Vaccination policy dogs Erin O’Toole as Conservative MP tests positive for COVID-19

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/11/2021 (1132 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA—Promises to follow all public health guidance on vaccines amounted to not much politically for the federal Conservatives Monday as Parliament resumed with a cloud of suspicion still hovering over the party’s approach to COVID-19.

That fully-vaccinated Conservative MP Richard Lehoux was diagnosed with COVID-19 over the weekend became swift political ammunition for rival parties.

The Liberals seized upon the potential he’d infected other Conservative MPs who may not be vaccinated, and in turn they were putting everyone at risk as MPs crammed into the House of Commons for the return of Parliament.

But how many unvaccinated MPs remain is still the issue.

To take their seats, all MPs had to show proof of vaccination or a medical exemption.

Late last week, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said all of his MPs were either vaccinated or had an exemption, a revelation that came after months of him refusing to directly answer questions on that score.

Then, in the wake of Lehoux’s exposure, his office was also clear that all MPs would be following the public health guidance they received about what to do next.

The guidance in Ottawa states unvaccinated people declared a high-risk contact of someone with COVID-19 must isolate for 10 days, while the fully-vaccinated need to monitor for symptoms, and only isolate if those appear.

No one but Lehoux was absent due to COVID requirements, O’Toole’s office told the Star Monday.

So, that no other MPs were in COVID isolation means either there are no unvaccinated MPs, or if there are, they weren’t declared a high-risk contact despite being in Lehoux’s proximity during two days of meetings the Conservatives had in Ottawa last week.

O’Toole’s office wouldn’t say which it was.

Some MPs did attend that gathering virtually, and the room the Tories use is set up to allow for some measure of physical distancing.

Prior to Monday, the numbers of unvaccinated MPs has been pegged as high as a dozen and as few as four.

Niagara West MP Dean Allison is so far the only caucus member who has been publicly identified as having an exemption, but that happened during the election campaign, and he’s not discussed the issue publicly since.

Those numbers need to be known, said Liberal House Leader Mark Holland, because otherwise it calls into question the validity of the medical exemptions that have been received.

In the general population, only a handful of people actually qualify for an exemption he said.

If the Tories’ numbers skew higher than that, “the math doesn’t add up.”

“It’s frustrating to me that they would not provide that information and then say this place should be sitting shoulder to shoulder,” he told reporters, as he called for some kind of additional validation of the exemptions.

“That’s not reasonable, that’s not fair.”

The Conservatives have generally refused to comment on any one specific MP’s vaccination status, citing the need to protect personal medical privacy.

Three other Conservatives were absent Monday.

One, Mark Strahl, decided to stay in his home riding in B.C. to assist recovery efforts from devastating floods and landslides there.

Alberta MP Arnold Viersen said on Twitter he was in transit to Ottawa and would take his seat Tuesday, while Saskatchewan’s Robert Kitchen did not return a question as to his whereabouts.

Stephanie Levitz is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @StephanieLevitz