As vax mandate ends, Manitoba MP returns to House
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/06/2022 (1213 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Provencher MP Ted Falk received a standing ovation Monday from his fellow members of the Conservative Party of Canada, marking his return to the House of Commons following the suspension of COVID-19 vaccine mandates for MPs.
Falk, who had refused to disclose his vaccination status, citing privacy, began attending Parliament virtually in December, after rules about acceptable medical exemptions were tightened. A vaccine mandate came into force in November that meant all members of Parliament and visitors to the House of Commons in Ottawa had to be fully vaccinated.
On Monday, during question period, Falk rose to ask whether the federal Liberal government would stop collecting GST on fuel purchases and lower the cost of groceries. Before he spoke, other members of his party stood and cheered for him.
The Free Press has reached out to Falk’s offices requesting comment.
Falk was the only MP from Manitoba to refuse to disclose his vaccination status. The others are all vaccinated.
He represents a riding that has had some of the lowest vaccine uptake in the province throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, as COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths continued to climb in Manitoba, Falk spoke on a right-wing podcast.
“I’m not an anti-vaxxer, but I’m not completely sold on this vaccination,” Falk said in April 2021 on an episode of Conservative Roundup.
In summer 2021, he publicly shared misinformation about the vaccine in a Steinbach newspaper interview, telling the Carillon: “You were 13 times more likely to die from the delta variant if you were double vaccinated, than if you were unvaccinated.”
Falk apologized for those comments soon afterward. A statement attributed to him from the Conservative party made clear the statistics he quoted were inaccurate.
“I would like to correct erroneous comments I made when referencing a study on COVID vaccines. The statistics I quoted were not correct,” the statement read. “Vaccines are safe and effective.
“I have and will continue to be an advocate for getting vaccines to every Canadian who wants one. I apologize for any confusion caused by my comments.”