Feds say it’s ‘irresponsible’ to set date for ending COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Global News
Opposition members of the House of Commons health committee hammered Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos with questions about an end to vaccine requirements.
What will it take for the federal government to lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates? Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says it’s complicated.
Conservative and NDP members of the House of Commons health committee hammered the minister with questions about a timeline, a benchmark, or a set of conditions that would trigger an end to vaccine requirements for travellers and federal employees.
“(Canadians) want to know what it will take for the mandates to end,” said Conservative critic Michael Barrett told the committee Monday.
Duclos had no single answer, instead giving a long list of indicators the federal government is watching.
The decision, he said, will be based on everything from the vaccination rate, hospital capacity, and domestic and international epidemiology to the impact of long-COVID, the economy, and other social impacts.
While mandates are reviewed on a weekly basis, he said it would be “irresponsible” to answer whether there is a specific plan to end federal public health mandates.
“To be responsible means that you need to follow the evidence, the science and the precautionary principle and adjust or analyze policies as things evolve,” he said.
Opposition parties have increasingly called for more transparency about how the federal government makes public health decisions under its jurisdiction.
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