2022-02-08 Liberal MP breaks ranks and criticizes public health policies dividing Canadians, National Post

UPDATE:  a second Liberal MP from Quebec, Yves Robillard,  is speaking out, in agreement with Lightbound.

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Quebec MP Joël Lightbound said, ‘I am hopeful as well that there is room in the Liberal Party for dissent’

Catherine Lévesque

Liberal Quebec MP Joël Lightbound is speaking out against the division, fuelled in part by his own government, of public health measures aimed at unvaccinated Canadians.

Lightbound was alone in voicing these concerns in a press conference on Tuesday, but says he is not the only Liberal MP who is feeling uneasy with the direction the government has taken. He also said he has decided to speak out after trying to convince his caucus to change its tone.

He said that he couldn’t help but notice that “both the tone and the policies” of his government changed “drastically on the eve and during the last election campaign”.

“From a positive and unifying approach, a decision was made to wedge, to divide and to stigmatize. I fear that this politicization of the pandemic risks undermining the public’s trust in our public health institutions. This is not a risk we ought to be taking lightly”, said Lightbound, who represents the Louis-Hebert riding in Quebec City.

Lightbound underlined that Canada has reached one of the highest levels of vaccination in the world and that this is something that the country should be proud of. “Yet here we are more divided than ever”, he noted.

The MP’s intervention comes as hundreds of protesters and dozens of trucks are still stalled in Ottawa’s downtown core protesting against public health measures, including the vaccination requirement for truckers crossing the Canada-U.S. border. More demonstrations took place in the past few days, including in Lightbound’s riding in Quebec City.

Lightbound carefully distanced himself from the protesters and was firm in his condemnation of the “hideous acts and symbols” witnessed in some instances. He also asked protesters to leave Ottawa and let residents “get their quality of life back”.

But Lightbound said he has heard from hundreds of constituents in the past weeks — most of whom are vaccinated, he says — who shared their “legitimate concerns about where we are heading”.

Those include parents who are worried about their children sinking into depression, business owners who are worried about losing everything, as well as artists who are on the brink of collapse after nearly two years with barely any work.

Meanwhile, Lightbound said these Canadians see countries around the world either dropping almost all public health restrictions or moving fast in that direction.

“Now, well, folks are hearing and seeing all of this and they’re left rightfully wondering where the hell are we heading here in Canada? I think there lies the frustration”, he said.

“They feel there is no appetite from our government to adapt so as to reflect the changing data and the changing reality of the pandemic and of the world.”

Whereas most health restrictions in Canada are provincial, the federal government has been strict in imposing measures in its own jurisdiction, whether it be mandatory vaccination for the federal public service or for passengers in trains and planes.

Last month, the government lifted mandatory vaccination exemptions for truck drivers crossing the Canada-United States border, prompting criticism.

Lightbound says he believes that “if more and more Canadians find it hard to comply with the restrictions, it’s not because they lack solidarity”. It’s because they do not understand them because “governments no longer care to explain them”.

Lightbound was asked multiple times by reporters if he could be expelled from the Liberal caucus or forced to step down as president of the Liberal Quebec caucus after breaking ranks, but says he is “hopeful” the government will adapt its strategy moving forward.

“I’m confident that the government will change course and that’s what I’m advocating for. I want that debate to happen within the Liberal Party within our society at large and I am hopeful as well that there is room in the Liberal Party for dissent”, he said.

Just last week, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, said that all existing health policies should be “re-examined” in the coming weeks as this virus will be around for months and years to come.

Saskatchewan’s premier has already said he is committed to ending all COVID-19 restrictions soon, while other provinces are laying out more gradual plans for easing public health measures.

“What’s necessary is your freedom. What’s necessary is getting your life back to normal,” Premier Scott Moe said in a video posted to social media last week. “It’s time.”

With files from the Canadian Press.