PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (LifeSiteNews) – The Canadian province of Prince Edward Island (PEI) has introduced a vaccine “Pass” which allows only Canadians who have been “fully vaccinated” with COVID-19 injections to visit without restrictions. Those who have chosen to not get the COVID-19 jabs face many hurdles in order to visit the province.
“The PEI Pass allows returning Islanders and visitors who meet the appropriate criteria to be exempt from self-isolation when entering the province. The PEI Pass can be used multiple times providing the conditions of the pass are met on entry to PEI,” reads a PEI government webpage regarding the island’s PEI Pass.
The PEI Pass was first introduced in late June for travelers residing within the “the Atlantic Provinces and the Magdalen Islands.” On July 18, the pass was expanded to include all “fully vaccinated” Canadian travelers as well as American travelers (starting on August 8).
The pass allows a person who has been jabbed to come and go to the island as they please, though even then one must agree to “be tested on entry as directed by public health officials.”
If a person has only had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, they are allowed to apply for the PEI Pass so long as they are a resident of the island or come from one of the four neighboring Atlantic provinces and have had the shot at least 21 days before arrival.
According to the PEI government, the “appropriate criteria” to be eligible for a PEI Pass for all Canadians and Americans means having been “fully vaccinated (two doses) with a COVID-19 vaccine.”
Those who are unvaccinated can still visit the island but under severe restrictions. They must sign a declaration form, isolate for eight days upon arrival, and take a COVID-19 test upon entry as well as on the eighth day of their quarantine.
There are also exemptions given on a case-by-case basis for “compassionate or work purposes.”
Kids under 12 who have not been jabbed are allowed to travel with a parent with a PEI Pass, but those 12 and up will need to apply for it.
To apply for a PEI Pass a person must upload their COVID-19 “Vaccine Record” online. Once approved, one will receive their PEI Pass via email.
According to the PEI government, September 12 is the estimated date when they will no longer have any screening measures at their provincial borders. Despite this, the government says that there will be “some” isolation, as well as testing measures to be “recommended for unvaccinated and/or partially vaccinated travellers.”
Canada’s Prince Edward Island (PEI) has a population of around 160,000 and since the start of the COVID-19 crisis has recorded only 212 cases total with zero deaths.
The province enacted strict COVID-19 rules in 2020 despite the low case counts and closed its border with all non-Atlantic Canadian provinces for over a year.
‘Vaccine Passports’ such as the PEI Pass are a ‘flawed’ concept says lawyer
Canadian civil liberties lawyer James Kitchen told LifeSiteNews that any type of “vaccine passport” including the PEI Pass is “conceptually flawed insofar as it undermines freedom and constitutes further government overreach.”
“Regardless of exemptions, a policy to publicly ‘out’ travelers based on their bodily choices and health decisions infringes the rights to liberty and privacy under sections 7 and 8 of the [Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms] because it exposes and stigmatizes people for these deeply personal determinations,” Kitchen told LifeSiteNews.
Kitchen added that although freedom in Canada is “waning,” the country is still “a constitutional democracy,” meaning governments can only take away rights to “the degree that the people allow it.”
Currently, both Manitoba and Quebec have forms of vaccine proof one can attain in digital form.
Quebec recently said it will go ahead with enforcing vaccine passports come the fall.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney recently said that his government will neither introduce a provincial “vaccine passport” nor accept one if imposed at the federal level. He has also passed a bill that removed a mandatory vaccination clause in provincial law.
Likewise, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said no to vaccine passports in his province. In July he told reporters his government will neither make COVID-19 injections mandatory nor create “a split society” by implementing local vaccine passports.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in June that in the fall the federal government will be rolling out a system of “national certification of vaccination status” that travelers can use to prove they’ve had the “full” two doses of the COVID-19 jab.
Starting August 9, U.S. citizens who have been “fully vaccinated” at least 14 days before their trip with a COVID-19 jab approved by Health Canada will be allowed to visit Canada. They will still have to take COVID-19 tests.
Starting September 7, Canada will also allow tourists from other countries to visit, but only those “fully vaccinated.”
All travelers entering Canada will be subject to a new border screening program that uses biometrics.
Vaccines in Canada are not mandatory, and each province is in charge of its health matters.
Health Canada has authorized four COVID-19 injections for adults, all with connections to cells derived from aborted babies. All four have also been associated with severe side effects such as blood clots, rashes, miscarriages, and even heart attacks in young healthy men.
Contact information for respectful feedback:
Dennis King – Premier of PEI
Office of the Premier
5th Floor South, Shaw Building
95 Rochford Street
PO Box 2000
Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
Phone: 902-368-4400
Fax: 902-368-4416
LifeSiteNews has produced an extensive COVID-19 vaccines resources page. View it here.