Industry Committee on Feb. 2nd, 2021

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Do you have a sense, Mr. Lucas, of when that will be?

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

As noted, it's dependent on the final information coming from the manufacturer, but—

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

What's the earliest that we might see it?

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

I'm not going to speculate on a specific date. We have noted it's in the very short term, but it is dependent on the final information from the manufacturer and the review of that information.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

We have enough vaccine doses through Pfizer and Moderna to ensure, as you've said, that every Canadian who wants to will have an opportunity to be vaccinated by the end of September.

When AstraZeneca is approved, how does that change the timeline?

Let's stay with Mr. Lucas.

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

As noted, the vaccines will have different efficacy and population targeting. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization will provide advice. The assessment on having an ability to provide vaccinations to all Canadians who want them by the end of September was in recognition of approved vaccines and recognizing other ones in the pipeline. I'm not going to speculate on the specific timeline. The intent with approved vaccines and deliveries is to immunize Canadians as quickly as possible.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

I can glean, I think, that it will be faster than the end of September, but you're not going to give me a specific date, as it goes.

I'll close with this. We see 20,000 dead as of yesterday here in Canada. We have a vaccine rollout that is obviously under way, but we're many months away from the end of this crisis. We have new travel restrictions that are now in place. From the perspective of the Public Health Agency of Canada when it comes to contact tracing, rapid testing and paid sick leave, what advice would you give to either the federal government or provincial governments to continue to save lives until we get to the end of this with vaccines?

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

Maybe I can start. I'm not sure if Dr. Tam is on the line. Madam Chair, I'm not sure if she's on the list of deputants. I think it's an important question.

The reality is that vaccines are a very important tool, but that is what they are. They are a tool. We have other tools as well that we will need to continue applying. No one really knows the end game here with COVID-19. We do know that we are going to have to continue to protect each other while we undergo vaccination, while we understand the role of vaccination on onward transmission and while we develop better therapeutics to manage COVID-19.

There are some scientists who wonder if COVID-19 might not become like an annual flu, which we will have to combat in very specific ways.

All of that research is critically important and it's why we've invested in the Canadian Institute for Health Research in such phenomenal ways to ensure our full research community here in Canada is looking at all of those aspects of managing COVID-19.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Thank you, Minister. My apologies; I was trying to get your attention with the red flag.

Mr. Lemire, you have two and a half minutes.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I thank the minister again for her presence.

Since there is currently a global alert due to COVID-19 variants, if the virus mutates, is it possible that current vaccines may no longer be effective?

If so, will the agreements adapt to a new and improved vaccine, or will they have to be rewritten, which would mean we would have paid for vaccines for nothing?

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

Perhaps I can start and then turn to my officials.

So far, that is why we're watching so closely the variants of concern. Obviously, there's research worldwide to understand their impact on vaccination. There's some limited research that some of the variants may have an impact on vaccine effectiveness, but none that completely negate vaccine effectiveness. That is the research that's under way right now worldwide. In fact, manufacturers have been very clear that in some cases they can adjust the formula, so to speak, to address the rise of new variants and to ensure that their vaccine remains effective against new variants of the disease.

I'll turn to Dr. Lucas who may know more from a regulatory perspective.

[Dr. Stephen Lucas]

Thank you, Minister Hajdu.

Madam Chair, we do work continuously with the manufacturers of approved vaccines, and indeed as the variants emerged, I followed up with Pfizer and Moderna, as did regulators around the world who had approved those vaccines, to have them assess them relative to these variants of biological concern. That work continues and they will be continuing to assess those and will make adjustments, if needed.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

From what I understand, the agreements will therefore still be valid.

If the whole strategy had to be redesigned, would you take more account of the capability of pharmaceutical companies in Quebec and Canada to ensure local production of the vaccines that Canadians and Quebeckers need?

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

That's exactly why our strategy includes a Canadian company. As the announcement from the Prime Minister today indicates, Canada has been proceeding towards a biomanufacturing capacity since the outbreak.

Obviously, this is important for our health security.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Our next round of questions goes to MP Davies.

You have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you.

Minister, I think it's well known now that your government has refused to release a single word of a single contract that you signed with vaccine manufacturers when jurisdictions such as the United States, Brazil and the European Union have made much of that information public. Other countries are disclosing details of the contracts they signed.

Your government famously said it would be transparent by default. Principles of crisis management demand straightforward communication.

You claim that you've secured the doses in presumably ironclad contracts, and that they're done. It leads to questions, Minister, that there must be something in these contracts you don't want Canadians, or the opposition, to see when you hide them.

Why won't you disclose at least basic information on these contracts, if they're so solid and back up the supply plans that you've announced?

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

I think making an assumption that the contracts are hiding things that we don't want Canadians to see is a bit of a leap, but that question is best posed to my colleague, Minister Anand, who is the minister of procurement and manages the contract.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you.

The B.1.1.7 and the B.1.351 variants remind us now that gatherings of any size are dangerous and travel should not be happening at all.

In a federally regulated sector, the airline industry, your government allowed airlines to advertise vacations to sunspots to Canadians in December, at a time when you were advising Canadians not to do non-essential travel. Was that an error?

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

Madam Chair, I think our government's message has been clear from the beginning to avoid non-essential travel, to stay home, not only because of the risk of contracting the virus, and potentially bringing it back to Canada, but because the travel environment is incredibly fragile right now, as we see countries make changes in their entry and exit requirements very rapidly.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I agree, Minister, but that's why I think it's hard to understand how your government, which is responsible for regulating the airline industry, allowed them to market to Canadians vacation travel at a time when you're telling Canadians not to travel. Is that not a contradiction in federal policy?

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

Madam Chair, I myself, the Prime Minister, every minister of the Crown, and Dr. Tam along with many other officials have advised Canadians to avoid non-essential travel for a very long time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Thank you very much.

Our next round of questions goes to MP Cumming.

You have the floor for five minutes.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Thank you.

Through the chair, thank you, Minister Hajdu. You mentioned that you believe the provinces are ready for the additional doses of vaccines, for the volume that will be coming. Is it clear to the provinces when the volume is coming, by what date and in what amount? It looks to me like the distribution of vaccines, without knowing what you're dealing with....

To ramp up properly, they need to know what the supply looks like. Is it clear to the provinces by what date they will receive doses and from whom?

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

As soon as we have information from the pharmaceutical companies about what dose shipments look like, we share that with the provinces and territories. The national operations centre, which as you know is run by General Dany Fortin, works very closely with provinces and territories to assess their plans, to identify gaps and to help fill those gaps when the provinces and territories need that assistance.

This is a very collaborative approach. As you know, we've been sharing information as quickly as we've been getting it from the companies.