No, unvaccinated shoppers aren’t banned from grocery stores in this Canadian province
About halfway through a one-hour Facebook live video decrying coronavirus vaccines as the “death hex” and discussing the merits of hissing at anyone who asks you to wear a face mask, Melody Diosa Estrella took three deep puffs from her vape pen.
Then she launched into a discussion about the new COVID-19 safety protocols in New Brunswick, a province on the east coast of Canada.
“It’s become the first Canadian providence to ban or to allow, excuse me, the banning of unhexed shoppers,” Estrella said in the Dec. 7 video. “Can you believe that? So now the tyranny is, this fascist (expletive) reality is that if these citizens do not comply with the death hex rules and regulations and get their jabs, get their boosters and have 100% proof that they are good, obedient little sheep people that have no question what the lame strame narrative is, that they can’t shop... for groceries.”
Estrella’s Facebook page is a personal blog described as “a conduit for Universal Awareness.” Her video, which has been viewed over 25,000 times, has been flagged by independent fact checkers at Facebook as containing “partly false information.”
That’s because individuals who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus aren’t banned from going grocery shopping in New Brunswick.
Estrella cites a headline by eTurboNews, which reads, “No jab, no food: New Brunswick grocery stores can now ban unvaccinated shoppers.” The article published on Dec. 6 reports that New Brunswick is the “first Canadian province to allow grocers to ban unvaccinated food shoppers,” adding that grocery stores can “turn away the shoppers who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19.”
The article is referencing an announcement regarding New Brunswick’s Winter Health Plan, which consists of a three-tier system for implementing safety precautions based on recent COVID-19 metrics in the region — including average new cases, positivity rate and hospitalizations.
New Brunswick entered Level 1, the least-restrictive tier, on Dec. 4.
Under Level 1, face masks are required outdoors if social distancing isn’t possible. Social distancing is also mandatory indoors at businesses that don’t require proof of COVID-19 vaccination — including “retail stores, malls, salons and spas.”
“These locations can choose to either implement physical distancing measures or require proof of vaccination for all patrons,” the government said in a news release on Dec. 4.
The conservative leaning Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms in Canada issued a statement in opposition to the policy, saying the “right to food is a fundamental Human Right.”
“Potentially depriving citizens of food constitutes an act of cruelty,” staff lawyer Andre Memauri said. “It is discriminatory, unconstitutional, and likely an offence under international law.”
But according to the nonprofit fact-checking website PolitiFact, New Brunswick’s COVID-19 safety measures don’t prevent anyone from buying groceries. It just means grocery stores have the “the option of requiring proof of vaccination when physical distancing of 2 meters is not possible inside a store.”
“The policy does not require any retail store to ask for proof of vaccination,” PolitiFact reported. “It also does not preclude people who are unvaccinated from shopping for food in that province or the rest of the country.”
As Health Minister Dorothy Shephard told CBC News, retailers “have the option of requiring proof of vaccination from all patrons.” But, she said, “We will leave that decision up to individual businesses.”
One of Canada’s two national grocery chains, Sobeys, has said it won’t ask for proof of coronavirus vaccination, CBC News reported. Public health officials also said all major retailers have indicated they’ll enforce social distancing instead of asking for proof of vaccination.
New Brunswick announced Dec. 10 that the province will remain at Level 1 of the Winter Plan amid a slight uptick in cases and declining hospitalizations.
“Those at greatest risk are the unvaccinated, as well as older people and those with pre-existing health conditions,” chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell said in a news release. “If you choose to remain unvaccinated, please protect yourself from this disease by avoiding gatherings where you might contract this virus – and protect others by avoiding contact with vulnerable people whose immune systems may not be able to protect them.”
Public health data shows about 88% of the population in New Brunswick has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 82% are fully vaccinated and 9% have received a booster shot.
