Mr. Chair, with respect to the vaccine issue, I am happy to say that this year we bought the largest number of doses of any year in Canada. We have vaccinated the largest percentage of Canadians ever to be immunized. We have immunized a larger percentage of our population than any other country in the world this year.
I understand that Dr. David Butler-Jones has been talking to his colleagues across the country. We believe that the vaccine supply in the public system may be sufficient. If there are any difficulties, obviously, they will work on those issues and they will deal with it.
With respect to whether or not we are prepared for a pandemic, we have preparations underway to deal with the kind of issue the hon. member talked about. Those preparations are underway under the leadership of the Public Health Agency of Canada under the leadership of Dr. David Butler-Jones. We are more prepared than we were at the time of SARS. I think all of us felt that we were not well prepared, but as a result of SARS, we are now better prepared than ever before and we continue to enhance our ability to deal with those issues.
With respect to smallpox, we have the number of doses required. In fact, we have the first generation vaccine that was tested during the smallpox epidemic and that vaccine is still good. It is in the possession of the manufacturer. It is going to be in our possession in the Public Health Agency of Canada shortly as we prepare to take charge. In terms of the smallpox issue, Canada is well prepared, perhaps even better prepared than most countries in the world.