(Ottawa) A Conservative federal MP who is part of a group planning to advocate against mandatory vaccination said the cohort would do nothing to contradict Chief Erin O’Toole.
Marilyn Gladu made a statement on Twitter Friday, a day after revealing that between 15 and 30 Conservative MPs and Senators were organizing a “mini-caucus” around the issue.
Mme Gladu said the idea emerged after several of them voiced concerns from their constituents about losing their jobs because they were not vaccinated against COVID-19.
PHOTO FROM MARILYN GLADU’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu
She argued that the formation of the group, dubbed the Civil Liberties Caucus and operating within the larger Conservative caucus, has nothing to do with Mr. O’Toole or his party leadership.
Still, the move raises eyebrows as Mr. O’Toole grapples with internal divisions in his 118-member caucus over what the Conservatives should do regarding vaccination requirements, including for MPs.
In his statement, Mme Gladu says she supports her leader “as well as her positions on COVID-19”.
“The Civil Liberties Caucus will serve as a mechanism to present ideas to the National Conservative Caucus and will not take any position contrary to the collective perspective of our leader and the National Caucus,” she said.
Neither Mr. O’Toole nor his office has publicly responded to the case.
Despite the emphasis by Mme Gladu that forming the group is not about Mr. O’Toole, there is no doubt that this will give political opponents a target to continue attacking Tories on the issue, according to a strategist.
Shakir Chambers, who helped Doug Ford win the 2018 Ontario provincial election, said Mr. O’Toole was trying to shake off a lack of clarity on his position on the issue, and that he would be wise to choose a side.
“The longer that gray area stays in place, the more uncertainty there is, the more Canadians will look at you and just won’t think of this as credible leadership,” he argued.
During the federal election campaign, Mr. O’Toole opposed mandatory vaccination and said rapid tests should be available for those who are not immune.
He did not make the two-dose vaccination a prerequisite for candidates to run under the Conservative banner. The problem reappeared after the campaign when the Board of Internal Economy, an all-party parliamentary committee and governing body of the House of Commons, introduced a mandatory vaccination policy for Members of Parliament.
What followed was a shifting response from the Conservatives.
At first their whip, Blake Richards, said the Tories lamented that such a decision was made by a group of MPs instead of the House of Commons as a whole, but did not say whether the party would challenge the ruling. decision.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. O’Toole told The Agenda with Steve Paikin to TVO in his first interview since the election that he respected the committee’s decision.
A spokesperson then issued a clarification, saying that while the Conservatives respect the committee’s ability to make rules for Parliament, it rejects its “jurisdiction to infringe a member’s right to sit. in the House of Commons ”.
This led to a press conference last week where, after a four-hour meeting with his caucus, Mr. O’Toole announced that his MPs would follow the rules set for the House, but challenge the ruling with the Speaker after the resumption of the work of Parliament on 22 November.
At the time, Mr. O’Toole had not said what his message was to Conservative MPs who may still not be vaccinated or how many of his 118 caucus members are fully immunized.
An analysis by The Canadian Press shows that at least 82 of 119 elected Conservatives, including Mr. O’Toole, are doubly vaccinated against COVID-19.