Alberta Boot Project wraps up in Red Deer, but questions lingering vaccine policy

READ: 1,650 AHS staff on unpaid leave due to vaccination status

King was laid off on Dec. 12. From Stony Plain, she has been a paramedic for 10 years. Working for a private company contracted under AHS, she says she had an accepted religious exemption that was deemed no longer valid for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Boots belonging to Kaitlin King, organizer of the Alberta Boot Project and paramedic for 10 years. (Supplied)

Taking action, King says she wanted to show the human cost of the mandate. Instead of uniforms containing company names, she decided to use workers’ footwear.

And so, the shoes came running. Albertans handed over their work shoes along with a job description and number of years served marked on a piece of paper. For those that lived too far away from the various checkpoints, locals donated a pair of shoes on their behalf, this portion representing about five to ten per cent of the displayed shoes, according to King.

By their first display on Dec. 20, 733 boots and shoes were placed on the steps of Edmonton’s Legislature Building. Two days later, the boots were displayed in Calgary near the Peace Bridge.

While a display was scheduled for Dec. 23 in Red Deer, the event was cancelled due to snowy conditions. King said, as the boots are almost entirely being donated to various charities such as the Health Mission Outreach, she did not want them to deteriorate.

King described this weekend’s event as “emotional”.

“To walk through the shoes and realize, I wasn’t alone and there were other courageous people who took a stand with me,” she said, “but also to celebrate at the same time that because we stuck together, we’re now able to work again.”

Boots belonging to army medic named Michelle, also an instrumental part of the Alberta Boot Project, according to King. (Supplied)

King was able to return to work on Jan. 10. Throughout the month, she considered many options: changing careers, moving back in with her parents or another province for affordability.

Looking back on her years of service, King says being laid off for her vaccination status felt like a “sucker punch” and that she wasn’t valued as a front-line worker during the pandemic. She remembered her last day as feeling “almost laughable”.

“I was like, ‘isn’t it funny that today I am safe, I am helping society, I am a hero, I’m all these things, and tomorrow I’m going to be so dangerous that I won’t be allowed into work’,” she said.

Officials with AHS say the policy was intended for the protection of Albertans, particularly the vulnerable and immunocompromised.

“AHS’ immunization policy was developed to keep our patients and staff from getting COVID-19 while in our care or working at our sites, to protect the health and safety of healthcare workers, patients and the public and to preserve workforce capacity to support the healthcare system,” the organization said in a statement.

AHS stated the policy was successful, noting in early March that 97.7 per cent of staff and 98.8 per cent of physicians were fully immunized.

King says, however, confusion remains as the policy is still a condition of employment for new hires after Nov. 30, 2021. Thinking of unvaccinated family and friends currently in school for healthcare services, she says the policy lacks in logic.

“Their existing employees aren’t vaccinated and they’re fine with us working,” she said.

AHS responded that 3,355 workers have been hired from that date until Feb. 28, as per the policy and that trends show healthcare worker immunization rates are higher than the general public. AHS also says the Rubella vaccine is required by the Communicable Disease Regulation law under the Public Health Act.

“Healthcare workers have an ethical and professional responsibility to protect others. Vaccination is a tool to assist in meeting this standard,” said AHS in its statement.

King says the Alberta Boot Project may reopen in the future, but for the current students who will not be able to work in the industry in Alberta.

She says it is important to stand up for what is right and to do so by, “bringing a face to the nameless statistics and showing the actual people who are affected.”

With the recent dismissal of AHS president and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu who implemented the initial vaccination policy supported by the provincial government, King says Albertans are left to wonder what the future holds for the next generation of healthcare and emergency services workers.

READ: Dr. Verna Yiu leaving AHS as President and CEO

by Alessia Proietti

Alberta Boot Project wraps up in Red Deer, but questions lingering vaccine policy

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