THE NDP on Tuesday attacked Liberal leadership candidate Renee Merrifield, saying she repeatedly undermined public health experts at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic:

• On December 18, Merrifield apologized for amplifying personal attacks on Dr. Bonnie Henry. Merrifield liked tweets that said:
  • “Going against Bonnie Henry’s “guidelines” when it comes to LTC & schools is the smart thing to do. She has little regard for the health & safety of BC’s vulnerable populations”
  • “Schools/workplaces are being used to slowly spread the virus”
  • “DBH’s stance on rapid testing (and almost everything else) is at odds with the widely accepted science”
  • “[Dix] just opens up his head, lets Bonnie pour in her BS of the week”
• On January 20, Merrifield accused Dr. Henry of spreading “false information” about the effectiveness of first doses and opposed Dr. Henry’s decision to delay the second dose interval;
• On April 30, she falsely claimed that taking Vitamin D would help cure COVID;
• On June 11, she presented a petition to the Legislature claiming that masks cause “irreversible damage, emotionally, mentally and physically to children”
• On July 29, she questioned why provincial health orders aimed at slowing COVID in the Interior were necessary, saying it “seems the goalposts have now moved.”

Jinny Sims, MLA for Surrey-Panorama, said: “Since becoming BC Liberal Health Critic, Renee Merrifield has continually attacked and undermined B.C.’s public health experts. Her anti-science views should have no place in our politics, let alone with the leader of a political party.”