Mr. Speaker, on August 24, Professor Attaran wrote in Maclean's that the Liberals were dithering on vaccine procurement. He predicted that the vaccine would be coming to Canada months late.
Two days later, I attended a Zoom meeting, hosted by the Liberal member for Guelph, for afternoon tea and spirits and a conversation with COVID-19 experts. The panellists included Ashleigh Tuite, Jeannette Comeau and Doug Manuel, who are at the top of the field. What better opportunity for me to find out if the professor was right? I asked moderator Tara Bingham from AstraZeneca a pointed question: Had Canada prepurchased any vaccine doses for Canadians from her company?
She hesitated and then replied that she was not a panellist so she would call me later. My heart sank. No answer said it all.
The Liberals knew that Canada was at the back of the line three months ago. The Prime Minister says we will not get a vaccine in December like everyone else because we have no manufacturing capacity. That is utter nonsense. Canadians will not get a vaccine anytime soon because he failed Canadians again.