Conservative MPs who oppose mandatory vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella say they will follow new guidelines outlined by a special committee tasked with studying the controversial policy.
In an interview with The Post, interim Conservative leader Erin O’Toole said he would meet the working group’s recommendations.
But he added: “From my perspective, and this is my personal opinion, it is important that we look forward and are proactive when it comes to addressing these challenges, not just reactive.”
In 2016, the World Health Organization warned of an “emerging and increasingly severe” global pandemic of measles that could kill anywhere from 3,000 to 480,000 people.
Eliminating mumps was one way to fight back against measles, but the government decided to remove the one-dose vaccination requirement for all infants born after April 1, 2018.
The decision provoked fierce backlash and criticism, including from within the Conservative caucus.
More than a dozen MPs, many of them also pediatricians, submitted amendments to a government bill aimed at ending medicare funding for additional MMR vaccinations.
In July, the House of Commons standing committee on health found that the 2010 immunization guidelines, also known as COVID-19, for children under three still supported immunization.
But it concluded the guidelines were no longer considered appropriate under current evidence and recommendations and proposed more nuanced education for parents.
Government legislation still requires vaccinations before school entry for Canadians under five.
O’Toole said that in light of the working group’s recommendations, “I am in complete agreement with what they have said.”
“At the same time, I will meet and discuss with my caucus where they stand with respect to COVID-19 and with respect to our government’s position on vaccinations,” he said.
O’Toole had called for the mandatory immunization guidelines to be abandoned, saying such a measure would cost hundreds of millions of dollars while there is a serious measles crisis.
“We’re facing a serious crisis and it is appropriate to do everything we can to fight back against this in an educated, effective way,” he said.
During the summer, the New Democrats tabled motions in the House of Commons calling for the government to drop COVID-19 altogether.
“While it will be important to maintain the recommendations of the working group,” NDP spokesman Colin Hendry said, “it should also ensure that Canadians who were required to be vaccinated under COVID-19 can access existing vaccination programs without facing an exclusion order.”
When people become unvaccinated because of opposition to vaccines, it is only done against their own knowledge, he said.
“Vaccination is a key part of the health protection system,” Hendry said. “Vaccines provide the first line of defence against the worst threats to a child’s health.”
Health Canada said Thursday that the agency would not comment on questions related to the COVID-19 working group’s recommendations.
On Wednesday, Liberal health minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor urged all Canadians to receive the vaccine “no matter what.”
“We will not allow anyone to stand in the way of Canada’s commitment to world-leading vaccines and critical health protections for children and families,” she said in a statement.
With files from the Canadian Press
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