Ontario MPP ousted for non-vaccination says self-interest kept timid politicians in line
Rick Nicholls spent three terms as a Member of the Provincial Parliament before losing his seat in Chatham-Kent-Leamington in the 2022 election. On Thursday, Nicholls shared his story in a roundtable discussion hosted by the National Citizens Inquiry on COVID-19.
Nicholls recalled how the PC caucus received “chart after chart” in presentations from the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, but they were “impossible” to read them on the resolution of Zoom presentations.
“They would open the floor for questions. And there were very few questions from my PC caucus. I was one of the very few that asked the questions. I would challenge the data professionally, not trying to put anybody on the spot. But I never really got any really solid answers,” Nicholls said.
“I would challenge it, I would question these, caucus meeting after caucus meeting, as to the efficacy of these vaccines and what COVID really was and what we needed to do.”
Nicholls said he “hated wearing masks” and wondered if his colleagues truly thought they helped.
“I talked to business owners who had been shut down…And so I would bring that back into caucus."
“But the economic impact, the health issues related to wearing masks, all of that, you’d try to explain that in a caucus meeting and you would just get double time.”
Double time is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a delayed reaction to a surprising or significant situation after an initial failure to notice anything unusual.”
Whether MPPs knew what to think or not, Nicholls didn’t think they were really in charge.
“We're the elected officials, the heat's on us, but the bureaucrats actually, from my experience, they run the show. And as I would try to peel it back and say, ‘What is actually going on here?’ I became more and more frustrated.”
Nicholls said his expulsion from caucus began with a “snippy little reporter with a brilliant idea” to find out how many MPPs were vaccinated.
“I got the phone call, saying, ’Rick, listen, we're just doing a study, a survey. We're wanting to know how many of our members are vaccinated. Are you vaccinated?’"
“I said, ‘No. Look, what I just told you was a personal, confidential information regarding my own my own health. And I don't want to see my name in black and white somewhere.’”
Three MPPs had not been vaccinated, but the other two gave in. Nicholls was given 72 hours to comply. Nicholls said even Premier Ford called to say, “Rick, look, I need you to do me a favour, I need you to get vaccinated. You don't have to give me an answer right now. Just think about it.”
A “barrage of phone calls” from government ministers followed, urging him to get vaccinated.
“His chair of the re-elect Doug Ford campaign called me up and this guy gave me the ultimatum. And interestingly enough, he was a lobbyist. And his company represented a number of the pharmaceuticals.”
When the 72-hour deadline arrived, Nicholls was in Toronto.
“I went for the cameras and said that I was not going to do it. I was very polite, very professional about it, gave my reasons why. And that was it. And I was, I held true to my word, my own personal values and principles. That's the way I felt I had been led.”
Getting kicked out of caucus was a “blessing in disguise,” Nicholls said. Previously he would ask “lob ball” questions to ministers that had been handed to him to ask.
“These are questions that are written out. ‘Here, Rick, you've been a good guy, we want you to read these questions, give you some airtime.’ It's ridiculous, to be honest with you,” said Nicholls.
“It's called blowing smoke up their pantleg. We're gonna make you look good, and you're gonna make me look good and aren't we wonderful?”
Nicholls said he was in the right place to sit opposite his former government colleagues.
“They were going to follow along. They weren't gonna pay any attention to any of the data that was rolling out from the UK and other parts of the world about the dangers of this so-called vaccine.”
Nicholls had to pay for a $40 COVID test every time he entered the legislature. He told MLAs he was the one putting himself in danger because it was already shown that people who had the vaccine could still transmit the virus, but none of them were getting tested.
“When you look back at it, it's actually almost laughable,” he said.
Nicholls said he wished he had a dollar for every time he heard the Minister of Health say, “safe and effective.”
He admits making her “very uncomfortable” with the “hardball questions” he asked. However, the desire for re-election kept most politicians siding with lockdowns and mandates.
“I knew that my decision to not get vaccinated was going to have a negative effect on my political career. And so be it. But life continues, and I'm okay,” he said.
“There's too many in there for the wrong reason. They're in there for the photo ops, they're in there for the glory, they're in there for the pay. And yet, do they really care about their constituents? Again, all they're worried about is making the next election.”
Nicholls was the only MP to vote against the extension of the emergency usage authorization in November of 2021. One month later, the MPP became the only sitting member of the Ontario Party.
He said in conversation, opposition MPs from other parties privately admitted their personal convictions were at odds with their party’s stance.
“They were afraid to speak out because they knew the narrative of their party and so they went along with that. Because, if not, they didn't want to join me as an independent. They kind of had to suck it in and tough it out."
“I think that's one of the reasons why both the government and the opposition were in lockstep with each other.”
Nicholls suggested people played “Russian roulette” when they got the vaccines and many haven’t come to grips with injuries and aggressive cancers that have followed.
“When you've got blinders on, you can't join the dots the way they should be joined,” Nicholls said.
Nicholls said he had become “good friends” with the Canadian Covid Care Alliance and Dr. Mark Trozzi, who had his licence revoked. Doctors such as him who spoke out against the pandemic response or recommended ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine came under fire.
“CPSO, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, is corrupt. And the way they have manhandled and bullied our medical staff, our doctors, has been absolutely criminal,” Nicholls opined.
Nicholls said some officials who went along to get along also share responsibility, as did Nazis who protested their innocence at the Nuremburg trials.
“I look at the way that some people have acted. And, it's the old, ‘I was only following orders,’ right?” Nicholls said.
“You're guilty by association. Somebody has to go to jail. That ‘somebody’ kept allowing this. They say stuff trickles downhill and these people were getting it all over them.”
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