Health Committee on June 23rd, 2020

[Winston Wen-Yi Chen]

I think there is a lot of debate on the issue of whether or not, and at what stage, people should wear masks to protect themselves. I think everything really depends on the science-based evidence, and also the experts' advice.

For instance, I, my family and my colleagues, we follow the guidance—

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Chen, if I can just interrupt, my question was, when did the Taiwanese government recommend that its citizens wear masks? When was it? When did that happen?

[Winston Wen-Yi Chen]

I think that at the very beginning, in the early part of January, people had the sense to wear masks to protect themselves. As I have always said, we did it at the very early stage. There's a lot of debate on that, as I said, even in this country. Our customs and our culture helped us to convince people to wear masks. Certainly that helped us to be well prepared.

The one challenge that people didn't really touch upon is, how could you possibly provide that many masks? In particular, we're talking about the health care workers, the front-line workers, and even police and firefighters. They are in the public space. They urgently need face masks. For people who stay eight hours at home, they probably don't need face masks that urgently. I think the government in Taiwan, in the early stages, on a daily basis only produced two million masks. Certainly, we have a population of 24 million, and we were far short in our supply—

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Chen, I'm sorry to interrupt. I have limited time. I will be asking about your mask production, but I want to turn to Mr. Chun.

Mr. Chun, when did the Government of South Korea recommend that its citizens wear masks?

[Asaph Young Chun]

I recollect that it was early February. At that time, I think we had only a few cases across the country, fewer than 30 I would say, but I think it was based on some evidence.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

On what basis did the Government of South Korea make that recommendation?

[Asaph Young Chun]

It was based on the potential risk of the asymptomatic cases of this epidemic. When you do not know who is infected since they're not showing symptoms, then I think you have to wear a mask so you can actually protect yourself from this asymptomatic infection.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Do you think early adoption of mask wearing played a role in keeping the transmission rates low in South Korea?

[Asaph Young Chun]

Yes, I think that was one of the best mechanisms. As I mentioned earlier, it was these personal measures, non-pharmaceutical interventions, using face masks and also washing hands, that hygiene. Those two were very critical to the entire process of non-pharmaceutical intervention, and we made it very mandatory. Even today, when you come to Korea you will find that almost everyone is actually wearing face masks.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you.

Now we go back to Mr. Chen in Taiwan.

I know that Taiwan was an importer of surgical masks before COVID-19. You created an onshore mask production industry just a month after registering your first infections. I know that's grown into a daily capacity of 20 million pieces as of May, and that initiative was led by the Government of Taiwan.

Could you outline for this committee how the Government of Taiwan was able to ramp up mask production so rapidly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

[Winston Wen-Yi Chen]

I just mentioned that the legislation is extremely important. After 2003, we had already passed the law, and that's why we could have the CECC in the very beginning, the early stage. That followed the rule of law, and the legislation and the follow-up mechanisms were in place, so certainly we could rally and try to support the private sector. I think society in Taiwan is also honoured to try to help the society and its citizens. That's the reason, I think, we, in very short weeks, could rapidly mass-produce face masks with a daily production of two million—and, today, up to 20 million—and not only supply our people's needs but also try to ship to international societies to help our friends.

You asked whether or not wearing a face mask is effective in preventing the spread of the virus. I'm not a medical expert, but I think in the society of Taiwan, it's the people's consensus that we not only protect ourselves but we also try to protect our friends and our family members. Up to today, there have been a very limited number of confirmed cases, but in public gatherings and indoors, for instance, at the subway station, and even when you have big spaces, people wear masks, not only to protect themselves but also to protect others. So, that's very important. I think that, particularly in Taiwan, we feel that we have the obligation to do that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Davies.

That wraps up this panel. I'd like to thank both of our witnesses for so generously giving of their time to us.

I'd like to particularly note that for Mr. Chun, who I believe is in Korea, it's three o'clock in the morning, and so, on behalf of the committee, I really thank you for staying up late or getting up really early to be with us. Thank you.

[Chair spoke in Korean]

[English]

Mr. Wen-Yi Chen, thank you.

[Chair spoke in Mandarin]

[English]

I hope we have a chance to speak with you both again another time.

Thank you very much.

We will now suspend and bring in the next panel.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

We will resume the meeting now.

Welcome back, everyone. Welcome back to meeting number 30 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health. Pursuant to the order of reference of May 26, 2020, the committee is resuming its briefing on the Canadian response to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

I will go straight to the introduction of our witnesses. We have, from Global Affairs Canada, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs. We have Ms. Marta Morgan, deputy minister for foreign affairs. We have Ms. Heather Jeffrey, assistant deputy minister for consular, security and emergency management.

