Ontario Liberals call for mandatory vaccination policy at Queen’s Park
With new vaccinations requirements for health care and education workers set to be implemented in Ontario, one political party wants the compulsory vaccination policies to apply to sitting MPPs at Queen’s Park.
Liberal leader Steven Del Duca is calling for a mandatory vaccination rule for all members of provincial parliament and clear protocols for those who choose to remain unvaccinated, as politicians prepare to return to the legislature on Sept. 13 for the Fall session.
In a letter to Ted Arnott, the Speaker of the Ontario Legislature, Del Duca said elected officials in Ontario should lead-by-example and get vaccinated before returning to Queen’s Park.
“This would ensure the safe continuation of Parliament while reducing the possibility of members and those that assist them from inadvertently contracting COVID-19 and unintentionally transmitting the virus to their families or other vulnerable people in the community,“ Del Duca said in the letter.
Del Duca’s letter, however, doesn’t lay out whether an unvaccinated MPP should be sanctioned or prevented from entering the building and instead urges Arnott to respect the Ontario Human Rights Code.
MPPs, Del Duca says, can remain unvaccinated “should they have a valid reason” and any change in rules shouldn’t prevent an MPP from “fulfilling their democratic duty”, raising questions about how exactly the policy would disrupt the status quo at Queen’s Park.
Currently, MPPs are asked a series of screening questions before entering the building with vaccine status being left off the list. Earlier this year, MPPs agreed to a new mandatory masking rule inside the legislative chamber enforced by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
The appeal to the Speaker, whose office is responsible for policy and operations related to Queen’s Park, comes after a report from QP Briefing in which 27 Progressive Conservative MPPs declined to provide their vaccine status while members of other parties, including the Liberals, NDP and Green Party said their members were fully vaccinated.
CTVNews was unable to independently verify the vaccination status of all 124 MPPs.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.