in the Thai military. I felt 10 years younger. After two COVID shots I was like Tarzan on steroids.
Up 46 Down 29
Josie on Nov 3, 2021 at 8:06 pm
Today it is the unvaxed who's Freedoms are being taken away.
Tomorrow it will be mine...
What line does the government have to cross for YOU to feel uncomfortable with the "health" mandate they've made for you?
Up 23 Down 17
JC on Nov 3, 2021 at 5:41 pm
"Allowing the government to divide us"
"Letting politicians polarize us"
Why are so many people convinced that pro-vaxxers are being puppeteered by political theatre?
Maybe it's a Freudian slip...
Up 34 Down 26
Jim on Nov 3, 2021 at 4:59 pm
This petition is a joke. Am I the only one who noticed that nobody batted an eye as the Feds mandated all the airline industry make all their staff be vaccinated or suspended. Over 2000 workers sent home with no pay. Where was the outrage when public transport requires complete vaccination along with covid passports to travel? But now that a few cushy government jobs are at stake, we are all in a flap. Yes, freedom of choice is being trampled on, but where was everyone when it first started? Sorry people, that ship sailed quite some time ago.
Up 52 Down 23
JP on Nov 3, 2021 at 4:39 pm
It is very interesting to read articles about Covid vaccine through large media in English. It tells only one side of vaccine facts.
Media in my mother tongue which is spoken in only one country provides information of both sides. Its goverment encourages vaccine but not mandate it. The only people who have enough trust take it. This is the freedom.
BTW, the Canadian government has been blocking unwanted information through internet. News you hear daily is only what the govenment wants you to believe.
Up 66 Down 16
Hesitant on Nov 3, 2021 at 4:35 pm
The toxic comments on here attacking people who have signed this petition say more about the commentator than those who they are speaking about. I am a working individual affected by this (not YG employed but NGO funded by YG) I hesitate because the long term data does not exist, you can say trust the science all you want but science is ever changing and I trust the scientific method which is to question and test.
By way of example, they now know that vaccine efficacy of those who had the second dose after 4 weeks from the first have waning efficacy, they now recommend waiting 8 weeks for the second dose. I am not anti-vaxx, or anti-science but the vaccine is still experimental whether you want to believe that or not is your own choice, and I defend your right to choose and only ask that you respect my right to choose. I continue to social distance, I wear a mask when asked, I have always had good hygiene so hand washing is easy to follow and I keep to myself.
Everyone needs to stop letting politicians polarize us against one another and respect each of our own rights to make our own choices in life without being punished for exercising that right. I am not a danger but to those of you that think I am... I walk amongst you and you don't even know who I am. I could be your neighbour, your friend or colleague. Maybe try showing some compassion or try to understand other perspectives before attacking people and labelling them to fit your narrative. I don't label any of you as "sheep" or anything like that, I just see you as people who's personal choices I have no business in knowing unless you choose to share them and respectfully ask that you afford me that one little thing.
Up 40 Down 9
Juniper Jackson on Nov 3, 2021 at 3:51 pm
The last time I looked, we still had bits and pieces of what we used to refer as 'freedom'. If people want to march around, do so. If you want to drive on by, do so. That is called having a choice. Everyone, and I do mean every single one of us, has an opinion about covid. Everyone can find 100,000 URLs affirming 'yea', and another 100,000 affirming 'nay'. The information of yesterday, is apparently fake news today, fake news today is confirmed tomorrow. People whose opinion differs from mine are not Anti-vaxxers and tinfoil hat crackpots, are not jobless bums etc. They made their choice, my choice is too stay away from them. It was my choice to be double vaxxed.
My Dr., whom I choose to believe, said, this won't keep you from getting covid, but, it will probably give you an easier death. I won't stop living..i.e. shopping. CGC, eating out, on a maybe. People have no symptoms, are healthy, maybe they are going to give me covid? But, that is MY choice. Others can also choose to stay home. My objections come when someone uses force to coerce me into doing things their way.
Smith? well.. people are going to do whatever they are going to do, regardless of what you, or me, says.
Up 50 Down 24
Just say NO on Nov 3, 2021 at 3:23 pm
A preponderance of medical science evidence from around the world shows that the C0vid vax does not inhibit the contracting and transmitting of the disease. In fact those countries with the highest vax rates also have the highest rates of C0vid infection in both the vaxzd and unvaxzd. We should be asking if the shot is making the infection worse.
The C0vid shot might reduce the severity of the infection in the person who got it, but claims that getting the shot protects others are not validated by medical science evidence. That would be like claiming a tetanus shot we get protects others from catching tetanus, or that your wearing sunscreen keeps me from getting sunburned.