Minister, if you wish, you have time for a 10-minute statement. Please go ahead.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Dear colleagues, honourable members, thank you for the invitation to appear before your committee to speak about Canada's international response to COVID-19.

We are living, without question, through a consequential once-in-a-generation moment. The scope and scale of this pandemic have tested every community, country and international institution, and we have all been affected, both personally and professionally.

We will be sorting through the global health and socio-economic ramifications of this crisis for some time to come.

The ramifications of this pandemic will lead to increased emphasis on health care diplomacy, supply chain diplomacy and economic security diplomacy. No one can underestimate how much this pandemic affects the economy and cybersecurity, along with human rights, gender equality and, of course, inclusion.

We must also recognize that the pandemic has not occurred in a vacuum. Indeed, this crisis is exacerbating existing global trends, including geopolitical competition, rising protectionism, increased inequality and challenges to democratic values.

Here at home, this pandemic has forced the government to come up with solutions to problems of an unprecedented nature. At the Department of Foreign Affairs, the consular response has, of course, been the most visible and demanding one. Hundreds of staff at headquarters and at our missions abroad were redeployed to deliver the largest and most complex peacetime repatriation of stranded Canadian travellers in our nation's history.

While I speak today of the consular element of Canada's response, I also want to highlight more broadly Canada's leadership in shaping global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on the diplomatic, trade and international assistance fronts, as they are critical and will only become more important as we go forward.

I'll start with the consular response.

Some people may forget that, before COVID-19 became a pandemic, Global Affairs Canada had already, by the end of January, brought hundreds of Canadians home from Wuhan and assisted hundreds more in Japan on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Things only became worse after that. As the virus spread and countries around the world, including Canada, implemented strict border controls, we were facing airspace, border and airport closures, and even tight restrictions for Canadian travellers in various countries around the world.

As I have said before, when the world pressed “pause”, we went into full gear. Here are just a few numbers that should give you an idea of the magnitude of efforts we deployed to meet the needs of Canadians in distress.

In March our emergency watch and response centre was fielding thousands of calls and emails a day. Early in the crisis, single-day totals peaked at over 5,800 calls and more than 9,000 messages. Staff from across headquarters were redeployed to help handle all these calls and emails. Our network of 178 missions abroad likewise shifted gears to provide critical on-the-ground support to Canadians. Ambassadors, trade commissioners and development officers found themselves working alongside their consular colleagues arranging flights, ground transportation, permission letters, quarantine exemptions and emergency loans. By June we had facilitated the safe return of over 48,000 Canadian travellers from 111 countries, including 42,000 on more than 400 flights and more than 6,000 who were at sea on board 197 ships.

Mr. Chair, I really want to take this time to congratulate and thank Heather Jeffrey, who is with us today, for what she did so marvellously as the chief consular officer. This was consular crisis management at a level never seen before in our country, a real-time illustration of Canada's strong and broad people-to-people ties around the world and a remarkable show of resilience by the Canadian foreign service.

At the same time, despite troubling signs of a lack of international action and solidarity, Canada has played and continues to play a leadership role in coordinating and developing the global response, through timely diplomatic and trade action and international assistance programs. Our work is guided by the Prime Minister's clear commitment to defeating this virus everywhere and to emerging from this crisis stronger as an international community. With these priorities in mind, the Prime Minister, my fellow ministers and I have spoken by telephone and video conference with hundreds of our counterparts around the world.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Minister, there seems to be a problem with your sound. All we're getting now is static. Could you try plugging in your headset again, please?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Is it better now?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Yes, it is.

Minister, please carry on. Thank you.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Thank you, Chair.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Minister Gould, Minister Ng and I have issued 44 joint statements with international partners, in addition to working actively alongside other cabinet members to drive actions to forums like the G7, the G20, the UN, the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO and the OECD. No fewer than 18 G7 and 12 G20 leader-level and ministerial meetings have been held since March, aimed at laying out guiding principles for concrete actions, including addressing high debt levels in developing countries.

As part of these efforts, the Prime Minister has spearheaded two very important global initiatives.

First, Canada co-hosted a pledging conference on vaccines and therapeutics, alongside the EU and Japan, which raised $8 billion U.S. to better test, treat and protect people and prevent further spread of the COVID-19 disease around the world.

Second, in partnership with the Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the UN Secretary-General Guterres, Prime Minister Trudeau convened a special UN high-level meeting to advance solutions to the economic crisis and development emergency that have been precipitated by the pandemic.

