Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 2, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMB4 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022 C M Y K PAGE B4 NEWS I CANADA / WORLD ‘The leader’s position is untenable’: MP O TTAWA — Conservative MPs are picking their sides — and bracing for any consequences that may follow — while Erin O’Toole waits to learn his fate as party leader. The 118 other MPs in the Tory caucus will decide today whether to endorse his leadership or show him the door. It comes after at least one-third of his MPs requested the caucus chair hold a leadership review, following weeks of anger and dissatisfaction building be- hind closed doors. Alberta MP Garnett Genuis, who was among the signatories, says he expects the vote will lead to new leadership that brings better vision and unity to the party. “The leader’s position is untenable,” he told reporters before entering the House of Commons on Tuesday. “We’re not seeing what we need to from the leadership.” Genuis declined to elaborate, saying those conversations are best left for caucus members only. As for what changed since last fall, when Genuis called for Conservatives to unite behind O’Toole following its election defeat, the MP said many were willing to give him a chance, but a lot has happened since. He didn’t provide details, but some of the major points of contention were out- lined by fellow Alberta MP Bob Benzen. On Monday evening, Benzen issued a statement saying caucus must vote on O’Toole’s leadership because the leader refused to take a tougher stand against a controversial secularism law in Quebec or clearly defend Canadians’ freedoms throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 24 hours later, the MP issued another statement, saying O’Toole’s plan to fight for his job confirmed his “worst fears.” In a social media post, O’Toole said the party was faced with two paths. He painted his dissenters as believing it should hold more extreme views re- sembling those of Ontario MPP Randy Hillier and ex-MP Derek Sloan. That’s in contrast with what O’Toole says he is trying to build with a more inclusive and moderate brand of con- servatism. In his own response, Benzen said he agrees with O’Toole that the party faces two paths: staying united as one Con- servative party or splitting back into two parties as it was before the merger between the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party. “Rather than humbly admitting his mistakes and correcting course, Mr. O’Toole is doubling down — launch- ing attacks and threatening “conse- quences” against any MP who dares dissent,” Benzen said. “Even if Mr. O’Toole wins the vote on Wednesday, the Conservative party and its grassroots supporters across the country will lose. A house divided against itself cannot stand.” He says that in the event O’Toole “squeaks out a victory,” he expects to be removed from caucus, which is the risk the former supporter says he’s will- ing to take. On Tuesday, both deputy leader Can- dice Bergen and Tim Uppal, the Con- servatives’ chairman of outreach, ex- pressed support for O’Toole keeping his job. Nova Scotia MP Dr. Stephen Ellis, who O’Toole tapped to help develop his COVID-19 policies, said he not only sup- ports the leader, but believes he has the votes necessary to survive. Ellis added he believes that had the leadership review not been thrust upon him by his MPs, O’Toole would have called the question himself. Conservative labour critic and On- tario MP Scott Aitchison said he sup- ports O’Toole staying as leader as long as the members decide to keep him. If O’Toole loses the vote in caucus, which will be done via secret ballot, he would be first leader ousted under the Reform Act, legislation that was passed in 2015 that empowers a party’s caucus to trigger a leadership review. Tory activist Fraser Macdonald is among Conservatives who feel mem- bers will have a chance to have their say about O’Toole’s leadership in 2023 when a review is scheduled as part of the party’s national convention. At least three riding associations have challenged that date, and are pe- titioning the party’s national council to have one no later than mid-June. Macdonald, who endorsed O’Toole in the 2020 leadership contest, has launched a group called Majority Com- mittee, which he said had been in the works before the challenge to O’Toole’s leadership. He said for him what’s at stake is the direction of the party. Macdonald said it’s only those who are angry with O’Toole and his move to moderate party policies whose voices are being heard. “My concern is that the party chan- ges its strategy and moves more in a direction where we’re listening to one wing of the party over others,” he said Tuesday. “Erin O’Toole’s strategy is 100 per cent correct. We need to appeal to main- stream Canadians, and be able to win in places like the (Greater Toronto Area).” — The Canadian Press