Alberta Ends Its Vaccine Passport But Bars & Restaurants Can Still Deny Entry To Unvaccinated

Bars and restaurants across Alberta can choose to continue checking proof of vaccination before entry, despite the province scrapping its official vaccine passport system.

Premier Jason Kenney said that while there is no mandatory requirement for businesses to use QR codes to prove someone is vaccinated, if a business wants to continue using it, that is their right under the law.

"I would just say that's a matter of the free market," Kenney said in a press conference on February 8. "If a business chooses to have a policy of that nature, then that may appeal to a certain kind of customer and it may turn away other kinds of customers. That's a commercial decision."

Kenney did express an interest in moving away from a vaccine passport-style system entirely.

He added: "I would love it if we could move away from all of this and no longer have to produce the QR codes. [...] The paradox, or the problem, is that we have a lot of Albertans who, especially during the cold winter here, love travelling, [...] and as long as there is a federal requirement for provincially issued proof of vaccination, we have to offer that as a service."

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Kenney said that one of the things that concern him the most is the division and polarization between vaccinated and unvaccinated people in society.

Also in Tuesday's press conference, Kenney compared the stigmatization of unvaccinated people with the discrimination HIV/AIDS patients experienced during the 1980s, a comment that came under immediate criticism.

Kenney apologized for his comments on Wednesday, saying, "I made an inappropriate analogy to the stigmatization of people with AIDS. I was wrong to do so and apologize without reservation."

Health Canada has a robust website with all the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines and can answer any questions you may have.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.