Liberal Health Minister Dodges Question on Vaccine Passports

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau back on March 12, 2021, when asked about ‘vaccine passports’ indicated that the Liberal government was against it when he stated:

These are things that we have to take into account so that yes, we’re looking to try and encourage everyone to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, but we’re not discriminating and bringing in unfairness in the process at the same time.

Despite Trudeau and the Liberals trying to imply that they wanted to avoid real discrimination and unfairness, they seem to be setting the stage to push a vaccine passport down the line.

Today Member of Parliament for Hastings-Lennox and Addington, Derek Sloan, asked the Liberal Health Minister Patty Hajdu whether or not the government will be pursuing the use of vaccine passports due to medical and ethical concerns.

Sloan also raised the fact Health Canada says that it is unknown whether or not COVID-19 vaccines prevent transmission of the virus or whether or how long the vaccine’s effectiveness lasts.

Minister Hajdu rather than answering Sloan’s reasonable question about a potential vaccine passport instead snapping back that, “unlike the member opposite, we believe in a response that is guided by science and public health expertise,” before insinuating that Sloan is trying to “sow fear and distrust amongst the public health officials.”

It seems quite strange that Hajdu felt justified in saying that Sloan should “support a public health response that is based on science and evidence,” when her own boss, Trudeau, just ten days ago called a vaccine passport program unfair and discriminator. It is also ironic that Hajdu presented herself as if she was standing for science and Sloan was not when he asked her about what Health Canada said and she refused to address it.

Either Hajdu is out of step with Trudeau and the Liberal party when she obfuscated Sloan’s question on if proof of vaccination will need to be presented at airports in order to board a plane, or Trudeau himself is no longer in line with what he said on the March 12 that Hajdu can no longer say a vaccine passport program would be discriminatory.

With the frequency of the Liberal government has set up and moved goalposts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic it is probably more likely that Trudeau wants to keep his options open by going back to giving no opinion on the vaccine passport.