WHITEHORSE – Longtime Yukon political activist and Conservative Party of Canada election candidate Jonas J. Smith has been disallowed from running for the party in the upcoming federal election by the party’s central campaign. He was informed of the unilateral and final decision to disallow his candidacy earlier today.

“This comes as shocking news to me, my family, my local campaign team and my thousands of supporters across the territory,” said Smith. “With an election call imminent, this is devastating news for the conservative movement in the Yukon and I fear will have repercussions across the country.”

The reason behind the disallowing of Smith’s candidacy is his opposition to calls for implementation of mandated workplace vaccinations and vaccine passport requirements in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I believe in standing up for the rights of all minorities, including those of the unvaccinated – be it for medical, religious or personal reasons – and that our country needs less discrimination, not more,” continued Smith. “Generations of Canadians have fought for our Section 15 Charter rights, as well as freedom of choice when it comes to matters of bodily-autonomy, and these proposed vaccination-related restrictions will vastly alter what kind of country our children will inherit.”

At a news conference last month, the Liberal Party’s Yukon candidate and Smith’s sole declared competitor to date, Dr. Brendan Hanley, in his previous capacity as the Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, has himself acknowledged that some people can’t, or won’t, get vaccinated for a variety of reasons, and that all Canadians should treat each other with respect.

“In an economy struggling to recover, partially because of a shortage of skilled workers, it is unconscionable to shame or threaten to dismiss employees over their confidential medical status, particularly in those industries and populations that are already experiencing high vaccine uptake among their majorities and as such are already at a low risk of viral transmission or severe infection,” Smith added. “We don’t tolerate that type of discrimination for a whole host of other known health risks, so there has to be a better way to protect our country’s most vulnerable without restricting the movements and livelihoods of perfectly healthy Canadians within their own country. A two-tiered society is not constitutional, and it is certainly not normal.”

For those supporters with any feedback regarding the news of Smith’s removal, Smith encourages them to share their comments directly to the headquarters of the Conservative Party of Canada campaign.

“My family and I would like to offer our most sincere gratitude for all the support and encouragement we have received from across the country over the three years since I first announced my intention to seek the Conservative Party’s Yukon nomination,” concluded Smith. “I would now ask people to respect our privacy at this time so that we may begin to process this significant turn of events. God Bless Canada. God Bless the Yukon.”