(Ottawa) The main opposition parties on Monday welcomed the lifting of all health restrictions related to COVID-19 at the borders next Saturday, demanding in the same breath that the Trudeau government now show more transparency.
Posted at 3:30 p.m.
“What is surprising is that the government says they have scientific evidence, but they don’t want to reveal it. We would like to see what was the scientific evidence that ensured that we continued to use an application that has harmed the economy in recent months, ”launched Quebec Lieutenant for the Conservatives, Pierre Paul-Hus, in the foyer of the House of Commons.
On Twitter, its leader, Pierre Poilievre, argued that it is “thanks to the Conservatives” that the Liberals are announcing the end of the use of the “disastrous” ArriveCAN application and “unscientific health restrictions”.
To this comment, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau replied in a scrum, as he prepared to participate in question period, that “if we had listened to the Conservatives on their recommendations on how to manage a pandemic, we would have had hundreds of thousands more deaths.
He reiterated that “at every step” Ottawa has “followed the recommendations of public health experts, doctors, scientists”.
The issue of transparency was very present on the lips of the Bloc’s transport critic, Xavier Barsalou-Duval.
The Bloc Québécois “believes in good faith” in the government when it affirms that the decisions are based on science, he said, adding that “we would have liked that to be assured of this” and that “we hope they have not played politics with the health measures”.
“Throughout that period, we were often asked to see the public health notices, to see the documents and the data that underpinned the decisions that were made and that was something that was missed. “, decided Mr. Barsalou-Duval.
In a statement, the New Democratic Party welcomed the end of border measures “as long as they are justified by scientific health data and explained transparently to the Canadian public”.
NDP Transportation Critic Taylor Bachrach called for the Trudeau government to demonstrate “clearly” that the decision is based “on public health science, not political pressure.”
From 1er October, vaccine evidence will no longer be required, Ottawa will end random testing, isolation of international travelers and mandatory mask-wearing on planes and trains. Similarly, it will no longer be mandatory to fill out a form in the ArriveCan application.