Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to start by wishing everyone a happy new year. This is our first meeting of 2022, a year in which health care could be top of mind for many Canadians.
I also want to acknowledge the clerk, the analysts, the interpreters and everyone who works in this committee. I thank them for being here. This will be a good year together.
As you mentioned, six members chose to request this emergency meeting because Canadians are worried about everything going on with this pandemic. I think that everyone, regardless of political stripe, has observed these concerns. This is a never-before-seen situation that is getting out of control. Just a few weeks ago, people would know someone who knew someone who had had COVID‑19. Now, people have gotten it themselves, along with their own families. That's what is happening. The impact we're seeing from the omicron variant is on a scale we've never seen before. The health care system and health care workers are stretched to the limit.
Furthermore, Canadians are experiencing a huge impact on their cost of living as a result of the lockdowns and restrictions. As a member of Parliament for a small region, I can say that many small businesses are struggling. I think we could all agree on that. Some of these businesses have given up, some will not survive and some are considering whether to shut down. Store shelves are empty and the cost of living gets higher by the day. Canadians want to know why they didn't have access to rapid tests when they needed them the most. It was very difficult to get a test during the holidays. Canadians also want to know when they will have access to treatments, which would help lessen the pressure on our health care system.
That's why we requested this emergency meeting. We think it's important to look at how prepared we were for the pandemic and at Canada's response to the omicron variant. I'm therefore urging the committee to adopt a motion today. I want to inform the members of the committee that this is the exact same motion that was sent in the letter, other than the date of the meeting. As you know, the meeting won't be held before 5 p.m. today, as stated in the first motion. This motion proposes that the meeting be held next Wednesday by the end of the day. The motion is as follows:
That the Committee hold a meeting to invite the Minister of Health, the Deputy Minister of Health Canada, the Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement, the President of the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, the Vice President of Logistics and Operations for the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the head of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, to discuss recent COVID‑19 developments including, but not limited to,
Status of support for the provinces to address surge healthcare resources
Current advice regarding quarantine length
Availability of mRNA vaccine boosters, including procurement strategies for potential variant specific vaccines
Availability of rapid tests and status of public education on the same
Status of review and procurements of promising new therapeutics such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid
Access to n95 masks and other PPE
Status of domestic manufacturing capacity for mRNA vaccines
That the meeting be at least three hours in length, that the relevant departments for which officials have been requested be invited and asked to prioritize their attendance but that the meeting not be delayed if they are unable to prioritize attendance at the meeting, that the total time allotted for opening statements be limited to 5 minutes by witnesses for no more than 20 minutes total to ensure adequate time for questions to be posed by committee members, and that this meeting be held on or before the end of day on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.
I hope that my colleagues will support this motion, especially because this topic is important to Canadians and affects our day-to-day lives.
Thank you very much.