For my part, I established a ministerial coordination COVID group at the very start of the pandemic. I wanted to make sure that we could discuss, coordinate and share best practices. I've done that with colleagues from Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The initial set-up was a venue to coordinate a response to multiplying travel restrictions, but this forum has become a key channel for exchange on the multinational response, where we discuss trade and emergency measures, and where we discuss maintaining the famous air bridges, maintaining transit hubs and ensuring that supply chains would remain open.

These efforts have been complemented by Minister Ng's support for Canadian businesses during this extraordinary time of global uncertainty and tightening credit conditions.

Minister Gould has also been at the forefront of international efforts on issues such as enabling the continued access to education during the pandemic, global health, food security and reducing the disproportionate impact that the pandemic is having on women and young girls around the world. By early April, our government had announced $160 million in funding for tangible supports to fight the pandemic, from strengthening health systems in vulnerable countries to food security, education and combatting disinformation.

Mr. Chair, without global action, what started as a health crisis could easily turn into a food crisis, which would then lead to a humanitarian crisis in some parts of the world. With a crisis of this scope, it is important for us to reflect on the global architecture we would like to promote and contribute to for generations to come. The features of the international system have served Canadians very well over the past 70 years, and will continue to be fundamental to Canadian prosperity and security. Let me assure you that Canada will continue to play an active role in shaping this new era, as we have at other defining moments in history.

I will conclude my remarks by discussing two things that have recently been in the news.

First is Canada's bid for a seat on the UN Security Council. While the result we got on Wednesday was not what we had hoped for, we are proud of the campaign we conducted over the last four years. I want to thank all the teams that have spent so much passion and energy to promote Canada around the world. For Canada, this campaign allowed us to renew and strengthen many of our bilateral relationships, which will serve Canada well for years to come. We will continue to promote our values and our principles around the world to build a more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable world. I want to take this opportunity to once again thank the many officials, Ambassador Blanchard, parliamentarians and Canadians who worked so hard over so many years on this bid. You really made Canada proud.

Finally, there's been recent coverage regarding mortgages on two apartments I own and rent abroad. I would like to take a moment to address this issue here with you today. In keeping with my obligation as a public office holder, both mortgages have been disclosed to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and placed in the public registry since I first entered politics, more than four years ago.

Neither of these mortgages, nor any of my other liabilities, have ever had a bearing on my function as a public office holder. To avoid any distractions, both have been repaid in full and refinanced with a Canadian bank, and the public registry will be updated accordingly.

With that, Mr. Chair, I apologize for the technical glitches, and I will be more than happy to take questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you very much, Minister.

We will now start our questioning.

It may well be that we have only time for one round. We have the minister until the top of the hour. We'll do what we can. We may have a very shortened second round, but I think we'll only get a first round in.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I will be happy to stay as long as you want, Chair. I know there were some technical glitches and I don't want to feel that colleagues don't have the time to ask questions. You decide, but I will oblige.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

That's very dangerous talk. You had better bring in a pizza; we'll keep you all night.

We'll try and do two rounds, then. Thank you very much, Minister, for obliging us. We're all working through these technical issues. I think it's working very well, but we do have to make some adjustments accordingly.

We will start round one.

Mr. Genuis, you have six minutes.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I was experiencing some technical difficulties myself, so I do want to quickly confirm one piece of the minister's testimony.

Minister, did you say that you have refinanced those mortgages now, so you no longer hold mortgages with the Bank of China? Did I hear that correctly?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Both mortgages have been paid in full and have been refinanced with a Canadian bank. The public disclosure will be reflecting that. I spoke to the Ethics Commissioner and we're in the process of filing a new version that will reflect that.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Thank you very much, Minister, because many of your colleagues in the House had been saying this was not a big deal. I appreciate there is now an understanding that that is an issue and that has been addressed. This is something that, of course, we in the opposition were calling for.

I do want to clarify, though, one element of the disclosure. You had a disclosure from March 30, 2016. That disclosure referred to a mortgage, singular, it didn't make reference to multiple mortgages on multiple properties. When I checked your disclosures earlier this year, it may have been February or March, there was no reference to either mortgage on the website, and then there was a disclosure dated June 4, which lists those two mortgages.

Did you have both mortgages for the entirety of your time as the minister?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Chair, I have a copy of the disclosure of the March 30 mortgages. Just to correct the statement you made, Mr. Genuis, the reason I did that is I think Parliament has other things to do than focus on my apartments. I have been forthcoming. I've been disclosing that since 2016, when I entered politics, and every year since then. To avoid any distraction to you, the opposition, Parliament and this committee, I decided to refinance with a Canadian bank.