People against B.C.’s vaccine card lined the side of Highway 1 in Salmon Arm today, Sept. 1.
Demonstrators of all ages wielded signs with slogans such as “honk if you’re against the vaccine passport” and “say no to mandatory vaccines.”
Some drivers passing by honked in support while others did not.
A few people in vehicles with signs and flags did laps of the stretch of Highway 1 between 3rd and 5th Street SW where the demonstrators were mostly set up, while honking their horns.
A few smaller pockets of demonstrators were seen along the side of the Trans-Canada Highway at different locations within city limits.
The vaccine card protest in Salmon Arm, which began before 1 p.m. and was still ongoing at 3 p.m., occurred on the same day as others across B.C.
Melanie Brault from Enderby holds up a sign as she stands by the Trans-Canada Highway on Sept. 1 to protest vaccine passports. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
Melanie Brault from Enderby told the Observer the issue is freedom of choice.
She said at 22 she was given a vaccine for Hepatis A and B that prevented her from being able to have children. She said she also lost feeling in her left leg and almost the ability to walk. She said she can’t take the COVID-19 vaccine because her immune system is now compromised.
She doesn’t contest people choosing to take the vaccine but she contests the “vaccine passport,” which she thinks will become more and more restrictive for more people, particularly with a booster requirement.
She said there are extremists on both sides of the argument “who are ruining it for everybody.”
Read more: Vax card protesters take over streets near Kelowna General Hospital
Read more: ‘Elusive’ herd immunity: what will it take to get there with COVID-19?
Do you have something else we should report on? Email: zachary.roman@saobserver.net
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People against B.C.’s vaccine card displayed signs on the side of Highway 1 in Salmon Arm on Sept. 1, 2021. (Zachary Roman/Salmon Arm Observer)
People against B.C.’s vaccine card asked people to honk in support of their cause in Salmon Arm on Sept. 1, 2021. (Zachary Roman/Salmon Arm Observer)
People of all ages against B.C.’s vaccine card gathered on the side of Highway 1 in Salmon Arm on Sept. 1, 2021. (Zachary Roman/Salmon Arm Observer)
Some people against B.C.’s vaccine card brought their kids to the side of Highway 1 in Salmon Arm on Sept. 1, 2021. (Zachary Roman/Salmon Arm Observer)
People against B.C.’s vaccine card congregated on the side of Highway 1 in Salmon Arm on Sept. 1, 2021. (Zachary Roman/Salmon Arm Observer)
A Salmon Arm resident who wished to go by her first name only, Karen, stood by the Trans-Canada Highway on Sept. 1 to protest vaccine passports and the lack of truth she sees surrounding the issue. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
Chelsea Hobbs added a little humour to her poster during the vaccine card protests along the Trans-Canada Highway in Salmon Arm on Sept. 1. (Martha Wickett - Salmon Arm Observer)
