KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Opposition legislator St. Clair Leacock has apologized for his hard-line position on the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination during the height of the pandemic, saying that he acted based on what he saw as the then science.
“I never fired anybody. I never made it a mandate. I didn’t even attend the session of Parliament,” Leacock said, adding, “much of the views that I expressed in the pandemic, now, in hindsight, were wrong.
“And I publicly apologize for being wrong on those issues because I acted then on what I considered the science of the moment. Time has demonstrated that I may have been too quick on the draw, and if that is the abundance of evidence, then, St. Vincent, workers, Major is sorry.”
Leacock joined other opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) lawmakers, including Opposition Leader Dr. Godwin Friday, in responding to a call by the public sector unions for people to protest outside the Financial Complex in the heart of the capital.
The protest was intended to pressure the government to halt its decision to appeal the judgment in the vaccine mandate case.
Last week, High Court judge Justice Esco Henry ruled that the government’s actions in implementing the mandate in December 2021 constitute a breach of natural justice, contradicted the Constitution, were unlawful, procedurally improper, and void.
The court held that the workers who were fired for not taking a COVID-19 jab by December 2021 never ceased to be employed by the government and are entitled to their salaries, benefits, and punitive damages.
In March 2021, Leacock, the NDP vice-president, used the party’s radio show to chide its spokesperson over mixed messages on vaccination.
Margaret London, one of the hosts of the party’s New Times show on NICE Radio, noted her expertise as a nurse, pointed out the importance and effectiveness of vaccines, and said that the party was encouraging people to get vaccinated.
She, however, joined with some callers in suggesting that persons who had received the government’s “Love Boxes” (food parcels) during the 2020 election campaign should be among the first to take the jab.
The NDP has always maintained that it supports COVID-19 but is opposed to mandatory vaccination. Some NDP lawmakers have publicly stated that they have not taken the jab.
Further, in October 2021, Leacock appealed to teachers to vaccinate against COVID-19.
“My position may cause my votes, but so be it. I cannot be looking at St. Vincent’s outcome for what is best for Major and for a particular party in a whole exercise. It has to be what’s best for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. And as I listen to what has happened worldwide, vaccination is the way to go now,” said Leacock then.
Leacock’s comments came as St. Vincent and the Grenadines students had not returned to the physical classroom since December 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The MP said Monday that the legal discussion and debate are “completely separate from the medical and scientific discussion on COVID.”
The NDP has already indicated that in addition to forgoing an appeal and allowing the workers to return to their jobs, as the court ordered, the government should be generous and apologize to the workers.
“I take it that you heard me apologize. And I take it that you understand that I can only speak for my action and I can’t take responsibility for others,” Leacock said, adding, “I can say what I would have done had I been in a position of leadership in the government, I would apologize.”
Regarding the government’s announced intention to appeal the court ruling, Leacock noted that the NDP had long said that if elected to office at the next general election, it would reinstate the workers.
“So, the court ruling is a further vindication of the wise decision that the president of the party and the party have made,” Leacock said, adding, “and as he has restated, emphatically, we would stop any appeal that the government is trying to invoke in this situation.”
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