The Conservatives are calling for a public inquiry, once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, on how Canada handled it.
Kenora MP Eric Melillo says it’s clear access to the vaccine has been inadequate.
“The procurement of the vaccine at the federal level has been very, very slow and I don’t envy the position of the provinces right now, they are trying to do what they can with the limited resources they have.”, states Melillo.
Melillo adds we need to ensure our country has the resources available to fight another pandemic.
“We need to be rebuilding the strategic stockpiles of essential products that we rely on to ensure we can be better prepared and never left in the vulnerable position that we find ourselves in.”
He says the federal government has to make sure that Canada has the necessary resources to battle a pandemic and not rely on other countries for vaccines and PPE.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole says it is necessary to learn from past mistakes if we want to honour the lives lost and prevent future tragedies.
(With files from Tim Davidson: Kenora)
Here is the weekly update from Kenora MP Eric Melillo:
Dear Constituents,
Conservatives have been fighting to get Canadians through this crisis and to secure our future. That means learning from what has happened and making sure this never happens again.
That’s why we’re pledging to hold a full inquiry into the Liberal government’s handling of COVID-19. If we want to make sure Canada is prepared for future public health emergencies, we need to examine what worked and what didn’t, and we need to hold officials to account.
Mistakes were made throughout this pandemic, from mixed messages on mask-wearing to the Liberal government’s failure to secure the border, which allowed COVID-19 and its even more dangerous variants into the country.
But perhaps the gravest mistake made by the Trudeau government was the failure to procure sufficient doses of the vaccine.
While other countries were making deals with multiple pharmaceutical companies to secure doses, Justin Trudeau focused on a multimillion-dollar deal with the Chinese company CanSino. Of course, this deal fell through when the Communist Chinese regime blocked shipments of the vaccine to Canada.
The Trudeau government’s botched procurement has cost lives and left Canadians facing many more months of restrictions, even as other countries are re-opening.
This disparity is keenly felt by workers and business owners in the Kenora riding, many of who rely on American clients who are still not allowed to enter Canada – even though many of them are fully vaccinated.
My Conservative colleagues and I have been fighting for a safe re-opening of our country and our economy. Our top priority is securing the health of Canadians and recovering the million jobs that have been lost.
But once we are through the worst of this, lessons have to be learned. Canada must never be as unprepared as we were when COVID hit last year.
Working For You
As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, or if you would like to arrange a meeting, please call me at 807-223-2182 (Dryden) or 807-468-2170 (Kenora), or contact me by email at eric.melillo@parl.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Eric Melillo
Member of Parliament
