Green Party leader calls on Trudeau to curb COVID-19 confusion and appoint a national task force

Green Party Leader Annamie Paul said today Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should immediately appoint a panel of expert scientists to help coordinate the national response to COVID-19 as the number ofcases continues to rise.

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill today,Paul said Canadians are notbeing wellserved by the confusingcurrentpatchworkof federal, provincial and municipal COVID-19 policies.

She said the country must have clear, coordinated messages, with officials speaking with "one voice."

WATCH: Green Party Leader Annamie Paul calls for a national approach to the pandemic:

Paul calls for national coordination in COVID-19 fight

4 years ago

Duration 1:51

Green Party leader Annamie Paul decries the mixed and confusing messages coming from different levels of government in Canada.

She cited the example of the recent byelection in Toronto-Centre, which Paul lostto Liberal Marci Ien. Paul pointed out that byelectionvoters were being told by federal Elections Canada officials thatit was safe to vote even as municipal leaders were encouraging themto stay close to home.

Canada doesn't need a "one size fits all" approach, Paul said, but the country should have something like Australia's National COVID-19 Commission Advisory Board. That board, according to its terms of reference, isresponsible for"mobilizing a wholeof-society and whole-of-economy effort, to take action against the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic."

Paul said the country could be divided into colour-coded zones asOntario and Quebec alreadyhave done for some regions with national standards determining what those living in those zonescan and cannot do during the pandemic.

The national task force would take the lead on drafting restrictions to ensure some level of uniformity across the country, she said, with the understanding that some regions are performing better than others with respect to case counts.

"The problem right now is we have very mixed and confusing messages at a time when people have said they are willing to do what is necessary to prioritize life. We do not have coordinated, unified messaging on the pandemic," she said.

And whileCanada is a federation, with a division of powersbetween variousjurisdictions and levels of government, Paul saidnow is not the time for squabbling over who is responsible for what when so many people are getting sick.

"I say very clearly that we must accept that this is not a local health issue, this is not a provincial health issue. This is a national health emergency, it is a national pandemic," Paul said.

"What's happening right now doesn't work that's clear. People are dying, we're in the midst of a second wave and we're not seeing any improvement."

Watch:'We're not suggesting a one-size-fits-all policy for all of Canada,' saysPaul:

'We're not suggesting a one-size-fits-all policy for all of Canada' | Green Leader Annamie Paul

4 years ago

Duration 1:27

Green Leader Annamie Paul discusses her call for a National COVID-19 Task Force in order to curb confusion.

Paul said thateven the U.S., which has been criticized by some for its pandemic response, is further ahead on coming up with a cohesive, national response.

She said president-elect Joe Biden formed a coronavirus advisory board dominated by scientists and doctors shortly after he secured the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

That task force is chaired by former surgeon general Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler and Yale University's Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.

Biden has said the task force will take policy proposals and "convert [them] into an actionblueprint."

"That plan will be built on bedrock science... I'll spare no effort, none, or any commitment, to turn around this pandemic."

The Public Health Agency of Canada alreadyhas established a "health portfolio operations centre" that coordinates the federal response with international, provincial and territorial partners. Dr. Theresa Tam, the chief public health officer, is also in close contact with provincial and territorial chief medical officers of health to share information and coordinate response efforts.