Concern over the vaccination status of Conservative MPs took center stage on the eve of a new session of Parliament after one of them tested positive for COVID-19.
Quebec MP Richard Lehoux’s diagnosis added urgency to the push from Liberals and New Democrats to continue a hybrid format in the House of Commons, which would give MPs the option to participate virtually in proceedings.
And it led House Leader Mark Holland to suggest Sunday that the Commons should adopt a system to verify the validity of medical exemptions claimed by an unknown number of Conservative MPs.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has said that he and his 118 MPs will be in the House when he returns Monday, either because they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or because they have a medical exemption. He has repeatedly refused to say how many are not fully immunized.
But that was before Lehoux tested positive for the virus on Saturday, despite being fully vaccinated.
Conservative spokeswoman Josie Sabatino confirmed that Lehoux’s diagnosis came two days after she attended a caucus retreat in person on Wednesday and Thursday.
She would not say how many unvaccinated Conservative MPs may now have to isolate themselves as a result of being in close contact with him.
What people are reading
She would only say that “all parliamentarians will abide by all public health guidelines.”
She provided a link to Ottawa’s public health rules, which specify that anyone who is not fully vaccinated and exposed to someone who tests positive “MUST self-isolate.”
“DO NOT go back to daycare / school / work in person,” the guidelines say.
Conservative vaccination status in the spotlight after MP tests positive on the eve of the new Parliament. # Covid19 #CDNPoli
People who are fully vaccinated do not have to self-isolate and can go to work in person, wearing a mask and maintaining physical distance from others, according to guidelines.
Despite the fact that Lehoux and potentially other Conservative MPs will not immediately be able to participate in parliamentary proceedings, Sabatino said the party is adamant that the Commons must fully resume normal operations, without the hybrid format.
While O’Toole personally supports vaccination, he has struggled to adapt to conservative MPs who, in principle, oppose vaccination mandates and having to disclose personal health options. Some of his MPs have also questioned the effectiveness of vaccines.
O’Toole has said that his party intends to challenge a rule imposed by the board of internal economics, the governing body of all parties in the House of Commons, which requires that anyone entering the House of Commons is fully vaccinated.
Given the conflicting views of conservatives on vaccination, Holland suggested that the party cannot be trusted to control its MPs who claim a medical exemption.
“I am deeply uncomfortable with his circumstance,” Holland said in an interview Sunday.
He said public health experts estimate that one to five people in 100,000 would have valid medical reasons not to get vaccinated. Therefore, he said, it is hard to believe that there are multiple Conservatives out of a group of just 119 MPs who have legitimate exemptions.
That would be “the equivalent of winning the 6/49 Lotto six times. It is statistically completely unlikely,” he said.
Accordingly, Holland said he wants the House “to create a system in which those (exemptions) are questioned and verified, for the safety of everyone involved.”
The Liberals initially said that one of their MPs had a medical exemption, but that person has since been fully vaccinated, as have all the other Liberal MPs, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and Verdes.
The Liberals, the NDP and the Greens support the continuation of hybrid sessions, while the Conservatives and the bloc oppose. Without unanimous consent, the House will have to open only with in-person proceedings until a motion can be passed later in the week to resume the hybrid format.
Lehoux’s diagnosis “makes the use of hybrid tools even more essential to protect employees and the public,” NDP House leader Peter Julian said in an interview.
“The tragic death of Senator (Josee) Forest-Niesing also underlines this.”
Forest-Niesing died Saturday of complications from COVID-19. She had been twice vaccinated, but was particularly vulnerable to the virus due to an autoimmune disorder that affected her lungs.
Hybrid sessions are not simply a matter of protecting MPs, their staff, Commons employees and journalists, Julian added. It’s also about protecting the public.
“The fact that there are 338 parliamentarians gathered from all over the country, some at COVID hotspots, others where there is a lower risk … if there is any transmission and then we return to our regions of origin, we could see the virus transmitted from a access point to an area where COVID is not a factor. “
Holland said that “all of this just speaks to the imperative of having a hybrid system.”
He noted that Lehoux and potentially other Conservative MPs must be quarantined and therefore “disenfranchised” if they are unable to participate virtually.
“It doesn’t make sense to me for conservatives to oppose something that would allow their own members to represent their constituents,” Holland said.
He added that he fears that symptomatic MPs who know important votes, debates or committee meetings will be missed if they test positive will feel pressured to appear in the Commons anyway.
Monday’s deliberations will resume with the election of a new Speaker. Deputies must be in the House to vote.
Tuesday will be dedicated to a speech on the throne, which will be read by Governor General Mary Simon in the Senate chamber. Normally, all MPs stand at the Senate bar to listen to the speech, but Holland said all parties agreed, due to the pandemic, to send only two representatives each, the House leader and the whip, to the ceremony. .
This Canadian Press report was first published on November 21, 2021.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com