EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this story has been published.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is bragging she convinced the Arctic Winter Games to drop its vaccine mandate for the Wood Buffalo 2023 games by threatening to cut off $1.2 million in funding for the upcoming youth event.
During a press conference Nov. 28, the newly crowned leader of the United Conservative Party made the comment in a response to a question about vaccine mandates in the workplace.
“The Arctic Winter Games wanted $1.2 million from us to support their effort and they were discriminating against the athletes, telling them they have to be vaccinated,” she said. “So we asked them if they would reconsider their vaccination policy in the light of new evidence, and they did and I was pleased to see that.”
Smith did not elaborate on what the new evidence was.
On her first day in office, Smith declared people who chose to not get a Covid-19 vaccine were “the most discriminated group” she had witnessed in her lifetime. She has since walked back those comments, though has not apologized.
On Nov. 18, the Arctic Winter Games announced it was dropping the vaccine mandate for participants, though individual teams could still require their members to be vaccinated. In the email to Chefs de Mission, AWG president John Rodda said the organization would work with the Wood Buffalo 2023 host society to ensure other health safety measures are met, “including masking, hand sanitization and other actions that can help mitigate the effects of these diseases.”
“This means that the AWGIC (AWG International Committee) will no longer require participating athletes, coaches, managers, mission staff, and others to be fully vaccinated to be part of the Wood Buffalo 2023 Arctic Winter Games,” reads the release. “If, however, any jurisdiction wishes to enforce its own requirements, including other health measures related to Covid-19, the AWGIC will respect their autonomy as a team decision.”
Athletes who had not signed up because they were unvaccinated or athletes who wanted to back out because of the change were given until Nov. 22 to connect with AWG.
Alberta banned mask mandates in public schools on Nov. 24, saying wearing a mask caused psychological harm to children without listing any studies to back up the claim. The announcement effectively cancelled an Oct. 27 court ruling that had allowed schools to set their own masking policies.
The Arctic Winter Games was cancelled over the last two years due to Covid-19 outbreaks. The event, currently scheduled for Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, is expected to draw more than 2,000 people from across the Arctic.
In less than three years, Covid-19 has killed an estimated 47,923 Canadians and an estimated 6.6 million people worldwide. There are more than 31.5 million vaccinated people in Canada, approximately 83.4 per cent of the population.
Inuvik Drum has reached out to the Arctic Winter Games for further comment.