JACQUES BOISSINOT / THE CANADIAN PRESS Quebec Premier François Legault said his role is to ensure a climate of ‘social peace and a certain social cohesion’ in the province. Quebec backtracks on taxing unvaccinated MONTREAL — Three weeks after threatening to tax unvaccinated Que- becers, Premier François Legault abandoned the idea on Tuesday, wor- ried about how much it had divided the province. “When we see what’s happening in our society and on social media, I have a certain worry about seeing Quebec- ers divided,” Legault told reporters in Quebec City. On Jan. 11, Legault said his govern- ment would break new ground by mak- ing the unvaccinated — about 10 per cent of eligible Quebecers — pay a sig- nificant financial penalty because they were overrepresented in the health- care system. It was the first proposed tax of its kind in the country. On Tuesday, the premier said Finance Minister Eric Girard had prepared a bill to tax Quebecers who refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 without a medical reason, but Legault said the legislation would not be tabled. Striking a more conciliatory tone, Legault said his role is to ensure a cli- mate of “social peace and a certain so- cial cohesion” in the province. The premier denied he had lacked judgment by making a threat he wasn’t willing to go through with, and he de- fended the proposed measure as an- other attempt to incentivize people to get vaccinated. But he acknowledged discontent has grown in recent weeks among Quebecers, adding that his focus would be to build bridges. “We’ll continue to try to reach those who refuse to receive their first dose,” Legault said. “But I’m also worried about the division we see in Quebec — my role is to try to bring Quebecers together, to stay united as a people.” Quebec’s official Opposition said when the idea was first proposed it was nothing more than an empty threat. The Liberals predicted the government would abandon the tax the same way it had dropped a plan to force health-care workers to get the jab or be suspended without pay. The Opposition had also called the government’s proposal on Jan. 11 a dis- traction, aimed at drawing attention away from the resignation the night prior of Dr. Horacio Arruda as public health director. Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade on Tuesday said the decision to abandon the proposal was more improvisation by the Legault government. “He’s managing by polls,” Anglade said. “He must have a poll that’s say- ing, ‘you know, this is not popular any- more.’” Québec solidaire’s Gabriel Nadeau- Dubois said the move shows the vaccin- ation tax was essentially a trial balloon. “This vaccine tax was nothing more than an idea of the moment,” Nadeau- Dubois said. “It was never a serious plan, it was never something that was thought and prepared.” Also Tuesday, Legault announced that gyms and spas would be allowed to reopen in the province on Feb. 14, but he stopped short of easing further re- strictions, such as the forced closure of bars. Though the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals dropped by 426 in one week, he said the hospital network is still under tremendous pressure. On Monday, restaurant dinning rooms were permitted to reopen at 50 per cent capacity. The second phase of Quebec’s reopening plan is set for next week, with places of worship and en- tertainment and sports venues allowed to reopen Feb. 7 with capacity restric- tions. Dr. Luc Boileau, the province’s inter- im public health director, said decisions are being taken based on the Omicron variant’s increased transmissibility compared to the Delta variant. “Right now, we’re looking at phases of (loosening) the measures … to make sure that it will not induce automatic- ally a high rate of high-risk contact,” Bolieau said. “In bars, we have a lot of experience with those places and un- fortunately… those are places where risk of transmission of the virus is very high.” Boileau said he expects bars will be permitted to reopen in the near future as the situation improves and urged people to get a booster shot. About 61 per cent of Quebec adults have obtained a third dose so far, he added. The Health Department said Tues- day COVID-19-related hospitalizations dropped by 36 from the day before, to 2,852, after 207 people were admitted to the province’s hospitals and 243 were discharged. The number of people in in- tensive care dropped by five, to 218. Of- ficials reported 63 more deaths linked to the pandemic. — The Canadian Press SIDHARTHA BANERJEE STEPHANIE TAYLOR Conservative MPs set to decide O’Toole’s fate today OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is to learn today from the Tory caucus whether he will remain as party leader. Here are some key players who have been involved in calls for his leadership to be reviewed. Garnett Genuis— The Alberta MP is one of the signatories to a letter endorsed by around one-third