Health Committee on March 12th, 2021

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

First of all, my heart is with all Canadians who have sacrificed, struggled and dealt with the pandemic in ways that we can see and in ways that we can't.

I will remind the member that the provision of health care rests with the provinces and territories, and we've been there to help them deliver on historic demands on their health care systems. In fact, as the member knows, we paid for personal protective equipment, and billions of dollars have been transferred directly to the provinces so they could augment the many capacities they've needed. We've also supported seniors in long-term care. We've supported infection prevention and control in schools. We've been there for the acquiring of vaccines and many other therapeutics, which were paid out of pocket. There were no expenses to the provinces and territories for testing, including for rapid testing.

Every step of the way, I have worked with Minister McCann and Minister Dubé, receiving calls for urgent supplies. We've been there for the Province of Quebec, as the member knows. We're going to continue to be there as we—

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Rebuilding the networks like the one in Quebec—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Thériault.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

—requires better health transfers, Madam Minister. You know that very well.

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

We're going to continue to be there.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Thériault.

We will now go to Mr. Davies.

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

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Major-General Fortin, what is the maximum number of doses per week that the provinces and territories are currently capable of administering?

[MGen Dany Fortin]

It depends. A number of efforts are ongoing to increase and scale up the health workforce. All provinces have different modalities of delivery, and they continue to investigate that. We're providing projections so that they can align all the resources necessary, and they have assured us that they are on track to meet the demand.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Can anybody appearing before us give me the maximum number of vaccination doses per week we can administer in Canada nationally?

Mr. Stewart, I see you nodding your head.

[Iain Stewart]

Yes. Through the survey work we've been doing, the provinces have given us ranges. We could give you a range based on those outreaches, Mr. Davies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Do you have those ranges with you, or can you supply that information to the committee?

[Iain Stewart]

We could definitely supply it to you, and we will do so.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you.

Major-General Fortin, I asked this because you have noted that Canada's vaccine program is moving into a significant ramp-up phase, which was your phrase. We know that about 3.8 million doses have been distributed to the provinces and territories in the last 13 weeks. About another 4.2 million will be distributed in the next three weeks alone, and we have an announcement today that Pfizer may be delivering one million doses per week for the next seven weeks.

Are you confident that all provinces and territories are prepared to rapidly administer this number of vaccines over the next seven weeks?

[MGen Dany Fortin]

Mr. Chair, provinces and territories have assured us that they have good plans in place and they have the health workforce required to scale up, so they indicate that they have no issues with throughput. We'll continue to monitor that as closely as possible with them.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

That's good news. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Minister, this committee has heard evidence from a number of sources that vaccinating the world's population is important for Canadians' health, primarily because the faster the world is vaccinated, the quicker we can control variants. We know it's important not only for equity of access but also to control the spread of variants in Canada, yet this week Canada refused to support the WTO proposal to temporarily reduce patent protections so that we could have vaccines produced by every country of the world. As health minister, do you agree with the position that Canada's taken at the WTO, or do you think we should be seeking to make sure that the world can vaccinate its population as fast as possible to protect the health of Canadians?

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

We agree that Canadians need to be vaccinated, and so does the world's population. That's why we're a major contributor to the COVAX facility and that's why we've been having regular conversations with the World Health Organization about Canada's role in ensuring that global citizens across the world get vaccinated.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

But on our position at the WTO, do you have a comment on that?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Davies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I guess not. Okay, thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Sorry; that brings round three to a close.

Looks like we'll have just enough time left to actually conduct the vote.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Yes, go ahead.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

I want to raise an important issue for future meetings, Mr. Chair. The rules are clear: The witnesses should be given an opportunity to answer the question the member asked them. Can we please ensure that all members are following this rule?

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you for the point of order. I certainly have advised all members to do so, and we shall keep on that going forward.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I have a point of order too, Mr. Chair.