Government Operations Committee on April 14th, 2021

[Bill Matthews]

On this one, I think we have to always remember that actual delivery of health services and programs is the responsibility of the provinces, so there is a question—

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

In your briefing—through you, Mr. Chair, to Mr. Matthews—what problem was this solving for the federal government?

[Bill Matthews]

Again, I think that's a better question, Mr. Chair, to pose to the Public Health Agency, because this was about putting in place a national information system around vaccines, but in terms of the—

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Well, I guess I'll take it that prior to this, there wasn't—

[The Chair, Conservative, Robert Gordon Kitchen]

Thank you.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

—a national platform in place and the federal government wasn't able to track the delivery of these vaccines.

[The Chair, Conservative, Robert Gordon Kitchen]

Thank you. We'll now go to Mr. Van Popta for five minutes.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for being here.

I have a question about the AstraZeneca vaccine and how important a piece it plays in getting all Canadians vaccinated. I understand that there's a commitment from the government that 36 million doses, I think, will be delivered by the end of June, and 118 million before the end of September. How important is the AstraZeneca vaccine in that portfolio?

[Bill Matthews]

There are two key points here. The minister already touched on this earlier.

Moderna and Pfizer are certainly the workhorses or make up the biggest volume in terms of meeting those targets. Clearly, to the extent that AstraZeneca is rolled out, that only helps matters, but I would say, in terms of meeting the targets that are out there, it's largely a story on Moderna and Pfizer.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Thank you. What percentage do you think will be AstraZeneca? I ask that question in the context of people in my riding being reluctant to take the AstraZeneca vaccine because of some bad press that it has received. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Health have said on numerous occasions that the best vaccine for you is the first one that is offered to you, which makes a nice tag line, but people don't necessarily believe that.

[Bill Matthews]

I think the percentages will depend on what the guidance is from the various provincial health authorities in terms of how they use AstraZeneca. I can't pretend to have knowledge across the country here, but I think most are now focusing in on the age group above 55 and under 65, a pretty narrow age range. If that changes, obviously AstraZeneca would play a bigger role, but for the moment, I think it's very focused on that range.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Understand that these of course are the people I'm speaking to, the ones who are being recommended for the AstraZeneca vaccine, and there is, I have to tell you, some reluctance to accept it.

I understand as well that Canada has obtained some of the AstraZeneca vaccine supply from the United States, and that they apparently feel that they now do not need that as part of their portfolio. Can you comment on that? I don't know if that is actually a true statement, but that is what I'm hearing.

[Bill Matthews]

There are two points there, Mr. Chair.

I can't speak to need in the U.S. for AstraZeneca. The fact is that the vaccine is not yet approved for use in the U.S. by their regulatory authority, and yet there's manufacturing taking place there. Working with AstraZeneca and the U.S. government, we were able to effectively get an exchange of doses to bring forward 1.5 million doses because Canada has a contract with AstraZeneca. We would then pony up for the U.S. at a later date, when appropriate, but it was more just getting an advance on the doses owed to Canada under the contract by using the U.S. government as a go-between.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Good.

I have a question about the contract that we have with AstraZeneca. Is there anything in there about liability waivers, with the pharmaceutical company saying that it will not be held liable and shifting the liability to the Government of Canada?

[Bill Matthews]

There are two points here, Mr. Chair.

I won't get into specifics about what's in the contracts, but the government has announced a no-fault compensation regime related to vaccines and any health outcomes as a result, so that kind of speaks to where the liability sits.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

In plain language, does that mean that the liability sits with the Government of Canada, not with the pharmaceutical company?

[Bill Matthews]

If you have a no-fault compensation regime in place, generally speaking, the liability would sit with the government, and that's fairly standard practice across the G7. Canada was a bit of an outlier on that front.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Sorry, could you explain that? How was Canada a bit of an outlier on that?

[Bill Matthews]

I mean in terms of not having one of those regimes. Most other countries do have a no-fault compensation regime around vaccines. Canada did not have one in place but recently announced one, I think in 2021 or late 2020.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Okay.

I'm going to switch over to the COVAX supply source. Many Canadians I've spoken to were surprised that Canada is receiving doses from there. Shouldn't that be left for developing countries? That's what the common thinking is. Could I have your comments on that, sir?

[Bill Matthews]

The COVAX facility has two kinds of features. One is the ability to access vaccines at a subsidized rate or an efficient rate for poorer countries, but there's also a mechanism there for countries to contribute to and gain access to a portfolio of vaccines. The program was designed with that in mind, and Canada is playing on both aspects of the program.

[The Chair, Conservative, Robert Gordon Kitchen]

Thank you, Mr. Van Popta.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Robert Gordon Kitchen]

We'll now go to Mr. Weiler for five minutes.

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to touch on something that was brought up in this committee, and it's been brought up at other times as well, and that's the allegation that Canada was dithering in signing contracts with some of the leading vaccine candidates.

Mr. Matthews, I am hoping, if you're aware, that you could let this committee know how many countries had signed agreements with Moderna and Pfizer before Canada did.