Health Committee on Nov. 20th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

We'll go now to Dr. Powlowski.

Dr. Powlowski, you have five minutes, please.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

I too wanted to talk about the vaccines. It seems like we did pretty well. Both of the vaccines that seem to be effective are in our portfolio. I would note that we've ordered 20 million doses of Pfizer and 56 million doses of Moderna. Given that it takes two doses of each to vaccinate somebody, I calculate that we've ordered 38 million doses. Given that our population is 35 million, I'd say that somebody did really well there. The Conservatives may say that even a broken clock is right twice a day, but we Liberals know that it was our natural brilliance. Someone made a pretty good call there.

I have a couple of questions about the vaccine and the authorization process. These vaccines haven't been authorized yet. Every country in the world is in the same boat on this. Certainly, there's the FDA in the United States, there are United Kingdom regulators and there's the EU. We're all looking at the same data and making decisions on authorization and coming to a conclusion as to whether or not to authorize it. Is this decision made in conjunction with other comparable agencies around the world? Will this, as I would think it should, lead to an expedited conclusion and approval process? That's the first question.

I want to get my second question in. This may be part of contract details that our government does not want to reveal, but there are obviously a lot of countries that want to get these vaccines as soon as possible. Are there details in the contract or in the agreement with the companies as to an order by which countries will receive the doses, or is it purely based on a contractual basis, in that you've agreed on so many vaccines by so many days? Or is it according to countries, and certain countries like the United States can get a hold of the first doses? That question is for anyone.

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

I'll start, and then I'll turn to the officials to speak a little more about the review process in detail.

First of all, the member is right. We have purchased 56 million doses of Moderna and 20 million doses of Pfizer. That sets us up well in terms of our capacity with these two promising vaccines. We have also procured millions of doses from five others, AstraZeneca being one of them. Again, the vaccine task force has served us so well in guiding us towards very promising vaccines and placing our bets, if you will, on the right horses, so to speak, in the vaccine world.

In terms of the contractual obligations, that's probably a better question for the Minister of Procurement. Certainly I know that the contracts are extensive and complex, and I would prefer to let her answer questions around the details of contracts; she may know which aspects are confidential.

I will just say this. This has been a whole-of-government approach. I know that the Minister of Procurement has worked incredibly hard with all the companies, in some cases with personal calls to the CEOs. I myself have also met to encourage them to have Canada at the top of the list, and that has served us well, those personal relationships and that ongoing conversation with all the pharmaceutical companies to make sure they see Canada and they know that Canada matters and that even though we might be much smaller than our American counterpart, we are an important player in this space. I think that has served us well.

In terms of the regulatory approval, obviously, it's very important to Canadians that we have a Canadian review. I know we consult with other regulators, but I will turn to Stephen Lucas to talk about the nature of those conversations.

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

As Minister Hajdu indicated, we have a strong regulatory organization here and have significantly increased capacity for the reviews of vaccine candidates. We do co-operate internationally on a multilateral basis through the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities, which has focused on vaccines and therapeutics associated with COVID. We have also worked closely with a number of trusted regulatory partners, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Australia.

That work continues to enable us to learn from each other and have additional support and scientific evaluation to help us ensure that we have strong reviews and expedite the process.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Dr. Powlowski.

Mr. d'Entremont, go ahead.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

It's Mr. Barlow, Chair.

[Chris d'Entremont, Conservative, West Nova, NS]

I think Mr. Barlow's going.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Okay.

Mr. Barlow, please go ahead.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Lucas, has your department done any estimates on how many rapid tests would be needed to test every traveller entering Canada at all land and air crossings?

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

Mr. Chair, I will turn that question to Les Linklater, who's our federal lead for testing.

[Les Linklater, Federal Lead, Covid-19 Testing, Contact Tracing and Data Management Strategies, Department of Health]

As Minister Hajdu referenced earlier in her remarks, work is ongoing with a number of partners to test the opportunities to use testing at the border. At this point, we have not done comprehensive analysis around what would be required to scale up to travel levels that existed pre-pandemic, but we are working to look at options for the use of testing at the border to facilitate risk-based approaches to reopening.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

So no rapid tests are available or approved at this point to meet those needs.

[Les Linklater]

A number of rapid tests have been approved, most recently antigen tests, in terms of deployment at the border. There are some discussions now with a number of airport authorities around the potential to move forward with pilot projects, and of course we do have the use of PCR testing at the airport in Calgary and the land border at Coutts to effectively test the flexibilities around quarantine.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Lucas or Mr. Linklater—whoever takes this question—on what day do you anticipate that all major Canadian airports will have access to safe, rapid testing technologies, which will allow passengers to reduce or eliminate the 14-day quarantine period with proof of a negative test?

[Les Linklater]

As the minister referenced, we are very much focused on building our evidence base to make good decisions, positive decisions, around the safe reopening of Canada's borders. The pilots that are under way now will help provide additional data points for that, and we are looking to partner with others who may come forward with opportunities to pilot in that space.

At this point, it would be premature to predict a date when large-scale testing would either be required or available at ports of entry.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

It was Mr. Stewart who mentioned that most of our resources in Canada have been focused on trying to find a Canadian-developed vaccine.

Mr. Lucas, or again, Mr. Linklater, have you made any recommendations to the government on using rapid testing technology to reduce the 14-day quarantine? For example, there are several companies, including ClearMe in Alberta, that have been FDA-approved and are being used in other countries, but not here in Canada.

Have you made any recommendations on rapid tests to reduce that 14-day quarantine?

[Les Linklater]

It's very important for the safety of the Canadian public that tests that are approved by the regulator are tests that are deployed in any way, shape or form to support screening or testing needs in Canada. At this point, we do have a number of approved tests. Some are now available for the provinces and territories and for the federal government to work with partners to assess the viability of different ways of using them to facilitate border travel.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Lucas, how many COVID-19 home test applications are being currently reviewed by Health Canada?

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

At this time, Health Canada does not have any home test applications.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Has your department made overtures to companies to submit COVID-19 tests for self-testing at home for approval by Health Canada?

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

Yes, we regularly contact companies, both Canadian entrepreneurs and international companies, for a range of diagnostic tests, and that includes home tests.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Can you give me a number, Mr. Lucas, on how many companies you have reached out to, and what the response has been?

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

I don't have the information with me in terms of a specific number. These discussions are ongoing, and certainly that engagement has led to submissions of other types of tests in Canada, and will continue.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Lucas, have you made any recommendations to the government on speeding up the approval process on rapid tests in Canada?

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

The government has invested in our regulatory capacity to enable expedited reviews. The review process occurs under an interim order that allows for expedited reviews. We have set service standards to enable predictability for companies. We work extensively with them through the review process to get the information required to render decisions as quickly as possible.