Evidence of meeting #36 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was federal.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Thank you.
I'll turn back to Ms. Tremblay. When did Canada begin negotiations with CanSino?
11:35 a.m.
Deputy Clerk, Privy Council Office
Can you repeat the question, please?
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
When did Canada begin negotiations with CanSino for the development of a vaccine?
11:35 a.m.
Deputy Clerk, Privy Council Office
I'm unable to answer that question.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Ms. Tremblay, I'll ask the same question to you that I asked Mr. Stewart. Did the government receive any advice to put in place quarantine measures prior to directing Canadians to come home at the start of the pandemic?
11:35 a.m.
Deputy Clerk, Privy Council Office
When the cabinet committee on COVID-19 usually meets the ministers talk about issues related to the borders.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Was any advice provided to the government to put in place a quarantine mechanism prior to directing Canadians to come home at the start of the pandemic?
11:35 a.m.
Deputy Clerk, Privy Council Office
On every issue options are always offered to the ministers for decision-making purposes.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
So it was offered. A quarantine mechanism was given to the government at the start of the pandemic.
11:35 a.m.
Deputy Clerk, Privy Council Office
I said that options were proposed to the ministers for decision-making purposes.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Was a quarantine measure included in those options?
11:35 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Ms. Rempel Garner.
We'll go now to Mr. Van Bynen.
Mr. Van Bynen, please go ahead for six minutes.
May 10th, 2021 / 11:35 a.m.
Liberal
Tony Van Bynen Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to our witnesses with us here today. I want to especially thank Bruce Macgregor from the Regional Municipality of York for taking time out of his busy schedule to bring a regional perspective into our discussions. I also want to thank him and his team for their work during these difficult times.
It has always been great to work with you, Bruce, and I appreciate the updates on the current situation that your team has been sending out regularly.
Bruce, in your opening statement you mentioned that throughout the pandemic the region has worked closely with the municipalities. I'm wondering if you could expand on this collaboration and share with us a bit more about the roles played by the province, the region and local municipalities, including the differences between roles.
11:35 a.m.
Chief Administrative Officer, Regional Municipality of York
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's certainly a privilege to bring the local experience to this federal table. As municipalities, we are creatures of the provinces and consequently are guided by legislation. In Ontario that legislation includes a bit of a deeper dive into what are normally services provided by the provinces elsewhere in Canada, so we deliver public health, housing and social services in partnership with the Province of Ontario, with funding, of course, as well from provincial sources. All of that can't possibly fit into a property tax bill. We do also provide services municipally and we share those municipal services with our local municipalities that are a collection of towns and cities, like Markham and Vaughan with 400,000 population each and growing, and small rural towns, relatively smaller rural areas with populations of 30,000 to 40,000.
At the regional level, we deliver the large consistent services across that area, including the provincial services. We've deliver policing. We deliver paramedic services. We deliver water and wastewater services, transit and transportation. Local municipalities deliver library services, fire and recreational services as well, so with respect to the pandemic, of course, our emergency services are connected quite tightly. Those are paramedics and police at the regional level, and fire services at the local level, with our provincial oversight bodies, of course, engaged as well.
Our medical officer of health takes direction from the provincial chief medical officer of health. Of course, there is information flowing from federal sources in the health sector as well.
Mr. Chair, that's a quick answer to that question. I hope I haven't left anything out.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Tony Van Bynen Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
A few weeks ago, the region's Facebook page shared a table entitled “COVID-19 Phase 1 Vaccine Rollout Rules and Responsibilities”. I was quick to share that on my page, because I think it's unclear to many Canadians, and unfortunately even to colleagues in the House, the role that's played by each level of government as more and more COVID vaccines become available. I just asked you about the role of the provinces, the municipalities and the region in this pandemic, so I won't ask you to repeat yourself, but I am wondering if you could share why the region thought it was important to share this information and where you found the information about the role each level of government plays in this pandemic.
11:40 a.m.
Chief Administrative Officer, Regional Municipality of York
Mr. Chair, there is tremendous anxiety amongst Canadians generally with respect to vaccination. For the most part people want to get vaccinated and want to get two rounds as recommended by the manufacturer. People are taking information from all kinds of sources. We found that it was important to manage those expectations relative to the supply of vaccines. We're not alone in the world. Vaccine shortages are even more chronic in some jurisdictions in the world. We had to make clear to our residents what we are able to control and what is controlled outside of our jurisdiction. We have clearly set out the role of the Government of Canada, the role of the Province of Ontario, the role of our municipalities, and frankly the role as well of the community, because the community has to be responsible, and we've had some wonderful responses. Two of our mass vaccination clinics are run by community practitioners, so it's a great sign when everybody comes together to not only manage expectations but also provide the best possible service in getting vaccinations into arms.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Tony Van Bynen Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
From a regional perspective, Bruce, what are some of the lessons learned and some of the gaps that were found in the responses to this pandemic, and what are some of the recommendations that you would provide us?
11:40 a.m.
Chief Administrative Officer, Regional Municipality of York
As I summarized at the conclusion of my comments, there are three areas where we feel there could be better preparedness for pandemics. With this last generation of municipal employees who are currently employed in our workforce, we've had three. This is our third pandemic of sorts. We've had SARS, H1N1 and now this one, which is much more significant than the others. We always look to lessons learned as we have for most prior experiences. Certainly the provision of personal protective equipment is very important, and if there was local manufacturing, that would be helpful, as we have discovered. Vaccine development and availability are important as well.
I think what we have certainly learned is that it takes all three levels of government to chip in to make this work. The funding coming from the senior levels of government has been absolutely critical to keeping our communities in a position where they can recover.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
11:40 a.m.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Stewart, the Department of Public Safety seems to be having a hard time managing the borders. We have heard rumours of fraudulent tests.
Could you give us an idea of the extent of this problem?
What have you done to deal with this issue?
11:40 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
I would be glad to answer that question.
We are seeing a very small number of fraudulent tests at the border. I'm sorry, but unfortunately I don't have the numbers with me. I could send them to the committee after the meeting.
We are working with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency on monitoring travellers very closely. A very limited number of travellers have produced fraudulent tests.
11:45 a.m.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Are you able to make interceptions or is this connected to the overall problem?
What exactly are you doing to detect these fraudulent tests?
11:45 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
I couldn't say exactly how the border services officers are detecting the fraudulent tests. However, we have a standard in place with respect to the documents and these officers thoroughly review every document that is presented to them.
My colleague Ms. Pham could say more about that.
11:45 a.m.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
What sort of rapport does the Public Health Agency of Canada have with the Department of Public Safety? There seems to be a communication problem there.
Between the time the variants enter the country and the time restriction measures are announced, it is already too late.
How do you explain that we have so many variants, when the government claims to have put in place some of the strictest measures in the world?
Do the agencies communicate with one another? Is there good communication of the risks so that measures at the border can be taken proactively?