An Ontario physician who was critical of public health restrictions during the pandemic carried his message to the House of Commons after being elected as an MP on April 28.
“I will be happy to go back to being a physician and professor once I can practise in truth and freedom again and once we can all live in truth and freedom again,” Stauss said in the House on June 2.
Strauss became well known during the COVID-19 era as he took to social media to criticize policies and restrictions such as vaccine mandates and lockdowns.
His views on pandemic policies led to a conflict with his employer Queen’s University, where he had an associate professor of medicine position. Strauss filed a lawsuit against the university and the matter is now before the court.
Strauss touched upon these challenges in his House speech, drawing parallels with some of his family members, including his mother, who lived under communism in Europe. He said some of the constituents he represents came to Canada for freedom and are concerned about the current trends they see in the country.
“The Romanians, Albanians, Polish, Ukrainians, Serbians, Croatians, Lithuanians, Venezuelans, Chinese, Somalis and Ethiopians with lived experience of socialism, and who know what they are seeing, do not like it and sent me here,” he said.
Strauss said government policies during the the COVID period marked by lockdowns, vaccine mandates, enforced isolation, and closed borders amounted to “full communism.”
“Physicians, professors and journalists who spoke out against these abuses were hunted down,” he said, noting his own situation at Queen’s.
Former Liberal cabinet minister Jane Philpott was dean of Queen’s Faculty of Health Sciences at the time. Strauss said Philpott told him that the “reason the administration had to harass me was that I ‘criticized the government.’ That is a direct quote.”
‘Socialized’ Health Care
Strauss in his speech also criticized what he sees as Canada adopting more socialist-type economic policies and he pointed to the “socialized” health-care model as leading to inefficiencies.“When farming is socialized, we get bread lines, and people died of starvation while standing in Soviet bread lines,” he said. “When health care is socialized, we get lines in the ER, and I promise that people have died and are dying in waiting rooms and emergency rooms across this country right now.”
Strauss’ speech criticizing COVID-19 policies and the health-care system drew rebukes from MPs of other parties.
“I would like to thank the honourable member opposite for demonstrating so fully why the Liberal Party was re-elected as government for Canada,” said Liberal Bruce Fanjoy, who defeated Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre in his long-held riding of Carleton.
Fanjoy added that Canadians are “reasonable people” who believe in “facts, science and a government that seeks to make their lives better. With regret, what I heard there was a great deal of nonsense.”
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May asked Strauss whether he thinks the health care system should be abolished since it represents “socialism.” She criticized the U.S. health care system and said Canadians and their social democracy have done a “wonderful job of combining free enterprise and a system that works for all Canadians.”
Strauss responded he does not favour the U.S. system but instead what is used in other developed countries which blend free market and public insurance.
Strauss is part of a group of newly elected Tory MPs who have been outspoken on social issues such as COVID-19 measures. This includes Roman Baber, who was ejected from the Ontario PC caucus by Ontario Premier Doug Ford for criticizing public health restrictions.
