There has been a lot of buzz about Leader of the Opposition Andrew Scheer in the past 24 hours after he and his team were spotted without face masks on while waiting at a gate at the Toronto Pearson International Airport despite the fact that the garment is mandatory "at all times" for anyone inside a terminal.

And, it seems Scheer is getting a little defensive about his little face covering-less foray.

When asked about the incident during a media briefing on Wednesday, Scheer bruskly clapped back at a reporter, calling their question "ridiculous."

Andy clearly is not taking the rules Seriously! What a bad example to Canadians@AnnieClaireBO ask's @AndrewScheer about his decision to remove his mask (in violation of the rules) at #Toronto #PearsonAirport yesterday. He calls her question "ridiculous."pic.twitter.com/S2pNTF1y9W

— Jaro Giesbrecht🇨🇦 (@JaroGiesbrecht) July 8, 2020

Annie Bergeron-Oliver at CTV National News brought up the fact that some are saying the Conservative Leader is not taking the pandemic seriously and asked if he thinks he should be setting a better example for Canadians now that masks are mandatory in indoor public settings in many regions. 

"It's hard to believe that this is your question and your follow-up," Scheer responded (not sounding unlike Donald Trump, who is known to belittle reporters at press conferences).

"We're dealing with a prime minister that is under investigation for ethics violation for the third time, we're dealing with $300 billion worth of deficit with no recovery plan, with no budget this year... and you want to know how long I had my mask off yesterday after making a phone call? Come on, that's ridiculous," Scheer continued.

He also stated that the photo caught of him and his team without masks on is "pretty self-explanatory," despite the fact that he's been facing an intense online backlash.

I climbed a mountain last week wearing a mask, but Andrew Scheer can't wear one in a place where it's required, in order to make a phone call. I'm not buying it. And to distract with "look over there" doesn't factor in his decision to put everyone's health at risk.

— Randolph West ⚧ 🇿🇦🇨🇦 (@_randolph_west) July 8, 2020

Canadians shouldn't be too shocked by though, as it's surely not the first time we've seen politicians flout health and safety rules and recommendations that apply to the rest of us.