Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Vancouver Kingsway for working with my colleague and our team on this debate tonight, and for pushing for better. I think all parties here tonight, other than the government, and I note that there is no one here from the government side right now, deserve better in a pandemic. We want better results, as 8% is not sufficient.
It is clear the government did not negotiate the ability to manufacture a vaccine in Canada. Why did it make the decision to partner with a Chinese, state-owned pharmaceutical, CanSino? That partnership fell apart within months. In fact, within days of the Prime Minister making the announcement, it knew it had failed. Recent documents have shown that. That is one of several reasons why we are five months behind in proper negotiations with other companies.
We have talked about bringing in and securing innovation in Canada. We have a proud history of that. We do not believe it should be done by government. There is less innovation in government. However, we have to have the environment to secure PPE, essential medicines and the tools needed to open our economy.
That has to be our goal, to get Canadians working. The vaccines will be the first step in rounding the corner to a stronger future. That is why we brought this debate tonight. That is why we are demanding better from the government.