The House of Commons yesterday by a vote of 176 to 142 gave Second Reading to a bill critics called a bid to whitewash federal mismanagement of the pandemic..The private bill sponsored by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York, ON) proposed cabinet appoint a committee to review itself, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“I am certainly open to amending the legislation based on the details, but surely we should not kill a bill at Second Reading that has merit in principle,” Erskine-Smith said in debate. Bill C-293 An Act Respecting Pandemic Prevention would permit the health minister to “establish an advisory committee” to conduct a two-year review of COVID-19 management..Critics called the bill a poor substitute for an open, public judicial inquiry..“As a G7 nation, we owe it to our citizens,” said Bloc Québécois MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides-Labelle, Que.)..“A national independent public inquiry is the only way forward and that is why we will vote against the bill.”.New Democrat MP Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, BC) said cabinet “cannot investigate itself” and suggested an independent probe should be done under the Inquiries Act. .“The Liberals would love to do a whitewash,” Davies said in an earlier interview..“They brushed this off and dodged accountability in real time from the start of the pandemic with a pledge it would all come later,” said Davies. “Now that we’re in year three and it’s later, they are stonewalling.”.The auditor general in a 2021 report Pandemic Preparedness said cabinet was “not adequately prepared” despite repeated warnings. A more critical internal audit Lessons Learned From The Public Health Agency Of Canada’s COVID-19 Response faulted managers for “confusion,” “limited public health expertise” and “no clear understanding” of how to compile critical data..The Canadian Nurses Association, Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, Canadian Public Health Association and Canadian Medical Association all publicly criticized pandemic management..“We were caught flat-footed,” Dr. Sandy Buchman, then-president of the Medical Association, testified at 2020 hearings of the House of Commons Health committee..“I don’t think we were adequately prepared.”.Conservative MP Ted Falk (Provencher, MB) said asking cabinet to review its work was “like having the fox guard the henhouse.” Ministers “all have a very vested interest in the outcome,” Falk earlier told the House of Commons in second reading debate on Bill C-293..“Who got rich while Canadians suffered?” asked Falk..“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,” said Falk.