There is absolutely no medical justification to mandate that anyone, including health care workers, must get the shot. Taking an injection of any drug, is a personal choice guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Up 52 Down 13
John on Nov 3, 2021 at 2:18 pm
I take umbrage with comments folks that treat freedom with such callousness. Freedom is about choice. For example freedom of choice for abortion - 'it is my body and I shall determine what I do with it'. This famous saying goes to the heart of this issue as well. As a society we have agreed (yes, not unanimously) to abortion not just now as a right but a freedom of choice. Freedom of choice is an inherent right that we have subscribed to as a society that sets us aside from the despot nations of this world. Freedom is giving us the right to express ourselves as individuals. Perhaps we should really be flippant and say all those who dye their hair pink with green dots are abusing their freedoms - even though a large part of the population may believe otherwise because it makes them ill.
Yes this is a hot issue only because "we" (the collective we) have permitted those governing us to peck away at our freedom. We should not fool ourselves when Silver said "...he was “very disappointed in the Yukon Party” for agreeing to present the petition." Well Silver, you are guilty of cherry picking what is important to the electorate and what is not. Under your reasoning it is OK to state 'I will not accept petitions' knowing (or should know) it cuts into the very heart of our free right to do so. Frankly I don't care who signs a petition - when you get a significant group enunciating the same theme IT IS YOUR DUTY TO LISTEN AND RESPOND in a respectful manner.
All of us need to stop siding with the erosion of our freedoms by allowing the government to divide us simply because "we" wish to exercise our freedom - including freedom of choice. We must ever be vigilant as a society to ensure that our rights and freedoms are not eroded because it is expedient to do so for whatever reason. Democracy is messy, ugly and takes a lot of energy to make it work. In the end we must decide is it worth it. I say yes...
Up 28 Down 50
JC on Nov 3, 2021 at 12:34 pm
VIOLATES INFORMED CONSENT!?
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Nobody's forced me to get the vaccine. They're just telling you, that if you don't have it, you don't get to access certain areas of society. That isn't a revocation of informed consent, it's called rules, and we have them for all kinds of things.
Sweet mercy, but you all do get up your bulls*** at the drop of a syringe, doncha?
Up 47 Down 57
JC on Nov 3, 2021 at 12:29 pm
Blood clots, eh? You mean the kind that strikes *maybe* 1 in 50000, and of those, about 20% of cases are fatal? Oh, and did I mention yet blood clots have only been linked to a vaccine type that isn't even available up here?
Anti-vaxxers and tinfoil hat crackpots love to dismiss the severity of COVID, then blow up about blood clots that are orders of magnitude rarer. They like to scream "experimental!" while consuming any number of products that contain any number of compounds whose safety tests can't be trusted due to a long history of commercially-driven corruption. They talk about adverse effects without including the FACT that every single vaccine has had the potential for adverse effects, and they do occur, but that vaccination is done because the potential for danger is overwhelmingly less than the disease itself.
How many "good people" will be lost, you ask? From here, it's looking like 0. Stop flattering yourselves
Up 26 Down 32
comen sense on Nov 3, 2021 at 12:08 pm
Jonas, please understand if you remain on - you are jeopardizing getting rid of the Liberal in the next not so far away election
Up 35 Down 58
TMYK on Nov 3, 2021 at 10:53 am
I’m still shocked that so many people were stupid enough to put their names, phone numbers and addresses on a list that was given to government but they don’t want a Covid passport. Now that it is a public document gov, businesses and dev corps can now refer to it to see if your name is on the list when hiring. Just plain stupid.
Up 53 Down 47
Chris Fox on Nov 3, 2021 at 10:51 am
Yukoners need to realize that whatever Smith is doing he's doing it for exactly ONE person - himself.
Up 54 Down 15
Jayne W on Nov 3, 2021 at 10:06 am
“I think it is important to remember that our neighbours’ careers and livelihoods are at stake, that they are worried about how they will be able to feed and provide for their families this winter, particularly if they are already struggling financially because of the last 20 months of restrictions imposed upon them by people who haven’t missed a single paycheque throughout this whole ordeal."
Jonas quoted this...FEAR NOT Jonas, I can send these folks to about 30 places that need staff.....they will not go hungry, and they are not required to tell their vaccine status. (yet)
Up 8 Down 35
TheHammer on Nov 3, 2021 at 9:50 am
Comment:
Freedom-The grinning face of the rising right wing that could bring down the hospital and create an out of control COVID wave:
What@ 'we are in a good spot'. It seems to be getting worse!
