The issue of compulsory vaccination against COVID-19 has not finished haunting Erin O’Toole. A group of Conservatives are preparing to found their own “mini-caucus” to defend unvaccinated Canadians. The chief’s entourage denies that it is a disavowal. But others insist that this is nothing less than a challenge to his leadership.
The “civil liberties caucus” will have 15 to 30 Conservative MPs and senators who are keen to speak out on behalf of Canadians who have lost their jobs after refusing to be vaccinated. The group wants to encourage the offer of “reasonable accommodation” for these workers and could summon experts to discuss the issue, explained the instigator, elected Marilyn Gladu, to the parliamentary newspaper. Hill times, who first reported the news.
The minicaucus will continue to sit with the Conservatives. Mme Gladu, who briefly ran for his party leadership last year, said on Twitter that the creation of this group “has nothing to do with the leadership of Erin [O’Toole]. These are discussions around the concerns of our constituents ”.
A conservative source thinks on the contrary that the initiative may well be presented in this way, it is “clearly a challenge to his leadership. It is hypocritical to say that it is not ”. Several members of this minicaucus will also be Conservatives from the Prairies or Ontario as well as pro-life elected officials who no longer want Mr. O’Toole as leader, says this person who was previously a top party strategist. .
The entourage of the chief nevertheless affirmed that there is no rebuff there. “If they really wanted to harm Erin O’Toole, they would sit as an independent caucus,” argued another Conservative. “It can hurt us,” he agreed. But among some members of the party, convictions matter more than the rest, ”he explains, noting that the Conservative Party has long been made up of various militant fringes.
A third Conservative in turn admits that creating a caucus to defend anti-vaccine drugs is not ideal. “This is not what we want. We want to focus on the economy, on the labor shortage. But the reflections of elected officials on a subject that also mobilizes a part of the population can not be stifled, he explained.
The Tory leader’s office declined to comment on Friday.
The controversy is not over
Like others, the Conservative Party already has sub-caucuses that meet on certain issues, such as aboriginal affairs, agriculture or tourism.
The civil liberties caucus differs, however, because it will defend a position that its leader is already struggling to support.
The case had caused headaches for Mr. O’Toole during the election campaign – who refused to support mandatory vaccination or to require his candidates to be vaccinated – and he continues to hound him.
A handful of MPs would not be vaccinated. The party refuses to say how much.
Mr. O’Toole has resigned himself to accepting the Commons rules which will require, as of the reopening of parliament on November 22, that all deputies who want to enter are immune to COVID-19. But to appease some of his colleagues, Mr. O’Toole also intends to challenge the decision-making that led to this settlement, claiming that the privilege of parliamentarians is being violated.
Several conservatives, even if they are themselves vaccinated, are opposed to making it mandatory, instead defending the freedom to choose.
Our ex-strategist and critic Erin O’Toole source predicts that unvaccinated elected officials will nevertheless attempt to enter parliament on November 22 and that they may even hold a press conference as a coup.
Dissent within the Conservatives is just beginning, predicts this person.
Another group of elected officials would also be meeting, according to the Toronto Star, to respond to the Liberal promise to cap GHG emissions from the gas and oil industries, a promise reiterated by Justin Trudeau at COP26 this week and to which Mr. O’Toole has not publicly replied.
“He doesn’t behave like a boss. And these divisions arise when there is a leadership vacuum, ”lamented our source.