Mr. Chair, thank you for giving us this opportunity to discuss our report on COVID‑19 vaccines in connection with the review of the planned vaccine purchase agreement signed by the government with Medicago. Our report was tabled in the House of Commons in December 2022.
I'll begin by acknowledging that this meeting is taking place on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe nation.
With me today is the principal, Ms. Susan Gomez. She was in charge of the audit. The audit examined how the federal government purchased and authorized COVID‑19 vaccines, and also how they were distributed to the provinces and territories to ensure that Canadians could be vaccinated.
In our meeting today, we will focus on the part of the audit concerning procurement. Overall, we determined that Public Services and Procurement Canada had supplied solid support to the Public Health Agency of Canada, enabling it to obtain enough doses of COVID‑19 vaccines to vaccinate everyone in Canada. Between December 2020 and May 2022, the federal government purchased 169 million vaccine doses. Over 84 million of these were administered to the population.
Public Services and Procurement Canada used its emergency contracting authority. This provided the department with flexibility on a number of fronts, including using a non-competitive approach to procure vaccines from companies recommended by the COVID-19 vaccine task force.
The department established advance purchase agreements with seven companies that showed the potential to develop viable vaccines. We found that the department exercised due diligence on the seven vaccine companies. For example, the department examined whether the companies had the financial capability to meet the contractual requirements and were eligible to do business with the federal government. The department reached an agreement with Medicago on November 13, 2020.
The government's strategy was to secure agreements with several vaccine companies, in case Health Canada authorized only one vaccine. While this approach meant Canada could end up with a surplus if all seven vaccines were eventually approved, it also increased the chances of securing enough doses to support the largest vaccination program in the country's history.
Mr. Chair, we are happy to answer the committee's questions where possible. However, given the confidentiality of the agreements, we are unable to discuss details relating to contracting costs or fulfilment for any of the specific agreements.
This concludes my opening remarks.
Thank you.