Richard Smith@ 'getting COVID and acquiring valuable anti bodies is a great plus"! If you survive.
Gerry@ '...individual sovereignty over body, mind, and spirit..' Let me rephrase that for you: The spirit has sovereignty over body and mind.
Up 32 Down 51
Humble Measure on Nov 3, 2021 at 9:23 am
2300 Yukon residents, or randoms found online? This number seems suspect.
All I see are the same 30 or so people walking around downtown every day with placards, and I don't think they are personally affected by the YG vaccination requirement, or they would be at work.
Up 26 Down 43
Wes on Nov 3, 2021 at 8:55 am
~30,000 eligible voters in the territory. 2300 people (I’m assuming Mr Smiths kids and others signed the petition as well, because you see kids at the demonstrations) signed the petition.
Odd that the numbers mirror the percentage of vaccinated and unvaccinated.
As has been stated before, Jonas got the anti-vaxxer vote.
Up 50 Down 25
Matthew on Nov 3, 2021 at 7:58 am
I encourage you ALL to read the Charter of Rights... if you're not sick to the stomach you need to turn off the TV and take a long hard look in the mirror.. FEARS should NEVER justify basic human freedoms!
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/
Up 34 Down 44
JC on Nov 3, 2021 at 7:29 am
Gerry
Hyperbolic nonsense from a juiced-up, self-diagnosed victimhood. An inflated sense of entitlement from people who refuse to acknowledge a responsibility to the society in which they are embedded.
No sympathy for crackpots or tinfoil hat wearers.
Up 33 Down 40
JC on Nov 3, 2021 at 7:06 am
Richard Smith
No one is "harassing" the anti-vaxxers. How ridiculous. You can get and spread covid if vaccinated, yes. But it isn't at the same rate. Saying such a thing only proves you neither read the data, nor understand how viruses work. If you're so concerned about antibodies, then you should be for the vaccine, because that's what it gives you. In fact, infection antibodies combined with antibodies created by exposure to the vaccine work together to increase protection. This is known. However, natural exposure without a vaccine is known to increase severity. Your entire framing is devoid of reality or compassion.
Also, it's incredibly unnerving to read you invoking European contact as some kind of premise for an anti-vax conclusion... I mean, if at the time of contact a vaccine for smallpox was available, and some nations were being almost utterly destroyed, do you really think that those citizens would cluck their tongues and insist on getting antibodies "the natural way?"
You know, by decimation?
What an absolutely flabbergasting idea. Just wrongheaded nonsense through and through.
Up 33 Down 44
Counter protest--Yukon Conservative 'Wisdom' lol on Nov 3, 2021 at 7:06 am
“It’s now incumbent on the government to explain its policy. I think it’s a testament to the interest in this subject.” (Currie Dixon) So Jonas Smith gets booted as the federal candidate of the cons for this kind of 'interest in the subject' but Currie is right in there condoning this, applauding this, and acting as anti vaxer himself? What would you/your government do differently Dixon? Is the Yukon Conservative Party against what other larger jurisdictions are doing and and in their unscientific wisdom instead saying 'get vaccinated if you want, but don't get vaccinated if you don't want?'
Forget science, you protesters and your conservative backups know everything and modern vaccinations that have stopped spreading of other horrible maladies (like polio, like mumps, measles, rubella, etc) are just bunk right? I wish that somebody would organize a counter protest to these 'protesters.' Enough already! Oh, and recently I heard that one of the 'protester' families had their teenager daughter go and secretly get the vaccine as she disagrees with her crazy parents.
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JC on Nov 3, 2021 at 6:47 am
@What
Do you think that going to the gym, flying and eating out are "freedoms?"
Those are privileges, reserved for those willing to accept responsibility as members of a larger society. Refusing to be vaccinated, one of the safest prevention methods in the history of medical intervention, means you don't meet that criteria. Lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.
Also no one is stopping you from socializing. I've never seen such absurd levels of hyperbole than from this contemporary breed of anti-vaxxers
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Mr Facts on Nov 3, 2021 at 6:06 am
Oh boo hoo for the little disturbance. You "elite" think you are so important with your endless useless meetings and empty symbolic gestures. Be happy anyone even showed up to your monotonous gathering. The only ones pushing this vax now are the ones who got hurt by it and want everyone to drink that same Kool Aid. I'll take what God gave me any day over your "GREAT RESET" poison, lmao.
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DL on Nov 3, 2021 at 1:21 am
For those interested in signing that petition, there’s still time. You can sign that petition at the Rally at Shipyards Park on Saturday from 1 pm to 3 pm.