of O’Toole’s 118-member caucus who want him removed as leader. Genuis, who O’Toole picked to serve as his critic for international development and human rights, initially urged Conservatives to rally behind the leader after last year’s election loss. Now, he says, that’s changed. Sen. Denise Batters— The longtime Con- servative launched a petition last November for party members to sign if they wanted to see O’Toole’s leadership reviewed earlier than the scheduled date of 2023. Batters said O’Toole flip-flopped on party policies around gun control and the carbon tax, which made him untrustworthy to Canadians. O’Toole then removed her from his national caucus, but both the Tory Senate caucus and Sas- katchewan regional caucus decided she could stay, highlighting the rifts he faces. Shannon Stubbs — Last fall, the Alberta MP called for O’Toole’s leadership to be reviewed by members within six months be- cause of changes he was making to the party. She said her share of the vote dropped in last year’s election and wanted to see O’Toole outline how he would keep traditional Con- servative voters in the fold who feel alienated by promises he made around spending. Mark Strahl — The British Columbia MP and former Tory whip has publicly criticized O’Toole for not being consistent in his mes- sages around vaccine mandates, which is something other critics of his have echoed. O’Toole has been under pressure from Strahl along with other MPs to adopt a tougher stand against a controversial secularism law in Quebec. Pierre Poilievre — The high-profile finance critic and Ottawa-area MP is regarded as a possible next in line for party leader if O’Toole loses the leadership vote. After last year’s election Poilivere said the party already had a leader and he had no interest in run- ning. However, he is deeply popular among the Conservative grassroots. In 2020, Poilivere planned to enter the party’s leadership race that O’Toole eventually won, but he pulled out before an official launch saying the race would take away time spent with his young family. — The Canadian Press Key players in leadership vote and calls for early review Putin accuses U.S., allies of ignoring Russian security needs VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV AND MATTHEW LEE MOSCOW — Russian President Vladi- mir Putin on Tuesday accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia’s top security demands but said Moscow is willing to talk more to ease tensions over Ukraine. The comments were his first on the standoff in more than a month and sug- gested a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine may not be imminent and that at least one more round of diplomacy is likely. Yet the two sides remain unyielding in their main positions, and there was little apparent hope for concessions. Russia is expected to respond soon to a U.S. proposal for negotiations on lesser Russian demands after which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will speak. Lavrov and Blinken spoke Tuesday and reiterated positions put forward by Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden. The White House said Biden and Putin could also speak once the U.S. receives Russia’s response. In remarks to reporters at a Moscow news conference with the visiting lead- er of NATO ally Hungary, Putin said the Kremlin is still studying the U.S. and NATO’s response to the Russian se- curity demands received last week. But he said it was clear that the West has ig- nored Russian demands that NATO not expand to Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations, refrain from deploying offen- sive weapons near Russia and roll back its deployments to Eastern Europe. Putin argued that it’s possible to ne- gotiate an end to the standoff if the interests of all parties, including Rus- sia’s security concerns, are taken into account. “I hope that we will eventually find a solution, although we realize that it’s not going to be easy,” Putin said. Russia has amassed over 100,000 troops along the border of Ukraine, fueling fears of an invasion. It has de- nied any intention to attack. Washington and its allies have re- jected Moscow’s key demands. They emphasize that Ukraine, like any other nation, has the right to choose alliances, although it is not a NATO member now and is unlikely to join any time soon. Putin said the Western allies’ re- fusal to meet Russia’s demands vio- lates their obligations on the integrity of security for all nations. He warned that a Ukrainian accession to NATO could lead to a situation where Ukraine launches military action to reclaim control over Russian-annexed Crimea or areas controlled by Russia-backed separatists in the country’s east. “Imagine that Ukraine becomes a NATO member and launches those mil- itary operations,” Putin said. “Should we fight NATO then? Has anyone thought about it?” — The Associated Press B_04_Feb-02-22_FP_01.indd 4 2022-02-01 9:02 PM ;