Canada “had a better pandemic” than other Western countries, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Speaking to reporters, Trudeau selectively quoted statistics in crediting his cabinet with strong COVID management, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“We had a better pandemic than many of our peer countries: fewer deaths, lower levels of economic disruption and greater social cohesion than many other places,” said Trudeau. He did not identify any source for his claim..Canada’s COVID death rate of 134 per 100,000 population was higher than many industrialized countries. A Mortality Analyses report by John Hopkins University of Medicine rated the Canadian rate much higher than deaths in Norway (95 per 100,000), Australia (75), Cuba (74), Taiwan (73), South Korea (66), Iceland (60), Kuwait (59), Japan (56 per 100,000), New Zealand (52), Singapore (29) and Saudi Arabia (24)..Mortality Analyses conversely showed the Canadian death rate was lower than counts in the United States (339 per 100,000 population), the United Kingdom (323), Italy (310), Russia (266), France (254), Sweden (234), Germany (201), Ireland (175), Finland (160), Switzerland (164) and Israel (141)..“We’re a government that is grounded in science and data and expert advice and we followed the advice of public health offices and medical professionals to keep Canadians safe during the pandemic,” said Trudeau. “That included encouraging through every means we could people to get vaccinated. That worked.”.The prime minster said he wished he had used different words in criticizing Canadians opposed to vaccine mandates including Freedom Convoy demonstrators. “Do you have any regrets about calling Ottawa protestors a fringe minority?” asked a reporter. “Yes,” replied Trudeau. “I wished I had said that differently.”.Trudeau on January 26, 2022 called the Freedom Convoy “the small fringe minority of people who are on their way to Ottawa who are holding unacceptable views.” The prime minister also referred to mandate critics as “anti-vaxxer mobs,” “people who wave swastikas” and unfit parents. “They are putting at risk their own kids and they’re putting at risk our kids as well,” Trudeau said Aug. 31, 2021. “What about my choice to keep my kids safe?”.“These are extremists who don’t believe in science,” Trudeau said on Sept. 16, 2021. “They are often misogynists, also often racists. It’s a small group of people that muscles in and we have to make a choice,” he said, adding: “Do we tolerate these people?”.The prime minister did not retract his remarks but clarified he was referring to “a very small number of people in this country who deliberately spread misinformation and disinformation that led to Canadians’ deaths, that led to excessive hardship in people who believed them.” He did not explain..“I continue to be very, very firm against those individuals,” said Trudeau. “But that is a small subset of people who were just hurting and worried and wanting to be heard.”.“As much as I tried to emphasize throughout the time that of course we’re always going to stand up for freedom of speech and freedom to protest peacefully, I wish I hadn’t said something that was able to be spread larger,” said Trudeau. “If I had chosen my words a bit careful, been more specific, I think things might have been a bit easier.”.“We will continue to listen to all voices across this wonderfully diverse country that isn’t just diverse geographically or culturally or in origins but also in perspectives,” said Trudeau. “Listening to each other goes in both directions. We hear their skepticism around science. They need to also hear our belief in science.”.“These are conversations we need to have – not to say, of course, that everyone who chose not to get vaccinated doesn’t believe in science,” said Trudeau. “Of course not. Individuals make decisions for themselves. We will always respect that. But those individuals who deliberately chose to amplify falsehoods and put their fellow citizens at risk, those were things a government needs to stand firmly against. Our job is to keep Canadians safe. That’s what we did.”
