Debates of Jan. 26th, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccine

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, this is the greatest challenge of our generation. Unless and until we come up with solutions for people, many who are vulnerable in our communities are going to continue to die. We are seeing that here in my riding of Barrie—Innisfil.

We need these vaccines. I do not care what it takes. I do not care what we have to do. We need to ensure that we have, and are in a position to provide, vaccines for those who are vulnerable. I will also add rapid testing to that, as an ancillary solution to this issue.

I do not know what to do to encourage the government. I have no idea of what to expect now. Everything we have been told has failed to happen. I have no confidence, and I know that there are many in our communities, including front-line health care workers, who have no confidence in the government's ability to deliver what it said was going to come.

I know the government has said it has a robust portfolio. We have procured that, but I need the government to deliver. We need this, as a community and as a country.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his comments. We share many situations and emotions.

I previously taught the methodology of intellectual work, which requires searching for information and avoiding disinformation. One of the ways to avoid disinformation is to have sources of information. That is what we are calling for today in this debate: transparency.

What does my colleague think about the degree of transparency that suddenly appears when questions are asked repeatedly?

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, all Canadians deserve a heightened level of transparency. All of us in opposition have been calling for the government to disclose the contracts with the manufacturers, and the government refuses to do that.

This is a government that came to power in 2015 and said it was going to be transparent by default. It was going to be the most open and transparent government in the history of Canada. It has failed to do that on many fronts. Now is not the time to hide information. Canadians need to know, and they need to have confidence in their government's ability to produce exactly what it said it was going to.

As I said earlier, I know our community, our health care workers, our PSWs, the people in our long-term care facilities and their families are losing faith that the government will be able to provide the provinces with what they need in terms of a solution. That solution is vaccines and rapid testing, as well.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Barrie—Innisfil for sharing his time with me tonight and for his presentation.

I want to take a moment to thank all of the frontline workers who have worked tirelessly throughout this whole pandemic. Day in and day out they put themselves in harm's way to help those who have contracted this terrible virus. I also want to acknowledge the families who have lost a loved one during this COVID pandemic. Over 19,000 Canadians have died from this terrible virus, and many are battling for their lives as we speak here tonight.

We are still in the middle of this crisis. Millions of Canadians are still unable to work and countless businesses are shut down. Families have been separated for months and many of our youth are not in their classrooms. Long-term care homes are still having outbreaks and some intensive care units are full. The only way to end this pandemic is through vaccinating people.

Tonight we are having this emergency debate because the Liberal government has failed to deliver a reliable supply of vaccines to the provinces and territories. Let me elaborate. The Liberals can twist themselves into pretzels in trying to spin their way out of this mess, but the fact remains that we are falling further behind.

Now the Liberals are promising that every Canadian who wants to will get vaccinated by September. Tonight I hear it might even be the end of the year. Forgive me for not blindly trusting some of these words, as the Liberals have proven a pattern of saying one thing and then a couple of weeks later having to renege. I truly hope we can vaccinate everyone by September, but there is no guarantee it will happen.

We do not know the likelihood of success, as no one has seen the signed contracts. They have been mentioned several times tonight, but no one has seen the signed contracts with the various pharmaceutical companies. Before I go any further, let us discuss what we know to be true.

We know the Liberals have signed contracts with seven different pharmaceutical companies, contracts worth over $1 billion. This does not mean that all seven are going to get Health Canada approval, and it does not mean that we currently have any of those vaccines on standby. It also does not mean that we know when the vaccines will actually arrive. We still do not know if we are able to manufacture any of those vaccines on Canadian soil. We also do not know if the latest Liberal promise of vaccinating everyone by September is feasible, as I said before. Those are the unknowns, and it boggles my mind why the government has not been more transparent.

Before the Christmas break, the health committee started a new study on the government's response to COVID. However, Canadians might be interested to know that we still have not had a single meeting on vaccines since the House came back in September.

Last night, after our Conservative team had to call an emergency health committee meeting, we also had to overrule the chair to pass a motion to finally start talking about the Liberals' vaccine strategy. Not only that, but Canadians should know that the Liberal chair did not like that we pointed out that the health committee had not met in the last 45 days in the middle of the worst pandemic we have ever had.

Thanks to my friend and colleague from Calgary Nose Hill, who rightly pointed out to the Liberal chair that we are in the middle of a pandemic, we know time is of the essence. Canadians want answers, and I know the Liberals would prefer it if we did not ask tough question. However, we would not be in this position if they had provided meaningful answers.

