Monday, March 30, 2026
ADVT 
National

O'Toole says unvaccinated must be accommodated

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Jan, 2022 01:09 PM
  • O'Toole says unvaccinated must be accommodated

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says those unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should be accommodated through measures like rapid testing, as health experts warn the lightning-fast spread of the Omicron variant threatens to overwhelm hospitals.

Ontario is reporting an uptick in hospitalizations and days ago made the decision to keep school-aged kids learning from home for at least two weeks, which Doug Ford's government said was to take pressure off the health-care system.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliot says of the 319 patients in intensive care, 232 of them are not fully immunized against COVID-19 or have an unknown status, while 87 are double-vaccinated.

O'Toole came out as opposed to vaccine mandates during last year's election campaign and today accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of fuelling vaccine hesitancy by attacking those who haven't received their shot.

Trudeau on Wednesday said Canadians are angry at those who refuse to be vaccinated because they are filling up hospital beds, causing cancer treatments and elective surgeries to be put off.

The Conservative leader says he refuses to criticize people who aren't vaccinated and believes "reasonable accommodations" should be provided to those who work in the trucking industry in order to avoid service disruptions.

MORE National ARTICLES

Five things to know about the kids' COVID-19 shot

Five things to know about the kids' COVID-19 shot
With the approval of Canada's first COVID-19 vaccine for kids, parents' minds are no doubt flooded with questions about the best choice for their little ones. Health Canada found the vaccine is safe for kids, and more than 90 per cent effective at preventing COVID-19 in children.

Five things to know about the kids' COVID-19 shot

B.C. hails pediatric vaccine announcement: Henry

B.C. hails pediatric vaccine announcement: Henry
Dr. Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that they welcome both the Health Canada announcement and recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization on use of the lower-dose vaccine for those children.

B.C. hails pediatric vaccine announcement: Henry

B.C. NDP postpones virtual convention

B.C. NDP postpones virtual convention
A party statement says it is looking for a new convention date and business not required to happen this weekend under the NDP constitution is postponed.

B.C. NDP postpones virtual convention

'Time is the biggest challenge' in building levee

'Time is the biggest challenge' in building levee
Henry Braun, the mayor of Abbotsford, said Canadian Forces troops are expected to join contractors to help build the temporary 2.5-kilometre dike to keep out water from the overflowing Sumas River.

'Time is the biggest challenge' in building levee

New Westminster Police investigate homicide at coffee house

New Westminster Police investigate homicide at coffee house
The male, who was suffering from life-threatening injuries, was transported to the Royal Columbian Hospital where lifesaving interventions continued; however, he did not survive. IHIT has assumed conduct of this investigation and will be working in partnership with the New Westminster Police Major Crime Unit to gather evidence and determine motive.

New Westminster Police investigate homicide at coffee house

More than 1M COVID-19 doses wasted: survey

More than 1M COVID-19 doses wasted: survey
The survey suggests at least 1,016,669 doses have been rejected since vaccines first arrived last December. That's about 2.6 per cent of the entire supply delivered to the provinces and territories that provided their numbers.    

More than 1M COVID-19 doses wasted: survey