Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has promised to create a public inquiry into how the Trudeau government handled the coronavirus pandemic.
If elected, O’Toole says Canadians will learn exactly what the Trudeau government was doing during the pandemic and how effective they were at saving lives and the economy.
“A Conservative government will call a public inquiry to examine every aspect of the government’s pandemic response. We also call on the government to appoint a special monitor from the Office of the Auditor General to track the pandemic response in real time to ensure that valuable ‘lessons learned’ are captured for future emergency readiness,” he said in a statement.
“The inquiry will ensure that all lessons learned from the crisis are publicly aired and learnings can immediately be adopted. Canada must be better prepared for future threats. We cannot afford to once again fail to keep Canadians safe.”
O’Toole slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handling for the pandemic, particularly on vaccines, as the government’s failures resulted in Canada receiving fewer doses than many countries.
While multiple countries were developing vaccines, the government chose to only pre-order doses from CanSino Biologics, a Chinese company under scrutiny by intelligence agencies.
“Last spring, when it was clear that vaccines would be the key tool to turn the page in the crisis, Justin Trudeau dropped the ball completely,” O’Toole said.
“He turned to China, of all countries, to partner with on the making of a vaccine. It was the worst in a series of bad decisions and it is why we are lagging the developed world today.”
During the opening weeks of the pandemic, the Trudeau government stubbornly refused to close the borders to international travel.
While Liberal politicians claimed shutting the border would not stop the spread of coronavirus, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has openly admitted Canada waited too long.
“We’re still scrambling to catch up. It’s a national disgrace, especially in a country as strong and prosperous as Canada.”
