Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to the witnesses for being with us today.
Mr. Keon, you were quoted recently as saying the following with respect to the provisions of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, which provides the federal government, or anyone it designates, with the authority to make, sell or use patented inventions to the extent necessary to respond to a public health emergency:
The ability of a country to issue compulsory licenses for medicines and other urgently needed items to respond to a health crisis is not a novel approach, and is embedded in international trade agreements such as the WTO Agreement on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. This is a prudent and reasonable precautionary measure.
Given that this authority in the legislation is set to expire on September 30, do you believe that Parliament should extend it?