Juno News - Omar Alghabra defends mandates despite lacking scientific evidence

00:00:00.000 Minister, if there was no scientific basis for mandates, as has been indicated by officials,

00:00:07.560 why would your government institute a policy that infringed on Canadians' rights,

00:00:13.480 that didn't have scientific basis, and then call a snap election a couple days later?

00:00:20.160 You mean the non-scientific mandates that was implemented by municipal governments?

00:00:25.960 You mean the non-scientific-based mandates that were implemented by provincial governments?

00:00:30.740 You mean the non-scientific-based mandates that were implemented by the private sector without required from government?

00:00:37.060 You mean the non-scientific-based mandates that were implemented by universities?

00:00:41.300 You mean the non-scientific-based mandates that were implemented by the federal government at airports?

00:00:49.160 I'd like to quote one of your officials in court documents that were reported on by Rupa Subramania,

00:00:54.900 and one of those officials is uh is on the on the call today actually and let me quote in an email

00:01:01.660 to the extent that updated data exists or that there is clear evidence of the safety benefit

00:01:06.120 of vaccination on the users or other stakeholders of the transportation system it would be helpful

00:01:10.260 to assist transport canada supporting its measures that's a quote from aadm mccrory now the the

00:01:16.660 mandates were set to be implemented but your department didn't even have the information that

00:01:22.400 uh that indicated it was necessary or based in science to just circle back to your question

00:01:28.740 about the science that's being followed by municipalities and provinces they have all

00:01:32.620 eliminated their mandates since yet you have not so if you're following the same science they are

00:01:38.060 why have they all lifted their mandates but you have not uh mr chair first of all let me start off

00:01:45.120 by saying vaccines have proven to have saved lives and continue to save lives at a moment in time where

00:01:52.020 our public health system is under a lot of pressure vaccines is in continue to be an incredible tool

00:01:58.180 in saving lives and protecting the health and safety of canadians and our health care system

00:02:04.340 the federal government has suspended most of our mandates the only mandate that we have is at our

00:02:09.140 borders like many countries around the world and it is done to again to ensure that we minimize the

00:02:15.460 importation of the virus and that protect the health and safety of canadians and let me point my

00:02:20.420 honorable colleague on top of the all studies that have been done over the last two years just the

00:02:24.900 last two months two different studies one was done by the canadian medical association one was done by

00:02:30.260 ubc the university of british columbia that demonstrated that these public health measures including

00:02:35.860 mandates protect the health and safety have saved upwards of 60 000 lives have prevented the importation of

00:02:45.940 the virus tenfold at our borders so there's ample evidence that i'm happy to table with committee uh

00:02:53.060 that provides justification for these vaccine

Juno News - August 20, 2022