Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Erin O’Toole, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and the Official Opposition, issued the following statement calling on Justin Trudeau to take action and secure Canada’s borders:

“Throughout April, dozens of COVID-positive flights have been landing in Canada. With them, they have brought the risk of new variants, including the double mutated variant that is currently overwhelming India’s healthcare system.

“As soon as COVID-19 began to spread, Conservatives called on the Liberals to take action to secure the border and prevent the spread of the virus in Canada.

“Justin Trudeau has done next to nothing to keep dangerous variants from Brazil, South Africa, and the United Kingdom out of Canada. 

“We now see daily case counts for each variant on the rise, and shifts in how the virus is impacting Canadians, like more young people getting very sick as a result.

“Canadians are being told not to go to work. Not to send their children to school. But hundreds of international flights continue to land in Canada each week.

“We have a small window of opportunity to act, and we must move now. Canada’s Conservatives are calling on Justin Trudeau to secure Canada’s borders, and temporarily suspend flights from hot spot countries immediately.

“Canadians deserve to know where COVID-19 is spreading, how emerging variants are changing transmission, and what vaccination levels are, both here and abroad. 

“This temporary suspension will allow Canada to develop a clear set of parameters to identify the risks of emerging variants and share this information clearly with Canadians.”