December 19, 2023

SACKVILLE – The news that New Brunswick has had the highest COVID death rate of any province or territory has MLA for Memramcook-Tantramar and Green Healthcare Critic Megan Mitton calling on the Higgs government to launch an independent public inquiry into the government’s handling of the ongoing COVID pandemic.

According to a CBC article published on Monday, New Brunswick’s COVID death rate in 2022 was the highest recorded by any province or territory since vaccines became available in 2021. It was also higher than 47 of 50 U.S. states in 2022.

“New Brunswick’s COVID death rate since the removal of pandemic restrictions in March 2022 is appallingly high,” exclaimed Mitton. “We need a full public inquiry to get to the bottom of this and the government’s ongoing handling of COVID-19 over the past four years.”

Recently Auditor General Paul Martin has released reports on the COVID-19 response by the Executive Council Office and Departments of Education, Health, Public Safety, and Social Development. In his reports, he stated that he was unable to find evidence to back-up many decisions that were made. His reports were also limited to the period during the provincial state of emergency, which expired on March 14, 2022.

“The Auditor General’s review into COVID-19 was limited in its scope, so I didn’t feel I got all of the answers I was looking for,” said Mitton. “A full public inquiry is needed to shine a light on how we went from the lowest COVID death rate in the country to the highest.”

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Media Contact:

Josh O’Donnell

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