Manitoba Tory MP quiet on vaccine mandate caucus status

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This article was published 08/11/2021 (1145 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — An MP representing pockets of southeast Manitoba struggling with COVID-19 vaccine uptake won’t say whether he’s part of a group questioning federal restrictions for the unvaccinated.

On Nov. 5, the Free Press asked all seven Conservative MPs if they had joined the new Civil Liberties Caucus; Ted Falk (Provencher) had not replied as of Tuesday afternoon.

The group came to light last week, with Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu saying 15 to 30 of the Tories’ 119 MPs want Ottawa to overhaul its vaccine mandate.

Federal rules limit most flights and rail trips to those who are vaccinated, while public servants will be put on leave if they don’t attest to getting their shots or having a valid medical exemption.

Gladu and others have argued those rules are too strict. Unlike Manitoba’s own mandate for provincial employees, unvaccinated federal civil servants can’t do routine rapid testing in lieu of getting the shots.

The federal rules also bar people who work from home.

The other six MPs from Manitoba said they were not part of that group: Candice Bergen, James Bezan, Raquel Dancho, Larry Maguire, Dan Mazier and Marty Morantz.

Falk and Bergen represent the only ridings where the People’s Party of Canada gained more than 15 per cent of votes in September’s election, aside from the riding of PPC Leader Maxime Bernier.

The ridings include areas with low vaccine uptake, such as Winkler and the rural municipalities of Hanover and Stanley.

Falk is the only Manitoba Tory MP who refuses to share whether he’s been vaccinated, arguing it’s a private matter. However, only vaccinated MPs will be allowed into the parliamentary precinct as the session gets underway Nov. 22.

O’Toole has allowed his MPs to join the Civil Liberties Caucus, but criticized Gladu for comparing COVID-19 death rates with that of polio, which she apologized for Tuesday.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca