He has stood by his principles as much as possible, rocking the boat at times internally, and has tried repeatedly to speak to his superiors about his concerns that the Winnipeg Police Service is going against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Criminal Code, the Police Officer’s Code of Ethics and other guiding laws and principles disregarded for “public health’’. He and the others in Frontline Alliance are disturbed by the many reports and videos of bullying and even brutality by cops worldwide. In a heartfelt discussion, he advised me that he cannot in good conscience use his position to hand out tickets to a family celebrating Thanksgiving with “too many people”, or a congregation attending church, or someone not wearing a mask. What is keeping this officer up at night, as well as many of his colleagues, is the major overreach of police power into citizen’s lives. However, the vaccine mandate, while concerning, is not even the biggest concern of the 10-year Winnipeg police veteran I recently spoke with, who has chosen to remain anonymous for now. Sufficient answers have never been provided. Concerns about the science and ethics behind these vaccine policies have been brought up to leadership, including questioning the logic or fairness of only testing unvaccinated staff when it is now a well known fact that fully vaccinated people can still contract and spread COVID. However, they must test every 48 hours! This is the most frequent testing policy I have seen yet, surpassing even that of what is required by unvaccinated Saskatchewan physicians (every 72 hours). The situation is better for these workers than for some Canadians, in the sense that the tests are funded by the employer for now (a common theme in such policies it is all up for being changed at the discretion of leadership). All of this despite them having pushed through more than the first year of the pandemic unvaccinated, bravely exposing themselves to the virus on a consistent basis. Yet now, as of November 15, 2021, Winnipeg first responders who have either chosen not to be vaccinated against COVID, or those who have simply chosen not to disclose their status for privacy or ethical reasons, are being forced into mandatory testing or risk being placed on unpaid leave. On top of their usual challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic put additional strain on these workers. This has been no exception for first responders in Winnipeg, Manitoba - a city experiencing the triple threat of high levels of crime, a rise in fires and a troubling shortage of paramedics. While exceptions exist, most of these people have entered their prospective field to protect and help people - to serve their communities, often to the detriment of their personal safety.
Winnipeg First Responders Stand for Freedomįirst responders like police officers, firefighters and paramedics are often lauded as heroes given the high risk environments they choose to work in. Winnipeg First Responders Stand for Freedom