It did not help that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement shared erroneous information last night on a media panel and then had to text in to correct the record. If the parliamentary secretary does not know the details of the government's vaccine strategy, it begs the question: Who does?

In the past week we have learned that Pfizer has dramatically reduced vaccine shipments to the point that we will not receive a single dose this week. We have also learned it is having problems at its manufacturing facility, but we still do not know how many doses will be delivered in the coming weeks. Now the German government has formally requested that the EU block all exports of COVID vaccines produced within the EU. On top of that, the European Union's health commissioner has said pharmaceutical companies must “provide early notification whenever they want to export vaccines to third countries.” Let me state on the record that if that happens, we will be in even more trouble and will fall further behind. Now more than ever we need to know what can be done if the EU blocks those shipments.

Let us not forget the Liberals announced millions for Medicago, which is a pharmaceutical company, to establish a large-scale manufacturing facility here in Canada. The Liberals also announced $44 million to update the National Research Council's facilities to meet manufacturing standards.

Originally, when these announcements were made, the Prime Minister blamed a previous government from 36 years ago for why he had to do it. If we are going to start pointing fingers over what previous governments did or not do, there is not enough oxygen in the room to carry on the discussion. Instead of blaming others, it would have been wise for the Prime Minister to outline which vaccines can be manufactured at the new facility.

To date, we have not received any updates from the government on this funding announcement, and I think that shows a flaw in the contracts. If we are going to continue to see logistical challenges with getting vaccines into Canada, it would be prudent to know if any of the contracts would allow us to domestically manufacture a vaccine.

For months now, we have been asking for more details about the contracts the Liberals signed with the pharmaceutical companies. While I understand some of the sensitivities around pricing, what I do not understand is the level of secrecy. All these delays and smokescreens are deeply concerning.

While the Prime Minister was sabre-rattling with the premiers, to his credit he recognized his comments were not helpful and said so during a recent meeting with the provinces. Now that the premiers' concerns have proven to be correct, the issue of procuring vaccines falls squarely with the federal government. Because of that unpredictability and the necessity of having to give a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, the Liberal government has put the provinces in a very difficult situation.

It takes a considerable amount of time to get a vaccine clinic organized. There is a necessity to have an on-site freezer tested for multiple days before using it to store vaccines. Staff must be arranged and notices posted. I know our front-line staff are up to the challenge, but let us give them the greatest chance of success.

For months now, we have been asking for more details about the contracts the Liberals signed with the pharmaceutical companies. While I understand some of the sensitivities around pricing, as I have said, what I do not understand is the level of secrecy. That part of the secrecy could stem from the Liberals not wanting certain details leaking out. For example, iPolitics is reporting that after the Liberals signed a deal with CanSino Biologics, the Chinese government blocked shipments for clinical trials. While we still do not know a lot of the details about that arrangement with CanSino, we do know that it took the Liberals an additional three months to sign another contract with a different pharmaceutical company. In those three months, countries around the world were signing vaccine contracts while the Liberals did not. It was not until the Liberals signed those other deals that the Prime Minister finally admitted that the CanSino vaccine was going nowhere.

In the coming days I fully expect the Liberals to be transparent with Parliament, with Canadians and with our health committee. When did they know that the CanSino deal was off the table? Why did it take them three months before signing another contract? These are legitimate questions that deserve answers.

As the leader of the official opposition has said, we want to work together on getting a strategy that will result in Canadians getting vaccinated. For that to happen it is up to the government to invite us to the table. In all opposition parties there are very talented members. If I were in the government's shoes, I would rather have the member of Parliament for Calgary Nose Hill working alongside me rather than being on the other end of her tough questions.

We cannot secure jobs this way. We need to secure our economic recovery, and we can do this to secure our future with vaccines. To protect our citizens and for provinces to lift restrictions, we must get this right.

In closing, it is my sincere hope that the government picks up the phone, calls the opposition parties and invites them to the table. Now let us get to work to secure Canada's future.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

Ironically, a few days ago, some Liberal members accused the provinces and Quebec of letting vaccine doses languish in the freezers, when that was not at all what was happening.

The rate of administration is very good. It is the supply of vaccines that is lacking. That is what we are realizing today with the delay in vaccines and doses from Pfizer.

Does my colleague agree with me that it is the lack of predictability and reliability from the federal government that is to blame in this matter?

