On Parliament Hill

It’s been eleven months since we first heard of the spread of the coronavirus.

Rather than take proactive steps, the Liberal government ignored early warnings and failed to plan ahead.

As a result, Canadians have endured eight months of restrictions, fear and uncertainty.

My Conservative colleague Michelle Rempel summed it up well in her recent piece for the National Post.

“More than 11,000 Canadians have died, hundreds of billions of dollars have been added to the national debt, millions have lost their jobs and businesses, civil liberties are being infringed upon, children have lost months of schooling, families have separated from one another and a national mental health crisis is emerging, [abuse and addictions are also on the rise] all due to COVID-19 lockdown measures – designed to be temporary and buy time to develop better solutions – becoming a permanent and repetitive course of action.”

Ten months in and there is still conflicting information about such basic information as how many people have actually had COVID-19 in Canada. With no system in place to accurately compile this information we have no way of judging if the measures that are being taken to stop the spread are even effective – judging by the recent rise in reported cases (despite increased restrictions), it would appear they are not.

In recent days, many people have contacted my office to raise concerns and express their frustration with the provincial restrictions. While I am always happy to hear the thoughts of constituents, and while I share many of those concerns, I would encourage people to reach out and discuss these matters with their MLA.

As mandated by Canada’s Constitution, the responsibility for healthcare falls under the jurisdiction of the provinces.

Mask mandates, school and business closures, and restrictions on gatherings have been put in place by the provincial government. It is the provinces, not the federal government that have enacted states of emergency.

I believe our MLA’s have the best interests of Manitobans at heart and will be happy to take your calls and explain the actions taken by their government.

The federal Liberal Government is responsible for the closure of the Canada- US border and the majority of the financial benefit programs.

As your federal representative, I am keeping my focus on Justin Trudeau.

Rather than throw out more numbers and talk about cancelling Christmas, Justin Trudeau must show leadership and present Canadians with a real plan. Encouraging the Premiers to shut down the entire country is simply not an option, nor a solution.

Canada’s Conservatives have offered tangible policy and practical ideas that could help us get life back to normal, while still protecting the health of Canadians.

For example, deploy widespread access to rapid, non-invasive (antigen) testing for all Canadians. This alone could allow people to safely go to work, school, travel and families to be reunited.

For those who want it, explain to Canadians how, when, and where they will be able to get a vaccine when it becomes available, should they so choose.

Canadians are being asked to make major sacrifices, and governments of all levels must, empirically, justify those asks.

It’s time for a plan and a path forward. There’s too much at stake for anything less.