OTTAWA, ON – The Hon. Erin O’Toole, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and the Official Opposition, today released the following statement in advance of the Fall Economic Statement tomorrow:

“Canadians are hurting, and they have only asked one thing of this government: what is the plan?

“Tomorrow, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals will not present a plan to get back to normal. Deputy Prime Minister Freeland will debut the Liberal plan for reimagining the Canadian economy.

“But it will not be a plan for getting Canadians back to work, nor a plan for helping shuttered small businesses reopen, because there can be no plan for the economy without a plan for rapid testing and vaccines.

“The reality is that Canada is behind the U.S., the U.K., the European Union, Mexico, Brazil, India, and Indonesia for vaccine procurement – that’s over 2.7 billion people. But the Prime Minister can’t even tell Canadians how many freezers have been secured to keep the vaccines viable.

“Right now, there is no plan for receiving vaccines. There is no plan for distributing vaccines to Canadians. There isn’t even a plan for who will get the vaccine first.

“While the Americans and Brits are talking about mass vaccination throughout December and January, our government is now talking about getting Canadians vaccinated in September.

“That’s ten more months of uncertainty, businesses closing, mental health challenges, families remaining separated, and workers not knowing if their shifts will be cancelled.

“Canadians have endured enough. We need to get this country working again. We need to get this country healthy again.

“Canadians deserve certainty, clarity, and competence from their government.”

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For more information:

Chelsea Tucker
chelsea.tucker@parl.gc.ca
(613) 219-3790

Axel Rioux
axel.rioux@parl.gc.ca
(613) 291-7125