Liberals Vote Down Public Inquiry Into Pandemic Response at Committee

Cabinet instead seeks a closed-door review by an advisory committee.

Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith speaks at a news conference in Ottawa on Nov. 15, 2022. Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press

A public inquiry into federal COVID-19 pandemic management was rejected by Liberal MPs on the House of Commons Health Committee with cabinet instead seeking a closed-door review by advisers to Minister of Health Mark Holland.

“Confidence has been tested and it has been shaken. The only way to restore confidence in the public is to have the courage to have a full, broad, root-to-branch, transparent, and searching public inquiry into how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled,” New Democrat MP Don Davies told the committee on Oct. 23, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The MPs on the committee were debating Bill C-293, An Act Respecting Pandemic Prevention, which was sponsored by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. The bill proposed that cabinet “establish an advisory committee” to conduct a two-year review of COVID-19 pandemic management.

Mr. Davies wanted to amend the bill to allow for a full judicial inquiry into the pandemic response under the Inquiries Act, arguing there needs to be an “impartial, independent, public and properly resourced inquiry.”

Liberal MPs on the health committee rejected the amendment by a 5 to 2 vote, with Conservative MPs abstaining, saying the bill was flawed.

Following the vote, Conservative MP Stephen Ellis said the Liberal government had chosen not to have a pandemic inquiry, and it appeared they would be “satisfied having a private member’s bill.”

Last year, Conservative MP Ted Falk told the House of Commons that Bill C-293’s proposal for an advisory council appointed by government ministers was tantamount to “having the fox guard the henhouse.”

“Canadians will never get the answers they deserve if the ministers who perpetuated or promoted many of the failures, abuses and violations of Charter rights that we have seen over the past two years are the same ones tasked with reviewing their own government’s response,” he said.

In a 2021 report, the Auditor General said that the Liberal government was “not adequately prepared” to respond to a pandemic. An internal audit “Lessons Learned From The Public Health Agency Of Canada’s COVID-19 Response” also faulted managers for “limited public health expertise” and “no clear understanding” of how to compile critical data during the pandemic.

In early 2023, a citizen-led inquiry into Canada’s pandemic response was held in cities across Canada, which was launched by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning. Doctors, scientists, journalists, and ordinary Canadians gathered to testify about their experiences and examine how governments and institutions reacted to the pandemic.