Ontario legislature condemns member's COVID-19 posts, calls for apology
The Ontario legislature unanimously called Thursday on an Independent member who has been publicly opposed to COVID-19 vaccines and pandemic-related lockdowns to apologize for "a string of disreputable conduct."
Randy Hillier, who represents the eastern Ontario riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, has frequently posted COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories throughout the pandemic.
Recently he posted an array of photos of people who had died, suggesting without evidence that they had died due to COVID-19 vaccination.
Family members of some of those people told various media outlets that they were angered by Hillier's post, and denied his allegations.
Hillier, who was kicked out of the Progressive Conservative caucus before the pandemic, has called on police to investigate the deaths.
According to Public Health Ontario, there are eight reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination that meet the provincial surveillance definition. In one case, it was determined that vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia was a cause of death in someone who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
In another four, the adverse events were found to have possibly contributed to the death but were not the underlying cause, and in the remaining three the vaccine was not a cause of death.
Public Health Ontario says another 32 deaths following COVID-19 vaccination that have been reported to public health units are "persons under investigation." They don't meet the provincial surveillance definition, but investigations are underway.
"Preliminary information suggests that these events occurred in individuals with multiple co-morbidities which may be related to the cause of death," a recent Public Health Ontario report said. "There has been no association with the vaccine identified at this time."
A motion unanimously adopted by members of the legislature Thursday said the house expresses "its disapproval of, and dissociates itself from, a string of disreputable conduct" by Hillier, specifically the post using photographs of Ontarians who have died.
"This house calls on the member for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston to publicly apologize for this behavior and to desist from further conduct that is inappropriate and unbecoming of a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario," the motion said.
Hillier used his social media later Thursday not to apologize, but to retweet a supportive post from a doctor accused by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario of spreading misinformation.
Hillier has attended various protests and anti-lockdown rallies, and has been ticketed for allegedly breaking public health rules.
He has violated mask rules at the legislature four times, trying to enter the members' lobby to vote instead wearing a face shield. The Sergeant-at-Arms prevented Hillier from entering because of it, and Hillier alleged it breached parliamentary privilege.
The Speaker ruled against him.
"The Sergeant-at-Arms, in reminding the member of his obligation to wear a face mask, was acting properly and professionally...while the member for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston repeatedly, knowingly and, I would submit, carelessly disregarded that order," Speaker Ted Arnott said in his ruling.
"His conduct was reprehensible and should not be repeated."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.