Danielle Smith addresses comments about unvaccinated being ‘most discriminated against group’

Alberta's premier issued a statement Wednesday, after saying people who chose not to be vaccinated were 'the most discriminated against group I've ever witnessed in my lifetime.'

On Wednesday, Alberta premier Danielle Smith released a statement regarding comments she made a day earlier about people who chose not to be vaccinated being “the most discriminated against group that I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime.”

The comment garnered widespread criticism online and from other political figures in Canada.

In a statement issued just before noon on Wednesday, Smith addressed the concerns, but didn’t back down from her comments.

“Yesterday, I made comments regarding the discrimination unvaccinated individuals have suffered through over during the past two years. My intention was to underline the mistreatment of individuals who chose not to be vaccinated and were punished by not being able to work, travel or, in some cases, see loved ones.

“I want to be clear that I did not intend to trivialize in any way the discrimination faced by minority communities and other persecuted groups both here in Canada and around the world or to create any false equivalencies to the terrible historical discrimination and persecution suffered by so many minority groups over the last decades and centuries.

“We need to actively work together as Albertans and Canadians to end all discrimination against all minority communities,” Smith said.

“I am committed to listening, learning and addressing the issues affecting minority communities. Over the next few days, my office will be reaching out to set up meetings with minority community stakeholders so I can better understand the different concerns of their individual communities,” the statement concluded.

In an interview with CFAX Radio in Victoria, B.C. Premier John Horgan called Smith’s comments “laughable.”