I'd like to try to take everybody back to March 2020. I think many of us want to forget that time, but it was a time of great uncertainty and a time when there was a global race to determine who would be able to manufacture vaccines. Add on to that the layer of, “Will they be approved for use in Canada?”
Our view was that the approach taken by the government to sign so many advance purchase agreements was a prudent one in the circumstances, to ensure that every Canadian who wanted to be vaccinated could be vaccinated. We found that Public Services and Procurement Canada expedited its procurement process and still followed some elements that we had highlighted earlier on in the personal protective equipment audit, which they then addressed. They looked at the financial capabilities of the companies. They did integrity checks to ensure that organizations would minimize the risk of unethical business practices.
We felt there was a good adjustment, and that's why we highlighted that this was an efficient procurement process.
The last thing I would highlight is that the provinces and territories received doses, on average, within two days of putting a request in to the federal government. When you think about how vast our country is and the need to control the temperature of a lot of the vaccines going to remote areas, it was an efficient delivery process as well.
Public servants should be commended for what they did to help the country respond to the pandemic.