If the Conservatives win the next election, Erin O’Toole says the Tories would call a public inquiry to look at how the Trudeau government responded to COVID-19.

”A public inquiry will ensure that all lessons learned from the crisis are publicly aired and improvements can immediately be adopted,” adds the Tory leader.

”Canada must be better prepared for future threats.  We cannot afford to once again fail to keep Canadians safe.”

O’Toole says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government was caught ”unprepared” and its reaction to the pandemic has been ”slow and confused.”

In the meantime, the Conservative leader says a special monitor from the office of the Auditor General should be appointed now.

”The appointment of a monitor will ensure there is the ability to learn from missteps in as close to real time as possible,” adds O’Toole.    

The prime minister defends Ottawa’s response. 

”I made a simple promise way back at the beginning of this pandemic — that we would have people’s backs.  And that’s what we’ve done,” says Trudeau. 

”Have we done everything perfect?  No, of course not.  But, we have been there every step of the way to support the Team Canada approach and we will continue to.”