A senator from High River said he had major concerns with a pandemic preparedness bill and implied that “other agendas” were at play when it was developed.
Senator Scott Tannas spoke to members of the Foothills County Agricultural Services Board during a special meeting last month, after being invited to talk about Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act.
Foothills County council had issues with the bill and said parts of it target the agriculture sector in the name of pandemic prevention.
Tannas said he had “real concerns” with the bill around the involvement of the World Health Organization (WHO) and what he said “could be seen to be ceding our own sovereignty to a U.N. body, which I’m just not interested in at all.”
“We should support the WHO and be a part of it and use it for what it's intended, which is, you know, a broadcast and advisory kind of organization, but not one that governs our country,” Tannas said.
Another criticism of the bill was a provision seen by many as promoting alternative proteins as a way to ward off pandemics, a concern Tannas said was valid.
“It’s a very tenuous connection that, to me, raises I think a worthy speculation that there are other forces, other agendas, at play,” he said.
He said many in the Senate, himself included, support pandemic preparedness, but parts of the bill are outside that scope.
“The rest of it is not necessary, and I think is part of, potentially, a larger agenda that doesn't really have to do with pandemic preparedness,” he said.
Speaking to the board before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament, Tannas said he had doubts that the bill would pass, even with amendments.
Parliament was prorogued on Jan. 6, bringing all government business to a stop, including bills that are in the Senate, where Bill C-293 was last debated in October.
The bill was introduced in the House of Commons in 2022 as a private member's bill sponsored by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.
