Erin O’Toole pushes for unvaccinated Canadians to be accommodated amid Omicron wave

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says those unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should be accommodated through measures like rapid testing, as health experts warn the lightning-fast spread of the Omicron variant threatens to overwhelm hospitals.

Ontario is reporting an uptick in hospitalizations and days ago made the decision to keep school-aged kids learning from home for at least two weeks, which Doug Ford’s government said was to take pressure off the health-care system.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliot says of the 319 patients in intensive care, 232 of them are not fully immunized against COVID-19 or have an unknown status, while 87 are double-vaccinated. 

O’Toole came out as opposed to vaccine mandates during last year’s election campaign and today accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of fuelling vaccine hesitancy by attacking those who haven’t received their shot. 

Trudeau on Wednesday said Canadians are angry at those who refuse to be vaccinated because they are filling up hospital beds, causing cancer treatments and elective surgeries to be put off.

The Conservative leader says he refuses to criticize people who aren’t vaccinated and believes “reasonable accommodations” should be provided to those who work in the trucking industry in order to avoid service disruptions. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2021

The Canadian Press