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, absolutely. It is part of what I mentioned about putting all of our eggs in one basket, as was originally done. We may have the largest portfolio now, but with a three-month delay. I think part of the reason we are not seeing the contracts is because of the delivery mechanisms that might be in them. For instance, did this initial contract to get four million doses delivered by April 1 mean that they are all going to arrive in the last few weeks of March, or was it a contract that actually stated that we would get a million in January and a million and a half in each of the months leading up to it?

These are details that we just have not been able to access at this point, when other countries in the world have done so. It is part of the delay that my colleague just mentioned, and I agree with her.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, tonight I was talking to a friend of mine who is an infectious disease specialist. He is concerned not only about the progress of the rollout of the vaccinations but also about the volume of international travel that is taking place, and he said that these issues actually intersect. He stated that not only do we need to limit entry of the virus into Canada but that we also especially need to stop the spread of the new variants that are starting to come to fruition. As we start to see case reductions in Ontario and Quebec, it is critical that we use all the barriers possible to keep transmission low. The last thing we need is a new variant coming in that we cannot fight or for which our vaccines are no longer effective. He also said that it is critical that we vaccinate as many people as possible.

After seeing other countries imposing strict measures and requiring people to stay at designated hotels for quarantine upon arrival, does my colleague agree that we need to be doing more when it comes to international travel?

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, it is very important. I think that was a big part of the problem when we first started. Many countries in the world were shutting down travel much ahead of the Canadian government, which did not do it until well into April but had known about the virus in Wuhan since early December.

I think there is a time frame there to be very vigilant in regard to the type of travel happening today. We need to be very sure that we are not putting all our eggs in one basket again and look at vaccines that will attack these variants as well.

I certainly appreciate the member's question.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Speaker, I know that my colleague cares a lot about this issue, because it is particularly impacting seniors in his riding. I was wondering if he could perhaps use this time to give more personal examples of situations in his riding of seniors and everybody else being deeply affected by the lack of vaccines in Canada.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, since I and my colleague deal with long-term care facilities across Canada in our roles as members of the health committee, she knows full well that our long-term care facilities are where 85% of the deaths that have occurred in Canada are happening, and we need to make sure that we can get these residents vaccinated as quickly as we can.

This delay in vaccines, the lack of planning from the government to be able to supply the provinces with the vaccine, is really hurting our ability to stabilize things in our long-term care facilities here in Canada and certainly here in Brandon—Souris in the southwest. We just had another death in one of our facilities here today, even though Manitoba is doing better than it has in the past.

We need to make sure that we are utilizing those vaccines in our long-term care facilities as quickly as we can get them there, but we cannot put in arms what we do not have.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour.

It is such an honour to join my colleagues this evening for this incredibly important debate on one of the greatest challenges that has ever faced our country. Many of my hon. colleagues have spoken about the whole-of-government effort to provide vaccines to Canadians and keep Canadians safe. I would like to focus my remarks on one specific aspect of our response, the important work being done by our defence team and the Canadian Armed Forces. No matter the mission, Canadian Armed Forces members have continued to demonstrate the very best our country has to offer.

This is clearer than ever, now that we are now transitioning to supporting the distribution of vaccines. This evening, I would like to speak about how the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence have been reliable partners in our whole-of-government fight against COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has required us all to make important changes to our lives and our routines to stay safe. This has truly required a whole-of-nation effort. From individuals to businesses, to our government, everyone has an important role to play in our response to COVID-19, including our defence team. Most notably, since the pandemic first emerged here in Canada, Canadian Armed Forces members and DND personnel have been working closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Starting in October, when the Public Health Agency of Canada began to develop its strategy to distribute vaccines across the country, defence team members once again answered the call. A number of Canadian Armed Forces members and civilian staff have been temporarily reassigned to support the Public Health Agency of Canada in the planning and coordination of these efforts.

They include Major-General Dany Fortin, who was named vice-president of logistics and operations in November. He is working alongside other leaders on a vaccine distribution task force at the Public Health Agency of Canada, or PHAC.

He is well positioned for this role, having led complex operations as the first commander of the NATO mission in Iraq from 2018 to 2019. Major-General Fortin is joined by several defence team logistics experts, operation planners, health care workers, engineers and information technology and systems experts. Each of these defence team personnel brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, which are critical to facilitating vaccine delivery, ensuring that vaccines are safely stored and effectively distributed to our provinces and territories. Canadians can have full confidence in their military to support this national effort under Operation Vector.

