OTTAWA – Concerns about the vaccination status of conservative MPs were at the forefront of a new session of parliament after one of them tested positive for COVID-19.
Quebec MP Richard Lehoux’s diagnosis added an urgent urge from Liberals and New Democrats to continue with a hybrid format in the House of Commons that would allow MPs to participate virtually in cases.
And that prompted government House leader Mark Holland on Sunday to propose that the Commons adopt a system to verify the validity of medical exemptions, as an unknown number of Conservative MPs claim.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has said he and all 118 members of parliament will be in the House when it returns on 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 was tested positive for the virus on Saturday, despite being fully vaccinated.
Conservative spokeswoman Josie Sabatino confirmed that Lehoux’s diagnosis came two days after he attended a personal caucus retreat on Wednesday and Thursday.
She will not say how many unvaccinated Conservative MPs may now be required to isolate themselves as a result of being in close contact with him.
She would only say that “all MPs will adhere to all public health guidelines.”
She provided a link to Ottawa’s public health policy, which specifies that anyone who is not fully vaccinated and who is exposed to a person who tests positive “MUST self-isolate.”
“You must NOT return to day care / school / work in person,” the guidelines state.
People who are fully vaccinated do not need to isolate themselves and can go to work in person, wearing masks and keeping physical distance from others, according to the 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 remains adamant that the Commons should fully resume normal operations – without the hybrid format.
It makes no sense to me that the Conservatives would be against anything that would allow their own members to represent their constituents
While O’Toole personally supports vaccination, he has struggled to accommodate conservative MPs who are principally protesting against vaccine mandates and having to reveal their personal health choices. Some of his MPs have also questioned the effectiveness of the vaccines.
O’Toole has said his party intends to challenge a rule imposed by the Board of Directors of Internal Economy, the governing body of all parties in the House of Commons, which requires anyone entering the Commons area to be fully vaccinated.
Given the Conservatives’ mixed views on vaccination, the Netherlands proposed that the party could not rely on monitoring its MPs demanding a medical exemption.
“I am deeply uncomfortable with their circumstances,” Holland said in an interview Sunday.
He said public health experts estimate that one in five people out of 100,000 would have valid medical reasons for not being vaccinated. Therefore, he said it is hard to believe that there would be more conservatives out of a group of only 119 MPs who would have legal exceptions.
That would “equate to winning Lotto 6/49 six times. It’s just statistically completely unlikely,” he said.
That is why the Netherlands said it wanted Parliament to “create a system in which these (exemptions) are challenged and verified, for the safety of all involved.”
The Liberals originally said that one of their MPs had a medical exemption, but this person has since been fully vaccinated, as have all other Liberals, the NDP, the Bloc Quebecois and Green MPs.
The Liberals, the NDP and the Greens support the continuation of hybrid meetings, while the Conservatives and the Bloc are against. Without the unanimous consent, Parliament will only open with personal proceedings until a proposal can be adopted later in the week to resume the hybrid format.
Lehoux’s diagnosis “makes it even more important to use hybrid tools to protect employees and the public,” NDP House leader Peter Julian said in an interview.
“The tragic death of Sen. (Josee) Forest-Niesing also underscores that.”
Forest-Niesing died Saturday of complications due to COVID-19. She had been double-vaccinated but was particularly vulnerable to the virus due to an autoimmune disorder affecting her lungs.
Hybrid meetings are not just a matter of protecting MPs, their staff, Commons staff and journalists, Julian added. They are also about protecting the public.
“The fact that you have 338 MEPs coming together from all over the country, some in COVID hotspots, some where there is lower risk … if there is any transfer at all and then we go back to our home regions, we could see the virus being transmitted from a hotspot to an area where COVID is not a factor. “
The Netherlands said “all this is just talking about the need to have a hybrid system.”
He noted that Lehoux and potentially other Conservative MPs would be quarantined and would therefore be “deprived of the right to vote” if they could not participate virtually.
“It makes no sense to me that the Conservatives would oppose anything that would allow their own members to represent their constituents,” Holland said.
He added that he fears symptomatic MPs who know they will miss important votes, debates or committee meetings if they test positive will feel pressured to show up in the Commons anyway.
Monday’s negotiations will be taken up with the election of a new chairman. MPs must be in the House to vote.
On Tuesday, a throne speech will be consecrated to be read by Governor-General Mary Simon in the Senate Hall. Normally, all MPs stand at the bar in the Senate to hear the speech, but the Netherlands said that due to the pandemic, all parties have agreed to send only two representatives each – house leader and whip – to the ceremony.
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