OTTAWA –
A Conservative MP who refuses to disclose his vaccination status has tried to enter the House of Commons after a mandate for vaccination against COVID-19 was imposed last year and he had to leave.
Cathay Wagantall, who represents Yorkton-Melville in Saskatchewan, told a news conference in Parliament Hill that she had been informed she would have to leave the House of Commons.
Wagantal said she spoke with the Conservative Chamber leader on Friday, who informed her that although she could stay while the chamber convened, she would have to leave by the end of the day.
The Chamber’s Home Economics Board required everyone in the area to show evidence of vaccination against COVID-19 in November 2021, although President Anthony Rota later ruled that the board had exceeded its authority.
The Liberals and the NDP then joined in to accept a proposal to extend the hybrid parliamentary sessions, which also specified that anyone entering the area must be fully immune to COVID-19 or have a valid medical exemption.
Wagantall says she left voluntarily, but believes that once the House rises, she would be detained and removed.
After she left the building on her own, she was escorted by Parliament’s weapons sergeant.
She says she came to Ottawa in late April and had previously driven to and from Ottawa three times alone.
Wagantall says she has not been allowed in her office and has not entered it since November 2021.
She says she is not allowed to fly or take a train, noting that it takes about three and a half days to drive to Ottawa from her trip to Saskatchewan.
“Ontario is open. My province has been open for a long time. I do not belittle anyone who has suffered from COVID. But nonetheless, it is time for this country to continue.”
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