No masks at Sloan rally
KELOWNA — A federal Conservative Party leadership candidate flouted B.C. public health regulations at an outdoor gathering this week in Kelowna.
Photos posted Tuesday to Ontario MP Derek Sloan’s political Facebook page show a group of more than 50 people together in close quarters. Nobody in the older crowd appears to be wearing a mask.
“WOW, Kelowna, thank you for your outpouring of support!” says the post.
Orders made by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry include limiting gatherings to no more than 50 people. Masks are asked to be worn where people can’t physical distance.
A social conservative, Sloan is running under the slogan of “Conservative without apology.”
Sloan has declined to retract comments he made earlier this year in a video, asking whether Canada's Chief Medical Officer Theresa Tam worked “for Canada or for China?”
Photos of the Kelowna event have been liked hundreds of times, with many encouraging comments.
In a statement on his website, Sloan strongly opposes making masks mandatory.
“In municipalities across Canada, the wearing of masks is being mandated. And, more and more, people are calling on their provincial governments to make the wearing of masks mandatory, provincewide,” he said.
“This is very disturbing.”
Sloan remarked the World Health Organization has gone from “masks don’t work” to “masks must be worn.”
“And now the power-hungry, power-seeking governments at every level have been following this new WHO directive with great enthusiasm. Is this a surprise?” he asks.
Kelowna-Lake Country MP Tracy Gray has posted pictures of herself wearing a mask and has both encouraged and modelled social distancing.
Also seeking the Conservative nomination to replace Andrew Scheer are Leslyn Lewis, Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole.
Ballots were mailed to party members earlier this month.