'I've lost family': Commentators clash over vaccine mandates

A political panel on vaccine mandates led to a fiery exchange between two strategists.

The panel, which aired on CTV News Channel on Monday, featured Conservative strategist Jamie Ellerton, NDP strategist Cam Holmstrom and Liberal strategist Susan Smith.

"The reality is that Canada's health-care system is buckling under the pressure it is facing," said Ellerton. "We do not have the capacity to deal with these surges like other jurisdictions."

In response, Smith said what Ellerton appeared to be proposing was more capacity in hospitals. "I think he's [Ellerton] forgetting the magic word of prevention," said Smith, noting that getting vaccinated is what political leaders should be encouraging.

Near the end of the panel, Holmstrom discussed his own personal experience: "The fact of the matter is I have lost family to this disease," he said. "At the end of the day people are dying, people are being denied health care because of this [hospital shortages]."

Watch the full exchange by clicking on the video attached to this article.