Health Committee on Feb. 5th, 2021

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Canada has some of the strongest measures at the border in the world, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine. It has been a very important—

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Sure, and we all support that. For the new hotel quarantine restrictions, is she looking at any exemptions for any particular group, including temporary foreign workers or agricultural workers?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

We're working out the details right now in terms of how we'll manage the mandatory three-day quarantine. All that to say, quarantine is an important component of our commitment to reducing importation at the border and to understanding the role of variants in a Canadian context.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

There are no exemptions that will be put in place for the first round under a potential OIC?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

That is not what I said. I said that we are carefully examining those groups of travellers and how we best manage them.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

When does the minister expect those rules to be put forward to the Canadian public?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

We'll be releasing the details of those new measures very shortly.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the Hotel Association of Canada, which is working very closely with us on the plan.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Does “very shortly” mean within the next week?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Very shortly.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Is it five days, 10 days?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Very shortly.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Does the minister want to comment on any work she has undertaken with the finance department to tie herd immunity to potential figures for long-term sustainability of the CERB?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

I'm not sure what the question is.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

The question is whether you have talked to the finance department about your assumptions on herd immunity and how long we'll need the CERB.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

The finance minister and I have regular conversations about the supports that are necessary to help Canadians get through this difficult time and do whatever it takes to make sure we reduce the spread of COVID-19 and restore the functioning of our economy.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Ms. Rempel Garner.

We go now to Dr. Powlowski for five minutes.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that every Canadian who wants to have a vaccine will have one before September. My understanding is that it's based solely on existing contracts that we have with Moderna and Pfizer. However, there are three other vaccines that are currently waiting for approval in Canada. Two of those have completed phase three trials and shown effectiveness. Although AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson might not have, in the original trials, shown 95% efficacy like Moderna and Pfizer, they weren't in head-to-head trials with those other vaccines. There were different populations and different amounts of variance.

In addition, it seems that with further boosters, you can increase the efficacy of pretty well all vaccines. Johnson & Johnson has only one. Their result was with one shot. In addition, although Johnson & Johnson was effective at preventing only 70% of people getting COVID, it decreased the number of admissions to hospital and deaths 100%. These vaccines seem to me to be very likely to be approved. The results of these studies are public and have been much scrutinized by the medical community. I know that we have to wait for the completion of the regulatory process, but it seems to me that Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca are very likely to be approved. AstraZeneca has already been approved in some jurisdictions. If preliminary results from Novavax hold, then we have a fifth vaccine.

I understand our reluctance to count our chickens before they hatch. However, again, it seems very likely that probably all three of these vaccines will be approved. Canada's bought millions of doses of these vaccines. Given this, it would seem to me that our promise to have every Canadian who wants to be vaccinated before September is very conservative—in the sense of a prediction, not in the sense of a party.

I know that we rightly don't want to make promises we can't keep, but there's a great deal of COVID fatigue out there. That's resulted in real health problems. People are unhappy. They're despondent. They're drinking too much. They're overdosing. They're ignoring public health advice because they don't see an end in sight. I would assume that our government has some prediction on vaccination rates and timelines if the other vaccines are approved. Would you be willing to share this with us?

That's to anyone who might want to answer that quick question. I don't think we should promise anybody anything, but I think Canadians really want hope. From what I'm hearing, that September timeline seems very conservative.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

I'll start, and then maybe I can turn to Minister Anand to speak a bit as well.

You're right that it's a difficult time right now for Canadians. They are anxious. They are tired of the restrictions in which they face a new reality. I do want to take the time to actually thank Canadians, because by and large Canadians have followed public health measures. It has been difficult. There are sacrifices, some that we see in the media and some that we'll never know about, that people are making in their daily lives to protect each other. I truly am proud to be a Canadian when I look at my fellow Canadians and the astronomical amount of work they're putting into life in their community in protecting each other and sustaining and adapting their businesses. The stories go on.

The target that we have repeated, which is our goal of having enough vaccinations in the country for every Canadian who wishes to be vaccinated by the end of September, I think is a realistic target, but it doesn't mean there's not a lot of work ahead. As I think Minister Anand and many others have pointed out, we will start to see the volume of vaccines arrive in this country, all things considered, with manufacturers hopefully getting all of their ducks in a row, and the commitment is that we'll have those doses in Canada in increasing numbers over the next two quarters. That means April, May, June, which will be very busy for Canadians and for provinces and territories, and July, August, September, which will still be very busy.

Provinces and territories are stepping up. You heard Major-General Dany Fortin speak about the work the provinces are doing right now to make sure they have the capacity to not only vaccinate in large volumes but to tap into some of the networks that actually help them every single year in massive influenza vaccination campaigns, for example. I think Canadians can be confident that the vaccines are coming. If we manage to exceed that target of the end of September for every Canadian who wishes a vaccine to have one, that's great news for Canada. Again, sticking with trying to remain realistic in these targets, I think it's a reasonable goal.

I'll turn to Minister Anand to see if she has any words to add.

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

There are two variables that can see the acceleration of doses from Q3 to Q2, which we're working very hard on. The first is that we are working with approved suppliers to see if they would be willing to move doses from Q3 to Q2. We've had some success on that already, which I have announced previously, but we're still working to make sure that approved suppliers...and inquire with them to see if their doses can be moved earlier to Q2. That would be useful in accelerating our timelines.

The second variable is the speed at which additional approvals occur at the separate regulatory body of Health Canada. As we see additional vaccines come online, we will hopefully see accelerated deliveries of those vaccines and our numbers, previously provided in chart form and repeated here a number of times, also accelerating.

As you can see, this is an environment with many moving parts, where suppliers are ramping up production at the same time that regulatory bodies are approving new vaccines. It's very important for us to be aware that the targets we are setting are realistic. They can change, and as soon as we have information relating to additional deliveries to be expected in Q2 we will share that with the Canadian public. It's my commitment. It's our government's commitment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you.

Mr. Thériault, it's your turn for two and a half minutes.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As I listen to the witnesses answer the questions about procurement, I sometimes get the sense that Canada had to bow down to the pharmaceutical companies.

Still, the truth will come out one day.

The health minister will no doubt agree that each day vaccinations are delayed, the pressure on the health care system and front-line workers mounts. What's more, the number of non-COVID-19 patients grows; potential COVID-19 patients are not the only ones at risk.

The people suffering you don't hear about are non-COVID-19 patients. Why are there so many? Because health care has been underfunded for decades, so much so that the resources needed to respond to the pandemic are lacking.

Since the government apparently works so well with the provinces, why does it stubbornly refuse to increase health transfers? Why does the government refuse to send provinces a strong message that it will support their capacity to get through the crisis, so they can allocate their resources properly? Why not send that message now? It seems to be more about holding the power than about improving public health.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you for your question.

All levels of government are working together to keep Canadians safe.

As part of our response to COVID-19, we announced the safe restart agreement, a $19-billion-plus initiative to support the provinces and territories. That investment is in addition to—

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

You sound like a broken record, Minister.

I'm talking about Quebec's and the provinces' calls on the federal government to increase health transfers immediately so they can get through the crisis and provide care to their populations. Some non-COVID-19 patients are being completely shut out of the health care system as we speak.

Why not increase health transfers right away and send a clear message to those on the front lines of care? That is my question.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Ever since the crisis began, we have transferred funding to the provinces and territories to help their health care systems weather the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to be there to protect Canadians. I hope you recognize that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Thériault.

We will go now to Mr. Davies.

Mr. Davies, please go ahead. You have two and a half minutes.