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.