LIBERALS STILL CLINGING TO THEIR COVID RESTRICTIONS

   With B.C.’s announcement last week that it would be phasing out mask and vaccine mandates, all 10 provinces have now set an effective end-date to their treatment of COVID-19 as a public health emergency. By April 27 — the date when Ontario’s pandemic restrictions become the last to expire — mask, vaccine and physical distancing mandates will effectively cease to exist in Canadian daily life.
   Except according to Ottawa. Even as each week yields the end of another provincial COVID mandate, the federal government is continuing to hold fast to virtually every restriction it has imposed over the course of the now two-year pandemic.
   Vaccination remains mandatory for any Canadian over the age of 12 looking to board an aircraft, even if it’s a domestic flight. Transport Canada is also continuing to mandate masking aboard flights and in airports.
  Government employment remains barred to anyone who can’t provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination — even to employees who are “teleworking” or “working remotely,” according to official guidelines.