Letter to the Editor: RDQCA condemns Premier’s HIV/AIDS and anti-mandate comparison

In response to Kenney apologizes for making analogy between COVID-19 and AIDS…

The Red Deer Queer Community Association calls for Jason Kenney to expand on his February 9th apology following the horrendous comparison he made between current-day antivaxxers and the victims of the AIDS/HIV epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s during his COVID 19 update on February 8th 2022.

Like many other Albertans, we at the Red Deer Queer Community Association were watching the February 8th update to learn about the new COVID restriction updates. What we were not expecting was to hear such a gross misrepresentation of 2SLGBTQIA+ history being used in comparison to the social inflammation between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

The AIDS/HIV epidemic was a very dark period of 2SLGBTQIA+ history that removed an entire generation from our community across North America. For Premier Kenney to speak of it with such blatant disregard – and with such little understanding of the unquantifiable devastation that period wrought – shows that he has never been, and still refuses to be, an ally to the 2SLGBTQIA+ peoples of Alberta.