Alberta, Saskatchewan not planning to reinstate broad mask mandates

This week, masks have been made mandatory again in all indoor public spaces in B.C. and Manitoba. In Alberta, masks are still mandatory for health care workers and on public transit.

Private businesses in Alberta are allowed to require masks even though there are no broad mandatory mask policies in the province. In Saskatchewan, public health officials still recommend that unvaccinated people wear masks in indoor public spaces.

According to the CBC, Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman said provinces have the authority to choose what they want to do regarding mask and vaccine mandates.

When he was asked about mandatory vaccines he said that mandating vaccines are "an infringement on people's personal rights."

Premier Jason Kenney continues to be against vaccine passports, citing human rights and privacy violations.

"We’ve been very clear from the beginning that we will not facilitate or accept vaccine passports. I believe they would in principle contravene the Health Information Act and also possibly the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act," Kenney said.