To see that petition (and 3 others) visit https://yukonfreedom.com/petitions/
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DL on Nov 3, 2021 at 1:12 am
When will mainstream media report that this vax mandate completely violates the medical and legal principle of INFORMED CONSENT. These chief medical officers are obviously failing their medical oath by omitting to mention the serious adverse effects of this injection that have been reported on a wide scale.
And Silver seems to have forgotten that elected officials are there to represent the people, not to dictate to us what is injected into our bodies.
To top it all, they are coercing people by threatening them with loss of income if they don’t take that risky covid injection. This is harmful and immoral.
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Max Mack on Nov 3, 2021 at 12:05 am
To the Star:
"The petition, which has not been vetted by the Star . . ."
Since when do you care about vetting petitions? Is that your job? Did you care about vetting petitions when a bunch of school children signed a petition against "conversion therapy"? Or how about the massively distorted "save the Peel" petition?
I find your implicit bias troubling.
". . . turfed partially for his views on mandatory vaccine policies, and ran independently."
What evidence do you have that Jonas was turfed for anything other than his views on vaccine mandates? Has O'Toole's henchmen finally come out with their ginned up reasons?
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Max Mack on Nov 2, 2021 at 11:43 pm
If I had known about the petition, I would have signed it.
I suppose many more would have signed it but didn't because they didn't want to be singled out by their employers (Government of Yukon employees, health care workers, etc).
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Richard Ablanalp on Nov 2, 2021 at 9:36 pm
When is someone going to tell us why Smith was FIRED by the CPC ?
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Marie on Nov 2, 2021 at 9:14 pm
I find it amazing that if this was say a left wing protest about something else and if they were not allowed to show their emotion behind say losing jobs because they didn't believe pine trees were real.... we'd be chastised for tone-policing their message. It's incredible how little regard we have for discussion, debate and emotion when people are faced with losing physical rights to their own bodies. Don't come for support when you need to defend your right to ...oh I don't know...some other sort of medical procedure that should be your right to choose. Like ANY medical procedure.
Tone policing (also tone trolling, tone argument, and tone fallacy) is an ad hominem (personal attack) and anti-debate tactic based on criticizing a person for expressing emotion. Tone policing detracts from the truth or falsity of a statement by attacking the tone in which it was presented rather than the message itself.
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Disappointed Yukoner on Nov 2, 2021 at 8:26 pm
I was glad that Yukon got the vaccine rolled out early and got my shots. But I NEVER signed up for this. I strongly disagree with the Liberals making vaccine mandatory. I disagree with having to show vaccine passports and QR codes to get on with life. I will not get the vaccine passport and I will not get the booster shot. You are creating two classes of Yukoners, that’s overstepping your mandate. I’m joining the ‘outcasts’.
BTW I voted Liberal but can’t support that vote not anymore. I’m disgusted by them.
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Jimbo on Nov 2, 2021 at 8:25 pm
Spineless politicians hiding behind the CMO. Be honest Silver, you don't care about our safety, you care about power and control.
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Pureblood on Nov 2, 2021 at 7:35 pm
I will never take the vaccine, and there's nothing these politicians or anyone else can do about it.
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doug martens on Nov 2, 2021 at 7:06 pm
"Do you really believe the pharmaceutical industry wants you to be healthy when they are financially dependent on your sickness?"
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Be Better on Nov 2, 2021 at 6:45 pm
I'm disappointed in the Yukon Party. Why on earth did they table the petition for these people after the circus they put on? It sounds like they made a mockery of our legislature and were rewarded for it by Currie Dixon and the Yukon Party. Stop giving them a platform Currie! Smarten up.
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Matt on Nov 2, 2021 at 6:22 pm
We are not taking the VACCINE... you can call us anything you want, but at least you cannot call us smart. Anybody know where we can get a group discount on dunce hats?
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I said pardon on Nov 2, 2021 at 5:45 pm
@BnR
“Who knew a virus had political affiliation?“
Dr Brendan Hanley knew.....
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Rick S on Nov 2, 2021 at 5:41 pm
Not sure about the details of the ruckus in the legislative, but at some point civil disobedience is to be expected when you're mandating peoples' lives away.
I suspect things will get more heated when people are told their society passes will expire without mandatory boosters.
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yukong on Nov 2, 2021 at 5:10 pm
I just don't believe anything this government says anymore. Has anyone considered that this silly passport mandate, you know, for "public safety," is due to the fact there aren't enough health care staff to even manage an outbreak? And whose fault is that? I'm tired of this nonsense. There's no plan, and there wasn't one from the start. Which businesses will the vaccine passport affect? What's the plan for unvaccinated workers? I guess they... haven't talked about it?
