[News] Should Canadians get vaccinated abroad? Liberals, Tories skirt the issue but health experts encourage it

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The federal Liberals and Conservatives were both evasive when asked if Canadians abroad who have access to a COVID-19 vaccine should get a shot, but other federal leaders and health experts encourage such action if people get the opportunity.

CBC News posed the question to four federal parties and health experts: Should Canadians who are snowbirds, or who are out of the country for business or other reasons, take advantage of vaccines that may be available there?

Cole Davidson, a spokesman for federal Liberal Health Minister Patty Hadju, would not answer the question directly, saying only that they "encourage everyone to get vaccinated when it's their turn, but we've been clear: now is not the time to travel."

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole was similarly coy about whether Canadians should be getting inoculations outside of the country. He instead slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's  government for being "slow and incompetent when it comes to securing vaccines for Canadians." 

In a statement to CBC News, O'Toole referred to the recent agreement in which North Dakota would administer shots to Manitoba truck drivers, teachers and other school employees, a deal he said "underscores the complete failure of the Trudeau government."
Currently around 35 per cent of the Canadian po[CENSORED]tion has been vaccinated with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

On Thursday, Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander leading vaccine logistics at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said that with future deliveries of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-Oxford, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, there should be more than enough supply on hand for everyone 12 and older to get one shot by the nation's birthday.

Ontario approaches Michigan about possibility of essential workers getting vaccinated stateside
Still, the interval between second shots could be months. And with demand declining in the U.S., some Canadians are flying there to get their shots, Reuters reported. Some states do not require residency proof to get a COVID-19 vaccination, making it easier for Canadians to acquire a shot there.

Meanwhile, just this week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford approached the governor of Michigan about the possibility of having essential workers who cross the border from Canada vaccinated against COVID-19 stateside.

Should get vaccine 'wherever they are'
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, while accusing the government of failing to secure enough vaccines, said in a statement that "Canadians should get the vaccine when they can access it, wherever they are in the world."