Liberal MLA retreats from criticism of province's COVID-19 response
A Liberal MLA has backed away from strong criticism of Premier Blaine Higgs, Dr. Jennifer Russell and their handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Francine Landry, the member for Madawaska-Les-Lacs-Edmundston, now says New Brunswickers need to "put our faith" in Public Health officials during the pandemic.
The former cabinet minister said more information has come to light since last week, when she ripped Higgs and Russell for the provincial response to COVID-19, an effort that Landry's own party leader, Kevin Vickers, has been praising.
At the time Landry slammed Higgs as "an accountant," accusing him of holding back on widespread testing for the virus to save money.
"When all decisions are based on what it's going to cost, that's what we end up with," she tweeted on March 28 in response to someone asking her if the low number of tests in some regions was a cost-saving measure.
"Higgs is an accountant, don't forget," she added, incorrectly. The premier is an engineer.
It has since emerged that the province has been cautious about its testing levels because it has a finite supply of test kits. Higgs told CBC's Power and Politics on Thursday that the province could run out in a week if it "ramped up a bit" on testing.
Landry's criticism contradicted the message from Vickers, one of the three leaders of opposition parties invited to sit with Higgs and key ministers on an all-party cabinet committee that meets daily.
Vickers told the CBC New Brunswick Political Panel podcast Friday that he wanted to "congratulate the premier" and said Higgs's regular consultations with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other premiers represent "the leadership Canadians are looking for and New Brunswickers are looking for."
The Liberal leader also said the level of testing shows the province is "being strategic with the resources that we have." He said he was "exceptionally impressed with our public service and Dr. Jennifer Russell and the manner in which they're running this."
Landry also criticized Russell on March 27 for not releasing the number of tests being done by health region in the province.
She said on Twitter that the first case in northwest New Brunswick had been wrongly classified as a travel-related case at first and was later treated as a case of community transmission.
Landry said the woman in question couldn't get a test until she said she had made a quick trip across the border to Maine to get gas, allowing her to meet the testing criteria as an international traveller.
The MLA said in a written statement Friday to CBC News that she wrote the tweets when she was fielding calls from constituents experiencing "a certain amount of understandable anxiety and confusion."
Landry would not grant CBC News an interview but said in the statement her constituency's border crossings with the United States and Quebec "added to the stress people are feeling.
"Since then, more information has come to light about testing protocols and how Public Health is leading the charge," she said.
"We need to put our faith in our public officials during this difficult time and I thank them for the important work that they all do."
Vickers is a member of the all-party committee along with Higgs, People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin, Green Leader David Coon and several Progressive Conservative government ministers.
Vickers said last month that his participation on the committee wouldn't prevent his MLAs from expressing concerns about the government's approach but "what's important is the way the message is delivered. It's not being one of criticism, it's being one of encouragement."
