Manitoba MLA silent on his vaccine status now inoculated against COVID-19

Every MLA in Manitoba is now vaccinated against COVID-19, including the infrastructure minister, who spent months refusing to say if he is fully inoculated.

Premier Heather Stefanson said she understands every Progressive Conservative MLA will be vaccinated in time for the Wednesday deadline she imposed.

"I've been assured that we're good to go," she said after a news conference at the Manitoba Legislature.

"We will have a cabinet [meeting] tomorrow and we'll move on."

It was previously unclear if longtime MLA Ron Schuler was vaccinated. The representative for Springfield-Ritchot had argued his personal health information should be kept private.

Get vaccinated or get out

Stefanson vowed to remove from her caucus and cabinet any Progressive Conservative MLAs who were not vaccinated by tomorrow, the same day a vaccination mandate takes effect for some individuals entering the legislative building.

Earlier this month, the Progressive Conservative caucus said 34 of its 35 sitting MLAs are fully vaccinated, but wouldn't specify the vaccination status of the remaining elected official, or say whether it had been disclosed to the party.

It appeared that holdout was Schuler, since the other 34 MLAs confirmed their vaccination status either publicly or to the Winnipeg Free Press.

The caucus wouldn't say on Monday if the 35 MLAs were all vaccinated.

In the month and a half since Stefanson was sworn in, any member of her caucus could have received both shots of a vaccine and waited the necessary two weeks after the second shot to be considered fully inoculated.

They could have also received the one-shot Janssen vaccine instead.

While Schuler has kept mum on his vaccination status, he's only participated in question period virtually in the last few months.

He was not present at October's Progressive Conservative Party convention, nor the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention last month, two locations where a vaccination requirement was enforced. 

Squeaking in

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said Stefanson's announcement is hardly an occasion worth celebrating.

"It's got to be the most PC thing ever that vaccines have been available for more than a year now in Manitoba, and they're just now going to squeak in to their arbitrary deadline that they set for themselves," he said.

"It shows how the PC government has not been matching the commitment that the rest of Manitoba has shown."