P.E.I. MLAs defend travel outside province and country

A Prince Edward Island MLA is defending his trip to Germany in September, saying he followed all public health guidelines. 

Rob Henderson, the Liberal MLA for O'Leary-Inverness and the party's health critic, travelled to Achern, Germany for his daughter's wedding. He left on Sept. 24; the wedding took place on Oct. 9. 

He returned to P.E.I. on Oct. 15 and completed his 14-day isolation at his home in Freeland, near Tyne Valley.

"I certainly wanted to follow all the protocols and understood the gravity of the situation," Henderson told CBC News.

"This was simply a case where a father has an obligation to his daughter to make sure that we would partake in something that was very important to her."  

Henderson said the time was different then, compared to now. He said the second wave of rapid COVID-19 spread was not yet underway. 

"When we're looking at September, the Atlantic bubble was in full effect, people were travelling, flights had resumed to Europe. We were able to get a flight."

Henderson said he also checked with P.E.I.'s public health office before he left.

Both the Prince Edward Island and federal governments have advised against non-essential travel out of the country.

Federal, provincial politicians under fire

Politicians across Canada have been under the microscope ever since news broke that Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips was on vacation in the Caribbean island of St. Barts in December, when COVID-19 cases were surging in his home province and millions were living in lockdown conditions. 

Phillips returned to Canada on Dec. 31 and resigned his cabinet post later that day.

Since then, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney demoted half a dozen members of his team —  including his own chief of staff — for vacationing abroad while Albertans were being urged to stay at home. 

Meanwhile, Conservative Sen. Don Plett spent part of the Christmas holidays in Mexico, despite the government advisories 

Federally, five MPs are known to have left the country in December. 

Three of those MPs — the NDP's Niki Ashton and Liberals Kamal Khera and Sameer Zuberi — did so because of family members who were sick or who had recently died.

Other P.E.I. politicians who travelled

Henderson wasn't the only P.E.I. MLA to leave the province recently. 

Gord McNeilly, the Liberal MLA for Charlottetown-West Royalty, travelled to Wolfville, N.S., to visit his daughter. He left P.E.I. on Dec. 15 and returned home on Dec. 23.

The Atlantic bubble was closed at the time. 

The closure didn't prevent travel, but the new rules mean anybody returning to Prince Edward Island must isolate for 14 days. (Nova Scotia does not require incoming visitors to isolate for 14 days.)

McNeilly said he reached out to the Chief Public Health Office before he left, followed all the rules, and completed his 14-day isolation on Tuesday.   

It's the first Christmas away from home. She just, she needed to see her dad.- Gord Neilly. Liberal MLA

"She was struggling over the Christmas break so I just went over and spent some time with her and her fiancé," said McNeilly of his daughter. 

"It's the first Christmas away from home. She just, she needed to see her dad."   

Three PC MLAs travelled early in the pandemic, including Premier Dennis King.

King travelled to Boston and to a first ministers conference. After his return, he isolated for 14 days, a period which he completed at the end of March.

Health Minister James Aylward came under fire in March for his decision not to go directly home and self-isolate when he landed from an international trip on March 13, a decision the Opposition Greens called a "stunningly irresponsible act."

Finance Minister Darlene Compton returned home to P.E.I. March 17, following an all-inclusive vacation to Dominican Republic. Officials say she too completed her 14-day isolation period as required by the Chief Public Health Office.

'A legitimate question'

Sidney MacEwen, the government house leader, said his officials contacted each member of the Tory caucus and was told none of them had left the Island since Nov. 23, when the Atlantic bubble burst.

He also said no other MLAs other than the ones listed above had travelled outside of the Atlantic region since the pandemic was declared on March 11. 

"It's tough to see politicians from across the country that are going against public health guidelines," said MacEwen.

"It causes all of us to look inside and question people: 'Why are they doing that when we're trying to all be so vigilant, especially here in P.E.I. when we made big sacrifices?' So I think it's legitimate questions to ask of our elected officials."      

In a statement to CBC News, Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker said he can confirm "nobody in our caucus has travelled outside the bubble since March" or "outside the province when the bubble wasn't in place." 

Henderson said he continued to carry out his duties as an MLA while in isolation.

"Even in Germany I was still doing my emails that I send out to my constituency on a regular basis, took phone calls while I was there."

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