Several Conservative MPs pressed the government Tuesday to lift its vaccine mandate in transportation as millions of Canadians currently aren’t allowed fly.
“Argentina, Costa Rica, Denmark, Hungary, Jamaica, Thailand, Mexico, Norway, and Poland. These are a few of the many countries that have ended all their vaccine mandates. Even citizens of Cuba, a country with an interesting connection to the prime minister, have more freedom to travel than Canadians,” said MP Arnold Viersen during question period.
“However, the Liberal government maintains one of the most restrictive vaccine regimes around the world. On what day will 7 million Canadians get to fly again?”
“My honourable colleague never agreed with any of the public health measures we put in place, he never supported vaccine mandates,” responded Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, who was interrupted by shouting.
“How do you know that?” an unidentified MP yelled out in the House.
Alghabra said the measures are temporary and the government always relies on public health experts for its decisions.
“Let me just say to my honourable Conservative colleagues, they can’t on the one hand agree that vaccines save lives and on the other hand call them vindictive measures. That doesn’t add up,” he said.
The acrimony surrounding this topic was notable during other exchanges, with one Conservative MP using a pun to call the “NDP-Liberals” “liars.”
Blaine Calkins said provincial governments in charge of health care have removed many restrictions, yet the federal government, which is not responsible for that sector, is still implementing workforce and travel restrictions.
Canada has “virtually the only government in the world that’s doing this. Why are these NDP-Liberals such out-liars,” Calkins said, taking a deliberate pause between syllables.
Calkins was reprimanded by the Speaker and he had to reframe his statement.
Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos responded that Canada has achieved one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the world. “If that is called an outlier, we’re very proud of that.”
Duclos didn’t specify what data he was using for his statement. COVID-19 deaths are reported differently by each country.
Three other Conservative MPs raised the vaccine mandate in transportation issue during question period, with some focusing on the lifting of restrictions in many countries ahead of the tourism season, and another on the impact on families.
“Canadians are unable to travel to see their ill relatives or attend funerals. Constituents continue to not being able to see their mothers or fathers or siblings or grandparents who are suffering from illnesses,” said Karen Vecchio.
Duclos brought up the United States for comparison, saying how they incurred more deaths due to lower vaccine uptake: “135,000 lives lost because in the other country, they had a lower vaccination rate. That ... is not only a personal but also a social tragedy.”
The Canadian government is taking a slow and incremental approach to lifting restrictions on travel, announcing measures affecting mostly the vaccinated individuals in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, a number of cases will be heard in federal court in the coming weeks seeking to strike down the federal vaccine mandate in transport on the basis of lack of scientific justification and unconstitutionality.
