Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall says she was surprised by the media and public interest following her recent removal from Parliament Hill.
Wagantall was escorted off the grounds on June 3 for refusing to disclose whether she was vaccinated for COVID-19, in violation of a rule requiring those within the House of Commons precinct to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Wagantall said she had modest expectations for her impromptu press conference at 4:30 p.m. that day, both because it was a Friday and because media outlets had been given just 45 minutes’ notice.
“We always get upset when the government does that, when everybody’s going home and no one’s listening, and so I honestly didn’t expect a huge response. … [But] the attention to this by the media was significant,” she said.
The media coverage prompted a flood of correspondence to her office.
“[There were] individuals across the country, like all over the country, just saying thank you, thank you, thank you … for standing up and saying what I was going through,” she said.
“I’ve been blown away by the incredible response.”
With federal travel mandates requiring people to be fully vaccinated in order to board flights and trains, Wagantall, who has represented the Saskatchewan riding of Yorkton–Melville since 2015, said she has had to drive for three-and-a-half days just to get from her constituency to Ottawa.
“It says on the back of our identification as members of Parliament that we have the right to enter the precinct and do our job. This is where we work, as well as in our constituency offices. So [Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] is basically making it extremely difficult for me to do my job the way that I feel I should,” she said.
Having to drive instead of fly means “you can’t do your job as efficiently or as effectively,” Wagantall says. “And I think that’s the intent, is to make it miserable for people who don’t do or reveal what [the prime minister] wants them to.”
The MP has found that she’s become the champion for other Canadians who have felt chafed by the pandemic-period restrictions made by their own governments.
“This is not just about me. I am here representing so many people who are at their wits’ end on this issue and are facing unemployment and inability to travel, plus dealing with trying to get their businesses … back functioning, but can’t travel, can’t get products,” she said.
‘People Who Are at the Brink’
Wagantall, 65, says her constituents and other Canadians have turned to her office to share their stories of difficulties due to the pandemic.“The whole thing is overwhelming. And I just thanked my staff because they’re dealing with people who are at the brink—very, very [emotional] because it’s been so difficult. I’m trying to share their story too, because theirs, quite honestly, in many ways, is more difficult than mine,” she said.
“I have been, as a member of Parliament, hearing what’s been very, very difficult for so many people, and of course the worst of it is those who have lost their jobs. I just cannot believe that on this basis [of declining vaccination], people are losing their means of supporting their family. They’re basically just exercising their right to make a decision in regard to their own medical treatment.”
Wagantall says she tries to respond to all of the emails she receives from people who are struggling as a result of the travel requirements.
An elderly couple in her riding told her they had an unduly hard time returning from the United States, even though they “did everything according to the book.”
“They were double vaccinated. They went down to see their new grandchild. They had the PCR test … and the information is supposed to get there in time for you to go across, and it didn’t. So they said, ‘Well, can we just wait here?’ And [border officials] said, ‘No, no, you do not have what you need, so you need to go home and quarantine.’ And before they left, they charged them each a fine of over $6,000.”
Wagantall said the couple challenged the fines in court and won, but says “insane” stories like these are not isolated incidents.
“That’s just one [of] so many stories, so many stories of how this has impacted, and you just go, ‘This is not in the best interest of your people, of your economy, of your country, of anything.’”
The MP says the rationale of the government “is not sound science” and she’s unsure why the mandates continue.
“All I know is that it’s irrational, totally irrational what [the prime minister] is doing. When they stand up in the House and they say it’s for the safety of Canadians—Canadians are not buying that, because it’s not,” she said.
“Yes, COVID still exists. We’re not saying it doesn’t exist, but it’s not at a pandemic level, and the virus is doing what viruses do. Any virus wants to continue to live and so they become less harmful, but more contagious, which is what’s happening with COVID.”
Wagantall believes that not only is the virus on the wane, so is the effectiveness of the government’s strategy against those like her who won’t declare themselves vaccinated.
“It’s definitely working for them as a wedge issue, although it’s becoming less and less effective. Obviously, with places opening up now, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated are together. We’re all mixed, we’re all making our own choices. And people are trusting each other to do that, and that’s how it should be at this point.”
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