Former Liberal Ministers Speak Out in Support of Liberal MP Who Criticized His Party’s COVID Policies

Former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould testifies before the House of Commons justice committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 27, 2019. (Reuters/Chris Wattie)

Former Liberal cabinet ministers previously expelled from caucus for expressing dissenting views have come out in support of Liberal MP Joël Lightbound, who recently criticized the position of his party on its COVID-19 policies, approach, and discourse.

“Glimmers of democratic independence from MPs in Ottawa (Canada needs a wave of this),” said former minister of justice Jody Wilson-Raybould on Twitter on Feb. 8.

“True leaders uphold democratic principles above all else=Courage. Performative & excessively partisan leadership that divides to advance self-interest=Cowardice. Canada needs the courageous.”

Wilson-Raybould and former treasury board president Jane Philpott were expelled from the Liberal caucus in April 2019 after earlier resigning their cabinet posts over the government’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

At the time, Philpott said she was not given a chance to address the caucus before being expelled. In a reaction to Lightbound’s comments on Feb. 8, Philpott took to Twitter to share some of her previously prepared remarks.

“Thoughts from a speech I wrote for caucus but was not able to deliver, April 2, 2019: It is healthy for democracy if MPs respectfully express different opinions,” she wrote. “A party should be a safe place for MPs with dissenting views. MPs needn’t agree with every decision of the government.”

Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion released a report in August 2019 on the issue saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act, as he used his position of authority over Wilson‑Raybould “to seek to influence, both directly and indirectly, her decision on whether she should overrule the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision not to invite SNC-Lavalin to enter into negotiations towards a remediation agreement.”

During Lightbound’s press conference on Feb. 8, he was asked a number of times if he would remain in the Liberal Party after disavowing its COVID-19 policies.

“I’m hopeful and I’m confident that the government will change course and that’s what I’m advocating for,” he said. “I want that debate to happen within the Liberal Party, within our society at large, and I am hopeful, as well, that there is room in the Liberal Party for dissent.”

Lightbound resigned his position as chairman of the Quebec Liberal caucus a few hours after his address.

Chief Government Whip Steven MacKinnon issued a statement later on Feb. 8 saying he spoke with Lightbound, who has “expressed clear confidence in the government, and remains a member of the Liberal caucus.”

Lightbound accused the government on Feb. 8 of using the issue of vaccination as a wedge to divide and stigmatize Canadians, a tactic he says was deliberately adopted around the time of the 2021 federal election.

The MP, who represents the Quebec riding of Louis-Hébert, also alluded to his government’s COVID-related decisions not being based on solid data, and he called for establishing a roadmap toward the lifting of all restrictive measures within the federal government’s purview, such as vaccine mandates.