Erin O’Toole faces a challenge as Tory MPs unite on vaccines

OTTAWA – Conservative unified caucus Erin O’Toole says he leads is showing more signs of tension.

Small groups of MPs are coming together to advocate for issues they say O’Toole is ignoring, much to the chagrin of MPs and their constituents.

One of them, as the Hill Times first reported, is a “civil liberties group” that will speak out on behalf of those who refuse to get vaccinated and lose their jobs.

Another, the Star has learned, is a group of MPs irritated by the leadership’s silence on the Liberals’ plan to regulate emissions in the oil and gas sector.

Others are joining in on fiscal issues and deficits.

Sources tell the Star that the signal sent by O’Toole and those in his inner circle is that the prevailing issues right now for many in the caucus – vaccine mandates and emissions regulation – are simply not cause for concern at the top.

“The leader does not have their backs, so in the absence of leadership, they will do it themselves,” one MP, speaking confidentially to discuss internal affairs, told the Star.

It is normal for there to be breakaway groups within a party’s collection of deputies, so those with similar interests or backgrounds can promote causes they believe are important.

These groups are different because they are being formed in direct response to the perception that the leader himself is not acting, the deputy said.

But Marilyn Gladu, a MP who was first reported by the Hill Times as part of the civil liberties group, insisted it is not a challenge to O’Toole’s leadership.

“These caucus meetings are not related to Erin’s leadership. They are discussions about the concerns of our voters, “he said on social media.

Vaccination mandates have been a sore spot for the party for months, and the issue gained new relevance when the decision was made that all MPs must be fully vaccinated to enter Parliament when it resumes later this month.

All but a handful of Conservative MPs are believed to be fully vaccinated, but many have ideological issues with the mandates, viewing them as a violation of privacy.

Some MPs are also angry at the way the House of Commons rule was established and intend to challenge it using parliamentary procedure, a plan endorsed by O’Toole.

But he also said his caucus will respect the ruling on vaccines, an approach some were frustrated with because it went against party messages during the elections that opposed the mandates and called for rapid tests to be used instead. .

Mark Strahl, a BC MP who has spoken out against the parliamentary rule, said last week that MPs must fight for people who now lose their jobs because they will not get vaccinated.

“I think we need to make it very clear that we still oppose Justin Trudeau’s mandate without reasonable accommodations for people who cannot get vaccinated. That should be very clear and in everything we say, it should be clear as it was during the elections. “

Strahl was also among a group of MPs who expressed their post-election frustration with O’Toole and his inability to make significant progress for the party over the course of the campaign.

That frustration found a home in MPs’ decision to vote to give themselves the power to launch a leadership review at any time, a process provided by the Reform Act.

At the same time, they also voted, under the Act, to give themselves sole collective power to kick a member out of their caucus, effectively tying O’Toole’s hands when it comes to potentially kicking someone out if he strays too far from the party. . politics.

O’Toole’s office did not respond to a request for comment.