Sloan's sponsored petition against "immunity passports" gets over 60,000 signatures in support
A petition initiated by Nicolas Ouellette of Beaconsfield, Quebec and sponsored by MP Derek Sloan (Independent, Hastings—Lennox and Addington) is set to expire at 3: 48 PM EDT. Originally opened for signature on March 24th, the petition to the Government of Canada reads out the following:
Whereas:
Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedom says Canadians have the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada;
Section 2a of the Charter of Rights and Freedom says Canadians have freedom of conscience and religion;
Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedom says Canadians are not allowed to be discriminated against based on, for example, mental or physical ability (health);
COVID-19 passports are being spoken of as the way to revive the travel industry but they stand to put the final nail in the coffin of the travel industry;
Canadians have the right to informed choice when it comes to vaccines and other medical treatments, they cannot be forced or coerced;
COVID-19 passports could be used to restrict the rights of people who have refused a COVID-19 vaccine, which would be unacceptable and create a society of have and have-nots, and the gap between those groups has only grown thanks to COVID-19, and we stand at the precipice of the gap getting larger still;
This is not a partisan issue, it affects Canadians of all stripes and for various personal reasons, and therefore should not be treated as such; and
Canadians want their freedom of movement and right to privacy of their personal health data to be positively affirmed by the government.
We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to commit to not rolling out any e-vaccination status/immunity passport to the Canadian public for travel, work, public events or otherwise. Petition e-3236 is available for signature here.
Ouellette’s petition has garnered nearly 65,000 signatures in the three months it has been open. As of today, Sloan will be able to present the petition in Parliament, prompting a response.
Petitions do not have the ability to force the hand of the government, but they do indicate where the public consciousness is at. Since the early and mid-1980s, a resurgence in the use of petitions led to a situation in which the presentation of petitions occupied large amounts of the time of the House, demonstrating greater care towards the consideration of public opinion.
