Industry Committee on Feb. 4th, 2021

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I want to start by thanking you for your comment, Mr. Lemire. I'm pleased to be giving you all the information that I have. I think that there's a spirit of collegiality and collaboration, without partisanship. We're saving lives. We must do everything together and hold on to the best ideas.

I think that a strategy of self-reliance has a major benefit. As you have seen, the Government of Quebec welcomed Novavax's decision to set up shop in Canada, especially in Montreal, Quebec. This shows that Montreal has an ecosystem in this area, including significant human capital. I'd like to give credit to our researchers and scientists. I've spoken to the company's president and CEO. If companies like Novavax decide to set up shop in Montreal, the reason is that they believe that they'll have the necessary human capital.

This will enable us to be self-sufficient. Neither you nor I know what the future holds. There are new variants of this virus and we're seeing all kinds of things emerge.

From the beginning, my task has been to take immediate action to try to attract investment here as quickly as possible so that we can be as self-sufficient as possible. On a broader level, I've also had the task of working with Minister Anand and others to find ways to bring as many parts of the supply chain here as possible. That way, in Quebec and in Canada, we'll have all the investments that we can muster to ensure self-sufficiency in preparation for the next health crisis, should one occur.

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

On Tuesday, I asked the Minister of Health a question. She told me that I should ask you the question instead. Why did you buy vaccine doses instead of licences to produce vaccines here in Canada?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I'll let Minister Anand answer you. However, I first want to clarify one thing.

I can give you the example of Novavax and tell you exactly how the discussion went.

You must understand that we have very few manufacturing facilities in Quebec and in Canada that are suitable for the production of this type of vaccine. You'll say that we have GSK in Quebec City. However, GSK already manufactures the flu vaccine, so we don't want to disrupt that production. You'll say that we also have Sanofi, in Toronto. You're right, but Sanofi produces a vaccine against [Technical difficulty—Editor].

However, I can tell you what prompted Novavax to move forward. As I said, I had the opportunity to talk to the president and CEO of Novavax. The deciding factor was that the type of vaccine produced by the company is compatible with the production line at the NRC facilities in Montreal.

I'll now let Minister Anand respond.

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Thank you. Sorry, but I'll respond in English.

I want to be clear that PSPC proactively and repeatedly approached leading vaccine manufacturers with offers to leverage this domestic capacity and possibility here in Canada. We took this issue up with suppliers at every turn at the negotiating table to discern whether they would come to the table with this possibility of domestic biomanufacturing.

The manufacturers reviewed the identified assets here in Canada and concluded that biomanufacturing capacity in this country at the time of contracting, which was last August and September, was too limited to justify the investment of capital and expertise to start manufacturing in Canada. To be clear, PSPC frequently, forcefully, and aggressively brought this issue to the table and raised it with the manufacturers at every turn.

The reality is that standing up new manufacturing of a vaccine requires expertise, and it requires resources from the supplier. Given the scarcity of resources, suppliers emphasized locations that had existing capacity and that would be able to manufacture quickly on a global scale.

That is not to say that the window was closed. For example, we continued discussions with Novavax, as François-Philippe Champagne has indicated, so that there is an option on the table for domestic biomanufacturing. That is a conversation that we continue to have with vaccine suppliers, with ISED and with Minister Champagne to make sure that we are indeed keeping all options open for Canadians. We don't know at this time whether this is going to be a vaccine that is going to have to be administered on a year-to-year basis, and therefore we will continue to pursue the domestic biomanufacturing option.

The clear point is that PSPC raised this at all times.

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

When questions are asked in the House of Commons about the national strategy, the answer is often that 80 million doses will be delivered by September.

Isn't investing this much in local production now, somewhat at the last minute, an admission that the earlier Canadian strategy failed?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Please give a short answer.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Okay, Madam Chair.

On March 11, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. Just 12 days later, we invested $192 million in local vaccine production. One month later, we invested $792 million.

Of course, when we start with a core capacity as limited as ours, it takes longer than in England, for example. In the end, we responded quickly by announcing, after 12 days and after one month, considerable investments to increase our capacity.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Thank you.

We'll now turn to MP Davies.

You have the floor for six minutes.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you.

Thank you to the ministers for being with us.

Ms. Anand, I will begin with you.

We know that we are not producing any vaccine doses in Canada currently. We also know that AstraZeneca agreed to allow countries that bargained with it to produce vaccines domestically. Countries like Mexico, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India and others have done so and are producing AstraZeneca vaccines in those countries.

Did Canada seek this right when we were bargaining our agreement with AstraZeneca?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

I want to mention, first off, that, yes, I raised this issue personally with AstraZeneca last August. That was not an issue they wanted to pursue with Canada at the time, for the reasons I mentioned in my last answer.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Did they explain why, Minister? Having given that right to so many other countries, did AstraZeneca explain why they would not allow Canada to vaccinate domestically when the national research centre has exactly the facilities and technology to do so?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

The reasons were multifold, and I believe that you should ask AstraZeneca for a clear explanation of that. For my part, I believe it had to do with the scale of production that would be required in terms of building up Canadian manufacturing.

Perhaps François-Philippe can jump in here if he wishes.

Certainly, I was raising the point that you are raising now, which is that we would like to be able to manufacture here in Canada.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

So you—

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

By the same token, we wanted to make sure that we could ensure that we had the fastest route to the AstraZeneca vaccine, and the APA was indeed the fastest route as a result.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Okay. Thank you.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I'm happy to add to that if you want, Mr. Davies. Or not—you decide.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

That's okay, Mr. Champagne. I have limited time, so I'll come back to you, but thank you for that.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Okay.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Ms. Anand, if Canada is not affected by EU export controls on vaccines, can you explain why Canada is not on the EU export control exemptions list?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Thank you for the question.

Again, it seems like great minds think alike, as I have raised this question myself. It is indeed something that we are continually working with. I, of course, am the procurement minister, but I'm working very closely with Mary Ng, the trade minister, and Marc Garneau, our foreign affairs minister on this particular issue.

There have been a number of negotiations in order to ensure that our product can leave Europe, and so far, from my part, I have been assured from suppliers that indeed the vaccines will leave Europe. I've been grateful for the work that Minister Ng and Minister Garneau have done in order to make sure that—

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you. If I may ask, have the Europeans given you any explanation for that obviously very confusing list?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Me personally, no, but I believe that our counterparts are continually in discussion with the EU on this point.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Minister Anand, I know that you are a former law contracts professor, so I'm sure you have personally read each of the agreements that we have signed. Is that correct?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Yes, it is.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Can you tell us what are the intervals of vaccine delivery in the Pfizer and Moderna agreements? Does it set out that we are to receive vaccine doses on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or other basis?