00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 21 01 Urging the Canadian government to honor individual medical and religious rights by 02 granting passage through Canada without discrimination to all United States citizens, 03 including truck drivers, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, for the purpose of 04 delivering goods to the United States. 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS the people of Alaska depend on the route through Canada for travel to 07 the contiguous states of the United States and to transport goods through Canada; and 08 WHEREAS the legislature supports avoiding any disruption of the supply chain, 09 which is critical to the economy and welfare of the state and the welfare of its people; and 10 WHEREAS because many citizens, including truck drivers who deliver food and 11 goods, will legally decline the COVID-19 vaccine for a variety of reasons, the COVID-19 12 vaccine mandate will increase the food insecurity for citizens of this state, as well as of the 13 citizens of the other states in the United States and the provinces of Canada; will increase 14 costs; and will jeopardize the jobs and well-being of individuals and families; and 15 WHEREAS the COVID-19 vaccine mandate will cause a decrease in the number of 01 employed truck drivers at a time when a shortage of qualified and experienced truck drivers 02 already exists, and many commercial truck drivers will choose to stop driving because of the 03 COVID-19 vaccine mandate; and 04 WHEREAS a decrease in the number of employed truck drivers would cause a severe 05 interruption in the supply chain affecting the flow of necessities, including food, medical 06 supplies, and other critical items; and 07 WHEREAS the COVID-19 vaccine may be contraindicated for a variety of reasons, 08 including medical conditions; and 09 WHEREAS the long-term side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine are unknown; and 10 WHEREAS constitutional religious liberties must be honored, and, under state law, 11 an individual may decline a vaccination for any reason, including religious beliefs; and 12 WHEREAS the Canadian and United States governments are urged to recognize the 13 value of natural immunity and that, based on clinical studies, many Canadians and United 14 States citizens now likely have superior immunity to COVID-19 because those citizens have 15 recovered from COVID-19; and 16 WHEREAS, in 1942, in An Exchange of Notes Between Canada and the United 17 States Recording an Agreement Providing for the Construction of a Military Highway to 18 Alaska, the Canadian government and United States government agreed that "at the 19 conclusion of the war that part of the highway which lies in Canada shall become in all 20 respects an integral part of the Canadian highway system, subject to the understanding that 21 there shall at no time be imposed any discriminatory conditions in relation to the use of the 22 road as between Canadian and United States civilian traffic";  23 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Canadian government 24 to honor individual medical and religious rights by granting passage through Canada without 25 discrimination to all United States citizens, including truck drivers, regardless of COVID-19 26 vaccination status, for the purpose of delivering goods to the United States. 27 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President 28 of the United States; the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; the 29 Honourable Kirsten Hillman, Ambassador of Canada to the United States; the Honourable 30 M?lanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada; the Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister 31 of Transport, Canada; the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, 01 Canada; the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, 02 Infrastructure and Communities, Canada; the Honourable Jean Gagnon, Commissioner for 03 Canada, International Boundary Commission; the Honourable Scott Streiner, Chief Executive 04 Officer and Chair, Canadian Transportation Agency; the Honourable Sandy Silver, Premier of 05 Yukon, Canada; the Honourable John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia, Canada; the 06 Honourable Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta, Canada; the Honorable Pete Buttigieg, United 07 States Secretary of Transportation; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable 08 Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of 09 the Alaska delegation in Congress.