OTTAWA — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other government ministers rallied Tuesday around Canadian Chief Health Officer Theresa Tam after the premier of Alberta said she has parroted “talking points” from China during the coronavirus outbreak.
“I understand that people can get anxious and impatient about things,” Trudeau told reporters from the driveway of his Ottawa residence. “But as a government we are going to remain grounded in science. We are going to remain grounded in our experts, who are doing an excellent job in ensuring that Canadians are kept safe and healthy. We are going to continue to work with top medical officials like Dr. Theresa Tam to make sure we are doing everything we need to do, and have done every step of the way, to keep Canadians safe.” (RELATED: Trudeau Sent 17 Tons Of Coronavirus Protective Supplies To China — Now Canada Running Low)
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam attends a news conference as efforts continue to help slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was critical Monday of the Trudeau government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in Canada, saying Tam has repeated China’s official line when it said the COVID-19 couldn’t be transmitted “human to human” and has objected to closing the Canadian border to isolate the disease.
Kenney also blasted Health Canada for dragging its feet on potential medical responses to the disease. Kenney promised to move ahead with testing “credible” drugs and vaccines — like hydroxychloroquine— regardless of whether the Trudeau government chooses to do so or not.
Canadian Health Minister Patty Hajdu has also consistently backed China’s narrative of the coronavirus outbreak, saying she believes the virus fatality numbers that the communist country has provided. She also accused a journalist who questioned that data of spreading “conspiracy” theories.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks during a news conference after meeting with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 10, 2019. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Hajdu also came to Tam’s defense Tuesday.
“We are so grateful … to have the leadership of Dr. Tam and [Deputy Chief Public Health Officer] Dr. [Howard] Njoo and, in fact, the entire public health team and Health Canada … working day and night to help us as a country manage the coronavirus, COVID-19, and our response to it,” Hajdu told reporters. (RELATED: 3M Will Send China-Produced Respirators To Canada For COVID-19 Crisis)
The health minister also said that she has “confidence in how hard Health Canada is working” to test potential new drugs and treatments for the coronavirus.
Critics have accused China of covering up evidence and testimony related to the coronavirus ever since the disease began infecting people in the city of Wuhan. The Communist Party leadership has been accused of gagging physicians who tried to warn the world about the potential devastation of the COVID-19 virus and reports suggest the regime has been systematically lying about the number of people killed by the disease.
In a classified document reportedly sent to the White House earlier this month, U.S. intelligence officials also say that China has been deceptive in its dissemination of COVID-19 data.
