Wednesday saw Premier Sandy Silver in an uncharacteristically aggressive mood in the Yukon legislature.

Silver condemned the petition presented Nov. 1 by the Yukon Party that opposes the government’s mandatory vaccine mandate for public service workers.

The petition was organized with the help of former federal election candidate Jonas J. Smith, and has approximately 2,500 names on it.

“The petition urges the Government of Yukon to immediately rescind any and all requirements for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations in Yukon, first announced on October 15, 2021,” Silver told the house. “The short answer, Mr. Speaker, is no.

“COVID-19 continues to spread and endanger the lives of our citizens. We need to take action to increase vaccination rates to keep Yukoners healthy and safe, and that is what the government is doing.

“The Yukon’s acting chief medical officer of health (Dr. Catherine Elliott) has recommended mandatory vaccines for public servants and those working with vulnerable populations and requiring individuals to show proof of vaccination to access non-essential settings, like bars and restaurants. Science is our best guide when dealing with a pandemic, and we will continue to follow the recommendations of our public health experts,” Silver said.

“Mr. Speaker, I will note for the record the significant difference in position being taken by the Yukon Employees’ Union and the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s national component, which represents employees in the federal government — Canada’s largest workforce.

“The Public Service Alliance of Canada has noted publicly that employers have an obligation to keep workplaces safe — and I quote: ‘No one can be physically forced to get a vaccine against their will. However, according to the limited case law available, grievors must live with the consequences of refusing to get vaccinated.’”

Silver then ramped up his verbal assault on the petition.

“With regard to the petition itself, which was tabled by the member for Watson Lake (Patti McLeod), it contains several duplicate signatures, as well as names of residents outside of the Yukon, and the name of a white supremacist who killed 51 people at a mosque in New Zealand in 2019,” the premier pointed out.

“The day the Yukon Party tabled the petition, there were several supporters outside the house, including one carrying a sign that said: ‘COVID is a hoax.’ Ten Yukoners have died from COVID-19, Mr. Speaker — this is no hoax.

“The leader of the protest was a former Yukon Party staffer and a former federal Conservative candidate,” he added, referring to Smith.

“This is very disappointing to see the Yukon Party embrace this group and their position. The events that day served to undermine our public health system, and the Yukon Party was only too happy to stand by that behaviour.

“I respect the decision of Yukoners to sign a petition and to voice their opinion; that is democracy. I believe that we are doing what is right to keep Yukoners safe, and our government will continue to be guided by science and the recommendations of public health experts.”

Silver continued to hammer away on the issue during a subsequent scrum with reporters.

“My point would be if you’re going to put a petition on the floor of the legislature you should know what names are on it and you should stay behind it,” he said. “So I’ve been asking the Yukon Party to be very clear as to whether they support the chief medical officer of health.

“Clearly, if you’re putting this petition on the floor, you do not support the chief medical officer of health.”

In the legislature, Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon did not immediately respond to the premier’s denunciations of his party.

Smith, however, offered a terse comment in reply to Silver’s remarks.

“It is very disappointing that the premier would so easily dismiss the concerns of thousands of Yukoners, many of whom are very likely about to lose their jobs in the middle of winter as a result of his actions,” Smith said.

Silver was questioned as to why he’s so concerned with supporting Elliott. He said her recommendations aren’t “beyond criticism.

“No, not at all,” he said. “It’s not about not asking questions. It’s about them (the Yukon Party) coming clean on whether they back the chief medical officer of health or not.

“We’ve never said that any of these are above questions. Questions are great. I would just offer again that we need to, as leaders, come together.

“I think the best way to accomplish that is to not question or not necessarily criticize the recommendations of science,” Silver said.

“We’re either going to follow the recommendations of science or we’re going to act politically. I think there are better questions to be asked.”

NDP Leader Kate White wasn’t too impressed with Silver’s feistiness on the vaccine mandate policy.

“Today in the House, the premier requested the Yukon NDP to ‘take a clear stance on the new COVID measures’ and to say ‘yes or no’ to whether or not the Yukon NDP supports the chief medical officer of health’s recommendations,” she noted.

“To make it clear to the premier, the Yukon NDP supports the recommendations made by the chief medical officer of health, including the vaccine mandate.

“For weeks now, the Yukon NDP has been echoing Yukoners’ concerns regarding the rising cases of COVID. The Yukon NDP asked for the order- making powers of the chief medical officer of health be expanded to include broader measures such as a mask mandate.”

The Yukon NDP also asked that Elliott’s recommendations be made public, she noted, and asked the government to better communicate the details of its vaccine mandate.

“The government responded with blanket statements. Yukoners need more than this from the government. Yukoners need leadership and clear communication while facing another wave of COVID. Yukoners do not need the government to needlessly politicize the issue,” White said.

She was equally blunt in her statements in the legislature.

“At the onset, I want to say that the Yukon NDP supports the vaccine mandate, but that doesn’t mean that questions still don’t exist,” she said. “If the premier has found our communications difficult to understand, he now knows how Yukoners have felt these last weeks and months about his government’s COVID communication, especially since the mandate announcement.

“It does make us wonder what took so long to explain further requirements, but instead of stewing on the mistakes of the past, let’s look at life going forward.”

For weeks, she pointed out, the NDP has been asking the Liberal government for more information regarding vaccine mandates.

“Small businesses and NGOs have been left with countless questions going unanswered, and just last week, I tabled a motion urging this government to communicate with NGOs and business owners. I asked that they communicate more details by November 10, which is today, so I guess with this morning’s press conference, they are following through.”

Businesses were given just 2 1/2 days to plan how to manage “the burden” of new state of emergency rules that will take effect Saturday, White noted.

“To enforce a mask/vaccine mandate, businesses are worried that they will need to hire an extra employee to stand at a door checking vaccine status and ID,” she said.

“So, where are employers expected to find these extra employees in a time of such staffing shortages?

“What about security? Every day, we hear stories about violence and harassment directed towards employees in the Yukon and in other jurisdictions. Can the minister tell us how a staff of one person or how any staff is supposed to deal with this?

“The minister spoke of a free QR code reader app that should be available in the next few days. Can the minister confirm that this app will be ready to download by Friday morning, giving businesses time to learn how to use it?” the NDP leader asked.

“What is the plan for citizens who don’t have smartphones? Will a printout of their vaccine status or one of the Yukon health blue vaccine cards suffice?

“Will government help them access these and make printouts, and if so, where should they go? Proof of vaccination needs to be accompanied by ID, so what is the minister’s plan to ensure that all Yukoners have sufficient ID by Saturday, November 13?”

A government-issued photo ID costs $30 and it takes about a month to receive it, she noted.

“Does the minister have a plan to cover the costs of these for those in need, or is the plan to just exclude our vulnerable population from accessing businesses and services that they may need?”

Meanwhile, many NGOs run near 100-percent with the help of volunteers, she pointed out.

“What systems of enforcement are in place for them? Will the organizations now be expected to keep detailed files on the vaccine status of all volunteers?

“Which organizations will be enforcing this and checking said files?”

All this is a lot to take in for all Yukoners, White said.

“We are back in the danger zone; we are back in the state of emergency. People have so many questions, and with the Delta variant going rampant, people are worried.

“Yukoners are looking for leadership, and right now, it’s hard to find.”

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