Evidence of meeting #33 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
2:10 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
To anybody who might know, how many passengers arriving in Canada have tested positive for COVID-19 after leaving their mandatory three-day hotel quarantine? Does anybody have that figure?
2:10 p.m.
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes, we do, actually. To answer the member's question, we do a test before you arrive, as you know. There's a first test when you go into the hotel that your quarantine—
2:10 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Mr. Stewart, I have very limited time. I just want to know how many passengers have tested positive.
2:10 p.m.
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
I am trying to work myself to explain that between the first test and the second test we are able to answer your question, and that is the number of people who test positive at the day eight test. The figure looks to be about 1.5%, so it's about 1,400 people out of about 96,000 so far, for the data we're tracking.
2:10 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Thank you, Mr. Stewart.
Of those, how many were infected with a variant of concern?
2:10 p.m.
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
That's an excellent question, sir. Thank you.
We actually sequence all positive tests in exactly the way you're referring to. So far, we've identified 1,700 variants of concern, or variants of interest, which are ones that are still under study.
I just need to go on to add that they were identified in people who were in quarantine. They were not released into the community. Those were people who tested positive; it was sequenced, and we knew while they were in quarantine. We caught them, in effect.
2:10 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Okay, that's good to know. Thank you.
Minister, according to a recently released report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, COVID-19 cases among residents of long-term care and retirement homes increased by nearly two-thirds during wave two, which ended February 15, compared with the first wave. Resident deaths were also higher during wave two.
Minister, given that your government pledged to set new national standards for long-term care last September, and given that—let's face it—we have decades of research and we know crystal clear what standards should be in place, why is your government refusing to implement national standards and instead is simply kicking the can down the road by doing more consultation?
2:10 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Well, I think it's incorrect to say that we're refusing to implement long-term care standards. In fact, it's in the budget. It's in budget 2021, and I have repeatedly spoken about it. Of course, the member would know that because health care is the responsibility and the right of provinces and territories to deliver, it has to be done in partnership with provinces and territories, and that work continues.
We've been there, by the way, Mr. Chair, as you know as well, throughout wave one and wave two, and we'll be there in any future waves for provinces and territories to strengthen protections in long-term care, including, by the way, funding infection prevention experts to help reduce the introduction of COVID-19 into long-term care—
2:10 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Minister, when might we see national standards? I understand the Constitution and provincial health care delivery, but national standards by the federal government—
2:10 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
When might we see those national standards by your government?
2:10 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Well, again, Mr. Chair, I'll quickly respond. I think the premise of the question indicates a fundamental lack of understanding that we could not impose those on provinces and territories. They're responsible for providing the health care. It is collaborative work that we do with provinces and territories. It's important to have them. They are, by the way, the subject matter experts. They are the ones running the institutions and running the sector, and so we have to work with them.
You're right that there are many research studies and many organizations that have expertise in setting standards, but this is collaborative work. It always is. We are a federation.
I know the member opposite struggles to understand that we don't have the responsibility or the right to deliver health care, but I would like to remind him that we have been there for provinces and territories in an unprecedented way to help them through COVID-19 and beyond.
2:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Mr. Davies. That brings round two to a close.
We'll start a round one at this point with Mr. Maguire.
Please go ahead, Mr. Maguire, for five minutes.
April 30th, 2021 / 2:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Maguire Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I related this in the emergency debate on Monday evening. I'm just wondering what we can get for changes out of this.
Purolator doesn't really have a presence in a lot of rural areas in Canada, and people are having difficult times sending in their PCR tests within the allocated time frame.
A mother shared with me the ordeal her son had to go through. Because Purolator doesn't come out to the community every day, she waited on hold for hours and hours and was told that someone would be coming to pick up the package, and lo and behold, they never got there. They waited another full day and then were told to leave the package outside at a building in their local community and Purolator would pick it up. By the time the package got back to get tested, almost five days had passed.
I'm wondering about the reliability of those results. Will you commit to working with other couriers and engaging private sectors to fill the gaps in these rural areas where Purolator is having trouble picking them up, if at all?
2:15 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, I've been very clear that if Switch Health doesn't deliver, we will find another provider. In fact, we've been working with Switch Health, but we will not hesitate to replace them if they don't meet the needs of Canadians.
Maybe Mr. Stewart can speak a little bit more about the work that they've been doing with Switch.
2:15 p.m.
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
First of all, it's distressing to hear the anecdote, so thank you, honourable member, for sharing it. We do, in fact, have a number of couriers that we're working with, and we have experienced delays in getting service responses, so we note that and thank you for that feedback.
The Purolator system doesn't always go to every household in Canada, and sometimes there are drop-off sites that are used in more rural areas and so on, and that may have been part of the issue here. We note with interest your comment and thank you for the feedback.
2:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Maguire Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB
Even at that, they were told to leave it outside.
I think your answer to this was that 1,400 people who have been infected landed in our four designated Canadian airports. I'm wondering how this can happen when they have to have a negative test before they get on the plane. I know there's a time frame in there of 72 hours, but is that a correct number that you just gave us—1,400 of the 96,000?
2:15 p.m.
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes, that was the correct number for the day 10 positives. It was 1,400.
With respect to the three tests, how many get caught by the first test, how many get caught by the second and how many get caught by the third, the day eight test, are a function of the profile of how infection moves through the body and when people are detectable, as it were.
Dr. Tam is better positioned than I am to explain the cycle of the disease in that way as infection mounts and as we can detect it. The reason we do multiple tests is that people can arrive and test negative, and then two days later enough infection has grown to be able to be detected.
2:15 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
I might also add, Mr. Chair, that the number alone doesn't tell the full story, because in fact about 1.4% of total travellers are found to be positive with COVID-19, so it's important we take things in perspective.
2:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Maguire Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB
The perspective I see is the news that I heard this morning, which is that about 28% of the U.S. population has had the second dose. We're at 2.8%. In the U.S. also, about two-thirds of their people have had the first dose, and our first dosage is at the same level as the Americans who have had second dosages. Their caseloads were down about 8% this week, so in the spirit of transparency and accountability, I just want to know if you can make a commitment here to table with the health committee every time a vaccine shipment is delayed within 72 hours of being notified about the delay, including the name of the company, how many individual doses were delayed and which provinces will be impacted.
Could we have a commitment to have that transparency?
2:20 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, what I will say is that this transparency already exists. On the Public Health Agency of Canada's website, all members, and indeed all Canadians, can track the shipment delivery that we have that is confirmed by the manufacturers. Any delays are also reflected in a revised delivery schedule, so provinces and territories know, and Canadians know, exactly how many vaccines are coming into the country and from which manufacturers.
2:20 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Maguire Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB
I was just wondering if you could table that when it's available.
2:20 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
It's available in real time, Mr. Chair. Certainly we can send a link to the committee that they can use to follow along.
2:20 p.m.
Liberal