Politicians fear mandatory vaccine talk

The debate in Canada over mandatory vaccinations for healthcare and education workers, and over requiring “vaccine passports” for currently restricted activities like sporting events, concerts and cinemas, has by and large been remarkably civilized. That’s a healthy sign: Pro or anti, most of us seem to understand that forcing people to choose between their job and a medical procedure is nothing to be taken lightly.

There are notable exceptions, of course. Many otherwise reasonable people have directed astonishing vitriol at Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in particular for their perceived pandemic lassitude, including on the issue of mandatory vaccines. But elected Canadian officials, even Ford’s and Kenney’s direct opponents, have been far more subdued — and I’m not sure that’s a healthy sign at all. (It’s not as if they have abandoned vitriol and hyperbole altogether!) Unpleasant as the notion may be, mandatory vaccinations deserve far more champions in Canadian legislatures than they currently have.

In my view, we should at all times be trying to maximize gross national freedom. Health-care and long-term care home workers have the freedom to choose alternative careers over a shot in the arm; their patients and residents have very little freedom to choose alternative health-care systems or accommodations. A vaccinated 85-year-old is still at risk of dying from a case of COVID-19. And there are many more patients and residents than there are workers. The rights of patients and residents win out, I think.

The case for “vaccine passports” varies by province: Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba have taken a relatively aggressive approach to reopening, and are probably less likely to reimplement restrictions. B.C.’S government has been far less strict all along than any other. If Ontario or Quebec suffer a fourth wave of any size, however, there is zero chance that serious restrictions won’t be reimplemented. Assuming hospitalizations and deaths stayed low, I would argue against it. But I would lose. That’s not a judgment, just a fact: Team Hyper-cautious won the day at Queen’s Park and at the National Assembly. That contest is over, and it wasn’t even close. So the choice in Ontario and Quebec is not between vaccine passports and the status quo circa January 2020; it might well be between vaccine passports and the status quo circa January 2021.

I’m not even sure vaccine passports can prevent that, but it’s worth a shot.

The case for mandatory vaccinations for education workers is less compelling, otherwise-healthy children being almost totally immune (at least in the short term) from severe COVID-19 consequences. But that didn’t stop Ontario from closing schools quite possibly for longer than anywhere else in the world. There is no reason to believe that won’t happen again if case counts surge in the fall. A 100-per-cent-vaccinated education workforce might not save Ontario’s children from that added misery, but again, it’s worth a shot.

Other countries are bashing out these issues. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced all employees in its enormous health-care system would have to be vaccinated; private hospitals across the country, including the Mayo Clinic, are requiring the same of their employees. When employees at Houston Methodist Hospital went to court seeking redress from mandatory vaccination, likening themselves to “guinea pigs,” a federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan deemed their arguments “false, and … also irrelevant.” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, often derided by Team Hyper-cautious as a libertarian madman, wants vaccine passports in place for crowded indoor venues by autumn.

Meanwhile, in Canada, it took until Monday for the Ontario Liberals to support mandatory vaccination for health-care and education workers. (Even the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario beat them to the punch.) The official Opposition New Democrats have not followed suit. Nor have their NDP friends in Opposition in Edmonton or their NDP friends in government in Victoria. The Saskatchewan New Democrats are among the remarkably few Canadian politicians on board with vaccine passports: Saskatchewan MLAS Aleana Young and Meara Conway said last month they want to “ensure that (when) we’re crushing brews in Pil Country it’s not next to an anti-vaxxer screaming moistly for the home team.” (Pil Country is a “social zone” at Roughriders games sponsored by Old Style Pilsner beer.)

Why aren’t more politicians on board?

Part of it is self-interest, certainly: Progressive parties in opposition are not in the business of imposing on teachers and nurses. Part of it may be self-preservation. The chances that a government-run vaccine passport system would collapse in an embarrassing non-functional heap are high. Any federal proof-of-vaccination system won’t be ready until December at the earliest, Politico reported last week. By and large, Canadian governments simply aren’t good at doing big, unusual things — at all, let alone quickly. The dominant Central Canadian political culture dislikes big, unusual things on principle — just think how aghast federal Liberals and New Democrats were in March last year when people suggested closing the borders.

But it’s also simply a reflection of just how incredibly narrow the political spectrum of ideas is in this country. That’s a huge problem, especially when mortal threats land on our doorstep. And there are much bigger potential threats out there than COVID-19.