Committee weighs bill to make feds accountable to Parliament on future pandemic plans – CTV
April 21, 2023
OTTAWA – Opposition members of Parliament say they fear that new pandemic preparedness legislation would allow the government to sidestep a thorough review of how it handled COVID-19.
Nate Erskine-Smith, a Liberal backbencher who is eyeing the Ontario Liberal leadership, is behind the private member’s bill under review by the House of Commons health committee.
Erskine-Smith says the government needs to be held accountable on a regular basis so parliamentarians, experts and the public can make sure the government is doing enough to avert the kind of ordeal Canada endured during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you look at the experience with SARS, there was there was a report, there were recommendations and some were even acted on — but not all,” said Erskine-Smith, who appeared before the committee by videoconference on Thursday.
