(Ottawa) Conservative MPs gathered in Ottawa on Wednesday to discuss the soon to be mandatory vaccination to enter the House of Commons.
Elected officials are divided on the issue. According to a compilation from The Canadian Press, 80 MPs say they are fully vaccinated, two say they have medical exemptions that prevent them from getting the vaccine and one admits being partially vaccinated. The remaining 36 still refuse to say whether or not they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Alberta MP Glen Motz is among those who refuse to disclose his immunization status. He again refused to do so in front of reporters on Wednesday morning. Visibly annoyed, he said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has done a “good job of dividing Canadians”.
His colleague Mark Strahl of British Columbia is fully immunized but says he wants to defend “freedom of choice” for all Canadians. Regarding the policy of compulsory vaccination to enter parliamentary buildings, he believes that the position is “extreme” and that there must be “exemptions” for the unvaccinated.
All the Conservative members from Quebec are fully vaccinated and say they are in favor of vaccination. At the entrance of the caucus, MP Luc Berthold said that he has no “uneasiness” with his colleagues who have divergent opinions.
The dean of the House of Commons, the Bloc Québécois Louis Plamondon, believes instead that the Conservatives will have a heated debate on the issue. In his opinion, “the Conservatives are very uncomfortable with that” since “the vast majority are disciplined people” and respect parliamentary rules which require vaccination.
New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh is less intrusive. In his opinion, the Conservatives are “selfish” and “elitist” because they are more interested in speaking about their own interests than the pressing issues of the day.
On Tuesday, the new Government House Leader, Mark Holland, said he hoped the Conservatives would listen to reason on mandatory vaccination.