Schuler loses cabinet post over vaccine views

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This article was published 08/01/2022 (1219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Springfield-Ritchot MLA Ron Schuler has been removed from cabinet for failing to support government messaging on COVID-19 vaccines, but will remain in the Progressive Conservative caucus, Premier Heather Stefanson decided last week.

Meanwhile, mayors in Schuler’s constituency are giving the controversy a wide berth.

In a brief statement last Thursday, Stefanson thanked Schuler for his five years of cabinet service and said a cabinet shuffle will occur “in the new year.”

Central Services Minister Reg Helwer will temporarily absorb Schuler’s infrastructure and emergency response portfolio.

“Liberty has its price, today I paid for mine,” Schuler tweeted as the premier released her statement.

Schuler’s office did not respond to an interview request.

“The public messaging from Mr. Schuler has not been necessarily consistent with the spirit of our government’s efforts to get Manitobans fully vaccinated,” Stefanson explained Tuesday at an unrelated news conference.

Schuler is the only Manitoba MLA who hasn’t shared his COVID-19 vaccination status, but he has entered the legislature after its vaccine mandate took effect Dec. 15.

Over the past few months, Schuler has repeatedly declined opportunities to explain his thinking on vaccine privacy, emphasizing personal choice instead.

Last year, the opposition NDP and Liberals called for Schuler to be removed from cabinet and caucus for refusing to tell Manitobans whether he was vaccinated.

In August, Schuler endorsed Stefanson’s leadership bid, but declined to say whether her stance on vaccines factored into his endorsement.

In November, Schuler’s 70-year-old constituency assistant, Gladys Hayward Williams, died from COVID-19. A source close to the family told the Winnipeg Free Press that vaccine “misinformation” shared by Schuler and others influenced Hayward Williams’ decision to remain unvaccinated.

Schuler was first elected in 1999. In 2006, he ran unsuccessfully for PC party leader. He had served in cabinet since 2016, first as minister of Crown services then as minister of infrastructure. He was re-elected in 2019 in the new constituency of Springfield-Ritchot, which includes the RM of Ritchot, RM of Springfield, and Town of Niverville, which have the highest rates of vaccine uptake in the Southeast.

Mayors react

Niverville mayor Myron Dyck, who successfully lobbied last fall for public health restrictions to be tied to vaccine rates, declined to comment Tuesday on Schuler’s removal from cabinet, saying it was a provincial matter.

Dyck said Niverville council seizes opportunities to speak with residents about the importance of vaccination.

Asked if elected officials have an obligation to disclose their vaccination status in the interest of leading by example, Dyck replied, “That’s a hot potato—no comment.”

Dyck added that Schuler’s work for Niverville “has been exceptional.”

Reached yesterday, Ritchot mayor Chris Ewen said he was unaware of Schuler’s ejection from cabinet.

“Ron was always great for Ritchot. He’s still our MLA so we look forward to continued conversations,” Ewen said.

“It’s always nice to have a cabinet minister as your MLA representative. Having said that, we’ve always had and continue to have good relationships with Manitoba Infrastructure.”

Asked about leading by example, Ewen said all five members of Ritchot council have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, “and I don’t really look at any other levels of government.”

Ewen declined to comment on Schuler’s tweet, saying he doesn’t like to get involved in “social media hype.”

“If someone wants to post something, that’s on them.”

Presented with a summary of Stefanson’s rationale for demoting Schuler, Springfield mayor Tiffany Fell refused to comment because she hadn’t watched the premier’s Tuesday press conference.

“I won’t comment on that unless I see it myself,” Fell said.

When residents ask about her vaccination status, Fell said she assures them that Springfield follows all federal and provincial pandemic protocols “because we want to get back to a normal state.”

But Fell refused to disclose her own vaccination status in a phone interview.

“I’m not answering you. You’re not a constituent of Springfield. But when constituents of Springfield ask, I give them an answer,” she said.

Fell said Schuler’s stance on vaccines didn’t hinder community-based vaccination efforts in Springfield, where 83 percent of residents over age five have received at least one dose.

She acknowledged elected officials “need to set an example” when their governments encourage action from the public.

“Where the benchmarks are for that, I guess it depends on the government that’s there,” Fell said, adding, “I’m not talking about Springfield.”

Fell said Springfield has “a great working relationship with the provincial government and I’m sure that will continue even with the cabinet shuffle that occurred.”