‘Giving them a stage to strut their stuff’
N.L. Tory chief calls foul on Liberal leader, minister for participating in COVID briefings during election
Newfoundland and Labrador Tory Leader Ches Crosbie says it’s politically inappropriate for Liberal Leader Andrew Furey to take part in public COVID-19 briefings as premier during the election campaign.
Furey, a surgeon, hadn’t been part of the briefings since he called the provincial election on Jan. 15. But on Monday, as chief medical officer of health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald announced there was community spread of COVID-19 in St. John’s, Furey sat by her side. He made a statement assuring those watching that the science of public health was beyond politics.
During a campaign announcement Tuesday, Crosbie disagreed.
“It’s giving them a stage now on which to strut their stuff within days of an election vote taking place,” the Progressive Conservative leader said. He also criticized Liberal Health Minister John Haggie’s appearance at the briefing via video call.
“They told us in the beginning they would not be present for these public briefings,” Crosbie said. “And now they’ve broken that five days ... before voting day.”
Hammering on a point that has been central to his campaign for the past three weeks, Crosbie said Furey took an unnecessary risk by calling the Feb. 13 election in the middle of a pandemic. “And now, regrettably, the genie of COVID is out of the bottle,” he said.
Furey’s campaign team cancelled a media availability with him Tuesday morning. Instead, he was to be part of a COVID-19 briefing scheduled for the afternoon.
With election day on Saturday, the province’s chief elections officer, Bruce Chaulk, said his team was exploring voting options for people who are now in isolation in connection with 11 new cases of COVID-19 announced in the province on Monday.
“They’re preliminary (explorations), but things could change very quickly,” Chaulk said Tuesday. The province is still at a low alert level, even with the community spread, he said, and under the current levels, voting is permitted.
“Voting is still a very safe activity,” Chaulk said. “We’ve implemented all public health measures suggested by Dr. Fitzgerald.”