In an effort to quell surging cases of the novel coronavirus, Canadians across the country have been urged to stay home and avoid all non-essential travel. But while the country scrambles to suppress rising cases of the virus, several politicians have been taken to task for taking trips.
Christopher Adams, a political studies professor at the University of Manitoba, said it was “quite the embarrassment that people in authority, people that are decision makers are deciding to ignore the advice of our federal government and provincial governments about travelling” while the rest of the country is asked to remain at home for the holidays.
However, Adams noted “there’s a difference from going to Hawaii or the Caribbean or seeing an ailing relative.”
Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton
The NDP stripped Manitoba MP Niki Ashton from her cabinet critic roles after she travelled abroad to visit her ailing grandmother in Greece.
“After spending Christmas alone with our family at home in MB, now I am with my ailing grandmother, my γιαγιά, in Greece,” Ashton confirmed in a tweet on Friday.
Wishing everyone a better year ahead. Bonne année à tous.
After spending Christmas alone with our family at home in MB, now I am with my ailing grandmother, my γιαγιά, in Greece. Χρόνια Πολλά με υγεία.
— Niki Ashton (@nikiashton) January 1, 2021
Although Ashton had “reached out to Canadian officials for best practices,” neither leader Jagmeet Singh nor the party’s whip were notified, the NDP said in a statement on Friday. The NDP said they sympathized with Ashton’s situation, “millions of Canadians are following public health guidelines, even when it made it impossible to visit sick or aging relatives.”
“Canadians, rightfully, expect their elected representatives to lead by example,” the statement read.
“While this is no family vacation, Ms. Ashton will be removed from her shadow critic roles.”
Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips
Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips resigned on Thursday after returning from a two-week vacation in St. Barts, where he had been since Dec. 13.
Speaking to reporters from the airport on Thursday, he called the trip a “dumb, dumb mistake” and apologized to his constituents. He was also criticized for posting a video on Twitter that led people to believe he was at home drinking egg nog by the fireplace in Ontario on Christmas Eve, while already in the Caribbean.
“I know that I disappointed a lot of people and I hope people will appreciate I disappointed no one more than myself,” he said.
Read more:
Ontario finance minister resigns after highly criticized Caribbean vacation
Hours later, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called Phillips’s resignation “a demonstration that our government takes seriously our obligation to hold ourselves to a higher standard.”
Multiple Alberta politicians, senior staff
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has so far refused to publicly reprimand several members of his party who were caught flouting COVID-19 rules, including Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard, several members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), political officials and his own chief of staff.
Kenney said Friday that he took full responsibility for not properly articulating a travel policy for high-ranking members of his team. He has since issued directives to all cabinet ministers and senior government officials not to leave the country for non-essential reasons.
“I do not believe that I can sanction people who complied with the law, with the public health orders, and who, in fact, participated in the kind of safe travel that our government has facilitated,” he said.
However, he added “we should be here at home, plain and simple, if we carry a position of public trust.”
The Alberta premier confirmed Friday that Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard had been vacationing in Hawaii since Dec. 19.
Kenney said he was aware Allard was in Hawaii at the time she posted a video of herself in front of a Christmas tree in the Alberta Legislature Building. The video has since been deleted from Twitter but remains on Instagram.
Kenney also confirmed that his chief of staff, James Huckabay, returned via the United States after travelling to the United Kingdom on Dec. 26.
Global News confirmed that MLAs Pat Rehn, Tanya Fir and Jeremy Nixon, as well as Alberta education minister press secretary Michael Florian and advanced education minister press secretary Eliza Snider had also left the country over the holiday season.
Rehn initially posted a photo of himself in Mexico on his personal Facebook account, which has since been removed. He apologized to his constituents on Saturday in a Facebook post from his official account page.
Saskatchewan MLA Joe Hargrave
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Thursday MLA Joe Hargrave will remain in his executive position after the legislative assembly member revealed he was visiting California to finalize the sale of his home in Palm Springs.
“Minister Hargrave will remain Minister of Highways. The Premier has discussed this with the Minister and agrees with the Minister’s assessment that his decision to travel was an error in judgement,” Moe said in a statement.
Saskatchewan’s NDP Party called for Hargrave’s resignation and slammed the premier during a news conference on Thursday over what they described as the pair’s “extremely poor judgement.”
Hargrave initially argued that the trip was one he “deemed necessary” but has since apologized. He said he will be returning to Canada after his self-isolation period is over on Jan. 5.
Quebec Liberal MNA Pierre Arcand
Quebec Liberal Party Leader Dominique Anglade asked Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Pierre Arcand and his wife to return home as soon as possible after they were spotted vacationing in the Glitter Bay region of Barbados.
Arcand, the former interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and MNA for Mount Royal-Outremont, said he “regrets” his decision to take the vacation during the pandemic but emphasized that he took all necessary precautions, including two COVID-19 tests on Dec. 22 and Dec. 27.
CAQ MNA Youri Chassin
CAQ MNA Youri Chassin is also facing criticism after the Canadian Press reported he was visiting his husband in Peru.
In an interview with CBC News, he said that “this is not a vacation trip,” but a necessary part of a sponsorship process he is involved in to help his husband, who he hasn’t seen in almost a full year, immigrate to Quebec.
“We have a duty to set an example as a member of the legislature, but I am in a somewhat special situation,” said Chassin. “In other circumstances, I would not have come to Peru, but this is a special case.”
— With files from Global News’ Amber McGuckin and the Canadian Press