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KC on Nov 2, 2021 at 4:57 pm
Wait. So Jonas wants all of us to continue physical distancing and live with capacity limits in public spaces so he doesn't have to get vaccinated?
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bonanzajoe on Nov 2, 2021 at 4:46 pm
Bob Folster: Is that the best you can come up with? Really. If you're trying to be a comedian, it just ain't coming through.
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TheHammer on Nov 2, 2021 at 4:45 pm
Richard Smith@" why the constant harassments.." (Your words) If you haven't figured it out, check the national and international news. Including the Russian situation, the new cases in Wuhan, and while you're at it Saskatchewan.
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Al on Nov 2, 2021 at 4:43 pm
I really have a great deal of difficulty in the divisive nature of segregating people into two distinct sects - intentionally I might add - jabbed and non-jabbed.
I am a senior with some health issues. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to have three jabs (the third being a booster). But that is me. It is likely there are others in the same boat. However, I truly believe that everyone has the right to decide what is best for them. Just as we make accommodations for folks with special needs or minority groups we MUST extend that same reasoning here as well. Otherwise we are no better a despot country with selfish interests.
To sit back and pontificate that those that don't tow the line shall be subjugated into a separate class within our society is outrageous. Silver, along with all the politicians in Canada who stand behind this divisiveness are not worthy of their positions. It is a shameful act of diminishing people's freedom.
So let's all get on the same train and work through this to the benefit of all us so that at least we make every effort to live in peace. This is a opportune time to reflect with Remembrance Day but a week away.
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bonanzajoe on Nov 2, 2021 at 4:43 pm
With at least a third of the people on social assistance, it doesn't seem like a good idea to fire taxpaying workers that refuse to be under the Liberal boot. You need all the taxpaying workers you can get. Especially after the massive debt and deficit the Yukon Liberal government racked up in the last 5 years. Liberals live in a fantasy world thinking - like their god in Ottawa - that the debt will balance itself out. Yeah, how is that working out Mr. Silver?
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TheHammer on Nov 2, 2021 at 4:40 pm
It's not about the Jab, it's about the rising right looking for recruits. The goal is for the minority to dominate the majority with their view. A view that could see the collapse of our health care system and hospital.
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Bob Folster on Nov 2, 2021 at 4:22 pm
SOOOOO ---
Is Smith - Darryl Posloski's very own "Prince Harry" - running for the Max Bernier Party in the next federal election?
OR has Pasloski's "Prince William" already agreed to let him run in the next Yukon election?
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Wow on Nov 2, 2021 at 3:54 pm
These rowdy people sure don't help bring people to their cause. Maybe try acting like adults instead of looking like a bunch of backcountry hicks that don't know how to behave in public. It's hard to get the sympathy you are looking for when you can't be a grown up and follow the rules of being an audience in the legislature.
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What? on Nov 2, 2021 at 3:39 pm
Funny thing this article neglects to mention - the people aren’t mad about YG employees. They are mad because EVERYONE is affected in some way - people now can’t fly, eat out, socialize, work out. This is bigger than those who can’t work. That’s huge in itself, but this government has made it about our freedoms as Yukoners. We masked. Most vaccinated. Now take away the mask mandate because we are in a “good spot” as a territory but yet mandatory vaccinations become a thing? Bring back masking, but don’t do this to people.
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Richard Smith on Nov 2, 2021 at 3:28 pm
Why the constant harassment toward the unvaccinated to get the jab?
It is an established fact that the vaccinated can carry and pass on covid in the same degree as the unvaccinated.
By all means everyone should practice covid safety like masks, hand washing, testing, isolation etc. but getting covid and acquiring valuable antibodies is a great plus.
Many first nations suffered greatly at the coming of europeans because they lacked disease antibodies.
Now there is a great push to vaccinate children who rarely get covid.
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Gerry on Nov 2, 2021 at 3:20 pm
The message is clear from those that are imposing these vaccine measures and impositions. "Obey the Lords of government who have total control over everyone's health and their choices in regards to health...or prepare to leave this society and even the world." They are our gods, and how dare we question their authority. Shame on all of us who want free will and individual sovereignty over our body, mind, and spirit.
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BnR on Nov 2, 2021 at 2:17 pm
So Jonas got all his supporters to sign his petition.
And of course Curries jumping on the “Freedums!” bandwagon.
Who knew a virus had political affiliation?