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.
2:55 p.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Through Health Canada advice, are there currently any persons who may have received one dose of AstraZeneca so far who would not be eligible, or has Health Canada said anybody can have a dose of AstraZeneca at this point, and rescinded the previous advice for certain age groups?
2:55 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Health
Mr. Chair, from a Health Canada regulatory perspective, the vaccine has been approved for people 18 and up. That's what creates the legal framework for its use. The only contraindication is people who had a vaccine-induced thrombotic event with thrombocytopenia associated with their first dose. They are not recommended to use it for their second dose. Beyond that, as Dr. Tam has noted, the guidance on optimal use of the vaccine is provided by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.
2:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Ms. Rempel Garner.
We will go now to Mr. Van Bynen.
Mr. Van Bynen, please go ahead. You have four minutes, but if you're able to shorten it up, it would be very helpful.
2:55 p.m.
Liberal
Tony Van Bynen Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Okay.
As vaccines become more widely available across the country, I'm so proud to see so many Canadians step up and get vaccinated. Even though we should all have full confidence that the vaccines approved for use in Canada are safe and effective, we also know that some Canadians still have some vaccination hesitation. It's disappointing to see so many gotcha-type questions today, and we need to focus on better understanding the critical situation and work together to add value to the dialogue. It's not helpful to hear or to see repeated in social media spurious conjecture about vaccinations that is not based in fact.
What is this government doing to combat vaccine hesitancy, and what would you say to any Canadians who are listening and who aren't certain about getting the vaccine when it's their turn?
3 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Excuse me, Mr. Van Bynen; if you could turn your camera on, it's helpful for the interpreters to be able to see you speak.
3 p.m.
Liberal
Tony Van Bynen Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
I'm sorry. Do I need to repeat this, then? I think you've heard the question.
3 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
I probably can answer, Mr. Chair, unless it's needed for translation.
3 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Mr. Van Bynen, please repeat the question so that the interpreters can keep up.
3 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Mr. Chair, the interpreter said that they didn't need to have the question repeated.
3 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
I apologize. In that case, we'll go straight to the answer. Please go ahead, Minister.
3 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Thank you.
I wanted to start and then turn to President Stewart to talk about some of the exciting work we're doing in this area.
I will start by agreeing with the member that it's really important, especially as elected officials, that we're not in any way presenting, either knowingly or unknowingly, misinformation to Canadians, because they're counting on us. They're counting on us to be presenting them with accurate information and the right connections to the right resources. Government websites are always a safe place to find out information about the current research and science. Certainly, health care providers are another good choice; pharmacists are always available to talk through the pros and cons of vaccination and answer any questions.
By the way, it's perfectly normal for Canadians to have questions. These are new vaccines, and some people are anxious. Other people are very excited to get vaccinated, as we've seen around the country with lineups and folks very excited to take the vaccine when it's their turn.
Nonetheless, I do think, to your point, MP Van Bynen, that we have an obligation as visible leaders in our community to ensure we're not pushing misinformation in any way. I know that all of us want our communities to get back to normal, and that relies on people accepting vaccination when it's their turn and having the confidence to do that. It's very critically important to our economy and to the safety of Canadians that people get vaccinated. Saving lives and stopping the spread—that's the goal of this vaccination campaign.
I will just say it's exciting, because we have a special plan that we'll be announcing very soon to work with cultural communities and with under-represented communities to ensure that they get information in culturally appropriate ways, in language-appropriate ways, in communities, through educators that are sometimes health educators and other times community educators. That's very exciting. It's $53 million.
This is where I need Iain Stewart's wisdom. I understand we've increased the amount of funding available for that stream of funding because of the exciting uptake. What's great news is that there are so many Canadian organizations and stakeholders wanting to do this work with us.
Maybe, President Stewart, you can talk about the envelope of funding available that will be announced very soon.
3 p.m.
President, Public Health Agency of Canada
Thank you for that, Minister.
There are two things that add up to the initiatives that Minister Hajdu is referring to. One is around building collaborative partnerships with the science centres and other social and scientific infrastructure to get them engaged in telling Canadians about immunization opportunities. Then, as Minister Hajdu was also saying, there's the vaccine community innovation challenge program, which we're very excited about. It's an open process. It invites community leaders from all different kinds of communities. We've had a response from every province and territory in Canada, including indigenous communities and linguistic and cultural groups. They have come forward to talk about how they're going to immunize or encourage immunization and overcome vaccine hesitancy in their community.
As Minister Hajdu said, we've increased support to that challenge program because the response has been so strong. People are interested in making sure that the people they know and the leaders in the communities marshal their community to go out and get immunized.
Thanks for the opportunity to mention that.
3:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Mr. Van Bynen.
Mr. Thériault, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.
3:05 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Madam Minister, before the first wave, healthcare networks were already fragile and under a lot of pressure because of chronic underfunding. With the passage of time, the pandemic will have harmful, long-term, collateral effects on patients who do not have COVID-19. According to representatives of various associations, 94,000 patients in Quebec are being seen beyond the required timeframe. In oncology, we know that a delay of three or four weeks increases the mortality rate by 8% to 10%.
You have reached agreements and you have showed us the breakdown of the $19 billion you have allocated for patients with COVID-19. However, why did you not make the political choice to immediately inject money into the networks so that they can not only look after patients with conditions other than COVID-19, but also fill the breach and stop the bleeding caused by the exodus of employees, our human resources, because they are sick or they decide to change careers?
Soon, we will be losing trained people who have gained expertise in their areas. People are going to die. All because you made the wrong political choice. All the experts are saying that this is not justified either medically or economically.
Why did you make that choice?
3:05 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, I think it's misinformation.
We have injected millions of dollars into Quebec, and indeed into all provinces and territories. We'll continue to be there for the provinces and territories including Quebec and—
3:05 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
I did not say that you have not injected money, Madam Minister. I said that the money you have injected through agreements with the provinces is strictly for the fight against COVID-19. You have added nothing in terms of health transfers. The misinformation at the moment is coming from you, not from me.
3:05 p.m.
Liberal
3:05 p.m.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
I'll just repeat myself.
We've been there for provinces and territories with billions of dollars for specialized streams of health care and, indeed, generally for COVID-19. As the Prime Minister has said, we'll continue to be there for Quebec and Quebeckers. Right now, we stay solely focused on getting Canadians through COVID-19. That's what we'll do with all Canadians, including Quebeckers.