The second thing I want to ask you about is WHO's new treaty on pandemic preparedness, which is being negotiated. The first draft is out.
I found the first draft very exciting, with a number of provisions that I thought were very progressive. One of those was a requirement that countries contribute annually to the fund to assist poor countries in meeting their obligations under the treaty. A second thing would be a benefit-sharing provision whereby any products that were made from the genetic sequencing of any new virus would be shared between countries, and 10% of any products would go, free of charge, to the WHO, with an option for a further 10% to be sold at affordable prices to the WHO.
This is, I know, only the first draft. I know that this is just coming back to us, but would our country be supportive of trying to get such provisions, which I think many of us at this table feel are in our national best interest? We know that much of the threat, in terms of pandemics, will come from poor countries that don't have the facilities to detect and respond early on to diseases. These provisions would help poor countries do that. I think it's in our best interests. Is Canada willing to try to support that in further negotiations, with a view to perhaps having such provisions in the final version of the treaty?
Again, I know that Dr. Tam has an interest in international health too, and we have at least one other pediatrician, so maybe we could start with you, Minister. Then, if there is time, we could ask some of the others.