Health Committee on May 21st, 2021

[Iain Stewart]

I believe that border services officers will not be accepting that. I will let my colleague John Ossowski speak to the border services officer's exercise of discretion. It would, though, be inconsistent with what our expectations are.

[John Ossowski]

Thank you for the question, Chair.

My understanding is that, to Iain's point, first of all, you would likely not be allowed into the United States to receive a vaccine. For people who do have a medical treatment, we will not require them to do the testing and quarantine requirements and we will not be adjudicating that medical note.

If they don't have a note then they're for sure going to be subject to all the testing and quarantine requirements.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

I would say that a doctor's note for a vaccine is a medical reason, regardless of whether it's for cancer or something else. I think getting a vaccine is a good medical reason to get a note.

Mr Stewart, why was the advice provided differently last week and then reversed 24 hours later? What was the reason for providing the advice that, yes, you would be exempt from quarantine, and then that reversed 24 hours later?

[Iain Stewart]

The reality is the world around us is changing. There are 23 million vaccines in the country at present and if you need to get a vaccine, there are plenty of pathways to do so, whether through the province or a drug store or whatever.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

You're basically—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Barlow.

We'll go now to Mr. Kelloway. Please go ahead for five minutes.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and hello to my colleagues. Thanks again to the witnesses for coming here today.

My first two questions will be directed to Dr. Stewart. If I can, I'm going to ask a third question of Dr. Tam.

My questions are going to change a little bit. I was going to ask some questions around vaccines, but from what I'm hearing today and what I'm learning on a daily basis, we're trending in the right direction with respect to doses. We're looking at 19.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines being administered so far in the country. If I'm not mistaken, that's a little over 55% of eligible adults who have received at least one dose. That's really encouraging.

I'm going to pivot to rapid tests, actually.

Dr. Stewart, as you and everyone knows, I'm from Nova Scotia and our province has done a really good job at managing the virus, but the third wave, I have to tell you, has been challenging here. This week, the Nova Scotia Health Authority said that its province's asymptomatic rapid testing sites have been key in identifying, I think, at least 10% of all confirmed cases.

My question to you is this: Are there any lessons to be learned from Nova Scotia's experience with rapid tests?

[Iain Stewart]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable member. I'm not a doctor. I'm also from Nova Scotia.

I would add that it's actually my colleague, Stephen Lucas, who speaks to the testing topic. I'll ask him to take that question.

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As I'd noted before, Nova Scotia has really been a leader in the use of rapid tests as part of their broader program. Prior to the resurgence that they've been experiencing, they have used them to effect in downtown Halifax, as I've noted. Now they have a broader utilization of rapid tests for screening purposes, which allows for quick determination of potential or presumptive positives and then follow-up confirmatory tests.

That can lead to broader screening in a workplace or in other settings if, for example, cases are detected, and effective utilization of the PCR tests. I think that has allowed them to really get a broad handle on the number of cases and effective tracing and isolation of cases and contacts. The steps they've taken, coupled with other public health measures, have allowed them to control the spread and bend down the curve of the resurgence they've experienced.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Thank you, Dr. Lucas.

I'll stay with you, Dr. Lucas, and not Mr. Stewart.

Do you think that the federal government should take further action to promote increased usage of rapid tests and if so, how?

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The government is working on a number of pathways, as I had previously responded. The government has distributed a significant number of rapid tests to provinces and territories—that started in the fall—and worked to provide guidance and support on their use.

We have been providing rapid tests directly to employers working in critical sectors where there's a risk of infection in the workplace. We've been working as well with pharmacies to distribute rapid tests to small and medium-sized enterprises. We've been supporting the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in a program where they partner with provinces to be able to distribute rapid tests to small businesses. We've been supporting the Canadian Red Cross, as well, who are working with not-for-profit organizations and community organizations and settings, such as homeless shelters, to be able to use rapid tests in those environments.

We see this multipronged effort as really helping to be able to identify those cases and follow up with action, as I'd noted in the case of Nova Scotia.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Thank you, Dr. Lucas.

Dr. Tam, as you know, last summer, those of us in the Atlantic region were able to travel within the famous Atlantic bubble. Now that more and more Canadians are getting vaccinated, is there anything stopping the provinces from implementing their own interprovincial measures similar to the Atlantic provinces and the territories?

[Dr. Theresa Tam]

That is a provincial matter. I do know that the Atlantic provinces are having ongoing discussions amongst themselves, but also at a special advisory committee where all provinces and territories participate. Those are the types of discussions that are taking place. It is, of course, up to the provinces. They are looking at their policies for interprovincial travel.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's all for me.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Kelloway.

Mr. Thériault, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

My question will be for Mr. Ossowski.

In the spring of the first wave, although no one would have thought that we would be asking so many questions about vaccines today, the government passed a special law that temporarily suspended patents and authorized vaccine production under licence. Now, as vaccines are emerging, that provision is not being renewed despite all the issues we have had because we depend on foreign countries for our vaccine supply.

The question is simple. Why has the provision not been extended?

Has there been any pressure not to extend it in your negotiations with pharmaceutical companies?

[John Ossowski]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I think probably my colleague, Bill Mathews or Stephen Lucas, is better placed to answer this question.

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

Mr. Chair, I can address that.

There was a provision in the emergency response act in March 2020 pertaining to compulsory licensing at that time. It was unclear what the development path would be for therapies and vaccines pertaining to COVID. Since that time, we have seen the rapid development of vaccines and their authorization here in Canada and around the world, as well as the establishment of global facilities, such as COVAX, to enable the distribution of vaccines around the world, particularly in low and middle-income countries.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Excuse me, but that's not what I asked you.

We passed a law that gave the opportunity to execute licensed production in Canada. Now, as vaccines emerge, we are taking away that opportunity.

Was there any pressure from the pharmaceutical industries to remove that provision, to not use it, even if it meant that we would be supplied with vaccines?

Did that kind of discussion take place? That's my question.

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

Mr. Chair, I'll respond by saying that the assessment was that that provision did not need to be renewed. As I indicated, we were working with vaccine developers for their authorization that government has announced investments in and partnerships with a number of Canadian companies, as well as Novavax working with the NRC for production of vaccine in Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Thériault.

We'll go now to Mr. Davies for two and a half minutes.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Stewart, I was asking about lack of enforcement of hotel quarantine rules in Alberta and Quebec. You responded that we've initiated litigation in Saskatchewan.

Has any litigation been initiated in Alberta and Quebec by the federal government?

[Iain Stewart]

With respect to Alberta, I'll have to get back to you with the statistics. Off the top of my head, I don't remember the litigation statistics for Alberta. For Montreal, we in fact ticket there, and we have a good relationship with the police of local jurisdiction. We rely on tickets under the Contraventions Act.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

It was my understanding that Quebec is not enforcing the hotel quarantine rules for those coming out of the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Am I wrong on that, or do media reports have that wrong?

[Iain Stewart]

In my table of contravention tickets and report incidents that have been issued, we have 192 tickets that have been issued. For Quebec, 190 of them have been for a breach of quarantine. I think the fact pattern is that there is ticketing going on with respect to the jurisdictions in Quebec.