O’Toole drops hint on vaccine mandate

Leader says all MPs either fully jabbed or have exemptions

After weeks of ducking questions about the vaccination status of his MPs, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole now says they’re all either fully inoculated against COVID-19 or have medical exemptions.

That means all 119 members of the Conservative party caucus will take their seats in the House of Commons on Monday, O’Toole told Radio Canada’s “Les coulisses du pouvoir” in an interview set to air Sunday. “All our MPs will be there,” CBC reported he told host Daniel Thibeualt when asked repeatedly how many MPs were not fully vaccinated.

Asked whether that meant all Conservative MPs had either been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or had received a medical exemption from being vaccinated, O’Toole replied, “Exactly.”

But when asked Friday to confirm his statement — that all Conservative MPs would be in the House of Commons on Monday because they’re either fully vaccinated or have an exemption — O’Toole’s office wouldn’t repeat the leader’s comments.

“As Mr. O’Toole has stated on numerous occasions, every Conservative member of Parliament will respect and abide by the House of Commons vaccination rules,” spokesperson Mathew Clancy said in an email.

The rules were set by the all-party board of internal economy committee that oversees the administration and finances of the House of Commons.

They state that as of Monday, all MPs must have proof they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to enter the Parliament buildings; members who have a “medical contraindication” will be able to provide proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test to enter.

O’Toole has been pressed repeatedly about the vaccination status of his MPs, dating back to the earliest days of last summer’s election campaign, when he scrambled to define a position on mandatory vaccinations.

At a recent news conference, he told reporters in French that “all” of his MPs would be vaccinated when the House of Commons returned.

But when asked to clarify in English, he said all his MPs who were participating in Parliament would be vaccinated, without specifying whether that also meant some would actually not be able to participate.