Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer leaves after attending a sitting of the special committee on the coronavirus disease outbreak at the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, June 18, 2020.PATRICK DOYLE/Reuters
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was spotted Tuesday in a Toronto airport lounge not wearing a mandatory mask.
Two separate photos of the bare-faced party leader sitting comfortably in a waiting area circulated online but his office says he was wearing a mask for his trip.
A spokesperson said the photos must have been taken after he doffed the covering to take a call but before he put it back on.
Toronto’s Pearson airport currently has a policy that masks must be worn at all times to curb the spread of COVID-19, with limited exceptions that include being at a food or beverage service location.
The photos shows Scheer in the lounge with several others, and while they are seated spaced apart, none is wearing a mask.
In April, Scheer was criticized for bringing his family on a government flight back to Ottawa for a House of Commons sitting, reducing the ability for the other two MPs on board to keep a distance from the Scheers.
Trudeau and Scheer forced to defend family trips amid coronavirus travel restrictions
He and other party leaders have been wearing masks around Parliament Hill. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also wears them during photo ops.
Scheer is the waning days of his leadership. The ballots to select his replacement go in the mail in the coming days and a new leader will be elected in late August.
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