Canada’s St. Patrick’s Day festivals are back after pandemic hiatus
Posted March 15, 2022 10:09 am.
Last Updated March 15, 2022 10:10 am.
Canada’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are returning this year with masking mandates and vaccine passports either gone or on their way out. COVID-19 safety will be mostly a personal choice rather than a rule.
Most celebrations of the holiday have been cancelled for the past two years but Irish communities in Montreal and Vancouver are moving forward with parades and music this year.
Many provinces are lifting masking and vaccination mandates, which will ease logistical problems for these festivals, according to Kevin Tracey with Montreal’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. That event has been assigned a longer route than usual, so parade attendees can spread out.
With a significant portion of attendees expected to be youth, especially students, post-secondary unions are encouraging students to wear masks despite what provincial authorities might require.
Related article: Metro Vancouver pubs prepare for muted 2021 St. Patrick’s Day celebrations
Student unions in Ottawa and B.C.’s Okanagan region say students are tired of masks so they are only asking students to wear them — not mandating them — and they’re aware that it is the students’ choice.
Ottawa police have been deployed in large numbers downtown to ensure St. Patrick’s Day celebrations progress smoothly while CelticFest Vancouver is providing sanitization booths for people to pick up masks or sanitize their hands if they choose.
(Credit: CelticFest Vancouver)
On Friday, B.C. ended its mask mandate in most public spaces. Its vaccine card program will remain in effect until April 8.
Quebec stopped requiring proof of vaccination on Saturday. That province’s mask mandate will remain in effect for at least another month.
