(LifeSiteNews) — Vaccine mandates are the key to avoiding other COVID-19 mandates, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed Tuesday amid the Freedom Convoy-led revolt over his policies.
“I think one of the things we all understand is just how frustrated everyone is,” Trudeau told reporters. “We’re all tired of restrictions, of mandates, of having to make sacrifices, of not being able to do the things we love. It’s been two years, and it’s really really tiring for all of us. This government has been focused every step of the way of following the best science and the best public health advice to keep as many people safe as possible and quite frankly, it has worked.”
Crediting death reductions and economic recovery to Canadians having “stepped up” and “got[ten] vaccinated,” Trudeau claimed that “I can understand frustrations with mandates but mandates are the way to avoid further restrictions … as Canadians get vaccinated, as Canadians have gotten vaccinated, we’ve been able to get through things. And this team is going to stay focused on doing exactly that.”
NOW – Canada's PM Trudeau says he and his team will stay focused on vaccine mandates "to avoid further restrictions."pic.twitter.com/WqNFaeVmmd
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 8, 2022
The prime minister’s conciliatory tone contrasted sharply with the incendiary rhetoric he has deployed against the Freedom Convoy, the thousands of truckers who have rallied to protest vaccine mandates that impede their ability to cross the Canadian border into the United States, perpetuating ongoing supply-chain struggles. Last week, Trudeau refused to commit to meeting with representatives of the movement.
Despite Trudeau’s framing, those vaccinated for COVID-19 still contract and spread the virus, as highlighted by high-profile cases such as Trudeau himself. In Ontario, for example, the fully-vaccinated make up the majority of COVID-associated hospitalizations in Ontario.
In December, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms released a report finding that Trudeau’s lockdowns “had, at best, a marginal effect on the number of Covid deaths” in exchange for tremendous harms, including government debt; forced unemployment; business closure; heightened rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide; record substance abuse; increased domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual exploitation; and the cancellation of thousands of surgeries, cancer screenings, and other necessary medical treatments.
“We need to reevaluate all the measures,” Liberal MP Joel Lightbound said Tuesday, the Post Millennial reports. “That’s essentially my whole point I think we need to have a clear roadmap for when restrictions will be lifted, and this roadmap must take into account what we’ve seen with the World Health Organization’s recommendation, what other countries are doing, it’s essential for Canadians to have that understanding of where we’re heading and under what conditions and circumstances measures will be lifted.”