Saskatchewan shuns a 'Trudeau summer' and plans its own reopening in lockstep with vaccines
Premier Scott Moe released his own timeline, a three-phase plan with vaccination benchmarks, making his the first province to commit to fully reopening this summer
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Saskatchewan is planning to have a summer resembling normal with a timeline and benchmarks that eschew the federal government’s plan.
The federal plan requires 75 per cent of Canadians to be fully vaccinated for life before COVID-19 to return, pushing off “normal” to some point in the fall.
“I think we just learned what a Trudeau summer looks like,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said recently. “You’re still locked down.”
Like in other provinces, restrictions have come and gone, but in broad strokes, Saskatchewan has had less stringent public-health restrictions than elsewhere: You’ve been able to get a haircut or a tattoo or go tanning since December, for example, fitness facilities are open and outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed. Patios and indoor dining are open, including in Regina where regional measures were recently lifted.
And should vaccination rates hit Moe’s threshold, things will continue to open, with Saskatchewanians hanging out with friends and family before the rest of us are allowed a pint on a patio.
On May 4, Moe released his own timeline, a three-phase plan with vaccination benchmarks, making his the first province to commit to fully reopening this summer.
The first phase, set to begin after 70 per cent of people over 40 have their first dose, is tentatively scheduled for May 30, and will see indoor inter-household gatherings allowed and the expansion of indoor dining across the province.
“We did want to put in place what the finish line does look like, just to remind and reincentivize people as to the reasons that we’re making all of the sacrifices that we are in following the public health measures,” Moe told the National Post Tuesday. “I think you’ll see different variations of this across the nation.”
He added that it’s also meant to convince people to get vaccines: if they get the shot, things will open.
The next phase will come three weeks after 70 per cent of people over 30 have received one dose, and at least three weeks after the start of step one; that will see capacity restrictions lifted on indoor dining. And the final phase will begin three weeks after 70 per cent of adults have received their first dose, and at least three weeks after the start of step two.
That could be as soon as mid-July.
“We will be well, well, well into our second-dose campaign by early to mid-July when we might move forward with step three,” Moe explained.
The reopening plan sets Saskatchewan apart from other jurisdictions that have been slower to set the goal posts for reopening.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he expects to present a plan by next week, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford has demurred when asked what will happen once the latest round of restrictions expire on June 2. On Tuesday Christine Elliott, Ontario’s health minister, said the province would be releasing its reopening plan “very soon.”
“There’s some that will think this plan that we’ve put forward — some Saskatchewan people — that will think that it’s moving far too quickly, and to those I just say, look at places like the United Kingdom,” Moe said.
On Tuesday, Quebec Premier Francois Legault said that on May 28 his government will lift the COVID-19 curfew that has been in place across much of the province for more than four months and will allow restaurant patios to reopen. The premier added that if 75 per cent of Quebecers over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated by the end of August, masks will no longer be required in most public places.
Vaccination is the key, Moe said, pointing to the United Kingdom and the United States as evidence.
“Ultimately, at the very core of any plan, it has to be your vaccination rate,” said Moe. “High vaccination rate is going to drive your case numbers lower and it’s going to drive your hospitalizations and ultimately your fatalities down.”
Countrywide, 46.2 per cent of Canadians are partially vaccinated and only 3.8 per cent are fully vaccinated. The federal government’s reopening plan suggests the 75 per cent partial vaccination and 20 per cent fully vaccinated threshold would be the time when outdoor gathering restrictions, for example, could be relaxed.
As it stands, Saskatchewan has vaccinated about 37 per cent with one dose, and about four per cent are fully vaccinated. Alberta has partially vaccinated 28 per cent, but fully vaccinated seven per cent and Ontario boasts 36 per cent partially vaccinated, and 2.7 per cent fully vaccinated. Moe said by May 30, they’ll be offering vaccines to everyone 12 and over, and second doses are now being offered for those older than 85.
“I don’t know if it’s a race to first or anything of that nature, what I am hoping is that we’ll be able to follow through the steps and stages of this plan so that we can get back to normal in Saskatchewan and by extension, I’m very hopeful that we will get back to normal across the nation,” Moe said.
With additional reporting by The Canadian Press
• Email: tdawson@postmedia.com | Twitter: tylerrdawson
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