In December, Canadian Armed Forces members delivered five medical-grade freezers to two of our northern territories in support of our Public Health Agency of Canada partners. Earlier this month, in Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador, they helped transport vulnerable individuals to and from vaccination sites. Last week, they helped local authorities in Watson Lake, Yukon, tear down a temporary vaccine site in the community and the Canadian Armed Forces is working closely with the Government of Ontario and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation to finalize the planning to deploy to up to 32 communities in northern Ontario to help with the public health vaccination program.

Canadian Armed Forces units across the country are ready to support civilian authorities if and when they are needed. However, it is important to note that their primary role is not to administer vaccines. That important responsibility rests with local health authorities.

At this crucial time in Canada's fight against COVID-19, the members of the defence team are providing essential support to PHAC.

The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces remain ready and responsive at all times and have been since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it all, Canadians have been able to depend on the dedicated professionals on the defence team to help them and to save lives.

This past year has been a testament to their adaptability and resilience, and it is a stark reminder of how Canadian Armed Forces members risk their lives every single day to protect and defend our nation and its people. Despite the unique challenges of the past year, they have continued to make Canadians proud.

In February of last year, Canadian Armed Forces members were integral in bringing Canadians home in the face of the growing threat of the coronavirus. Through this work, we know how critical it is that Canadian Armed Forces members remain safe and healthy to deploy when needed. That is why defence team leadership took decisive action to protect all employees and Canadian Armed Forces. Our focus was on ensuring that critical capabilities remained intact, and many Canadian Armed Forces members came home from or delayed deploying on operations abroad.

All these measures made it possible for Canadian Armed Forces members to be ready to answer the call and help Canadians. That call came quickly.

By April, thousands of Canadian Armed Forces members were assigned to Operation Laser, the mission to support our government's response to COVID-19. They worked on the front lines alongside health care professionals in 54 long-term care facilities: 47 in Quebec and seven in Ontario.

In Ontario and Manitoba, Canadian Armed Forced members also helped the Public Health Agency of Canada manage PPE in warehouses, to ensure that it could be distributed quickly to the people who need it.

In addition, more than 1,200 Canadian Rangers deployed in northern and indigenous communities across the country, providing essential support when it was needed the most. Recently, as cases began to surge again in the second wave in the fall and winter months, Canadian Armed Forces members answered the call once again in several indigenous communities in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

Among other critical tasks, Canadian Armed Forces medical assistance teams helped establish and operate alternative isolation areas in these regions, and Canadian Rangers are currently supporting the Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation in Saskatchewan, delivering food, firewood and care packages to members of the community. They are also ensuring that community leaders have the information they need to mitigate risks and put effective health measures in place for their residents.

Our Canadian Armed Forces are helping out in some of the hardest-hit communities in Canada and deploying abroad to support our partners and allies in training, deterrence and peace support efforts. While they protect the health and safety of Canadians, it is our job to protect theirs. We have worked hard to ensure that they have the appropriate PPE for each deployment and closely follow public health measures and quarantine requirements as needed. Canadian Armed Forces members have begun to receive the vaccine, starting with front-line health care providers. All of this ensures that they remain safe and ready to help Canadians through the pandemic and beyond.

It will take time for things to get back to normal. We need to be patient and stay committed to ensuring that Canadians have access to a safe and effective vaccine.

However, I am confident in the work of the defence team and our partners across government to reach that light at the end of the tunnel and bring this pandemic to an end.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, I always find it a pleasure to work with my friend on international human rights files. We agree sometimes, though we do not always agree.

I want to pursue the point about what 2021 is going to look like. Obviously, in the official opposition we have many concerns about the delays in the rollout of vaccinations. Even if the government achieves its targets, there is going to be a need for greater testing, at-home testing, and the approval of new testing technologies as well as tracing. During the first wave of this, many people saw the lockdown as an opportunity for the government to get some of the testing and tracing mechanisms that we needed up and running, but we are into a second wave and still do not have available the kind of rapid testing and at-home testing that we need. We are still going to need these things for much of 2021, especially given the vaccination rollouts.

I wonder if the member could just explain what happened with testing. Why do we not have those systems in place right now?

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question and the work we are doing together, especially on the human rights committee, which met earlier this evening on the important topic of the Uighurs.

I would like to respond to him by saying that we have already deployed over 15 million rapid tests.

He also mentioned contact tracing. Right now there are public servants and Canadian Armed Forces members who have been helping with contact-tracing phone calls and helping out the public health authorities.

Therefore, with respect to testing and contact tracing, these are things we are already working on and doing for Canadians.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Speaker, no one here is calling into question what the army has already done, but I would like to talk about the issue of upfront funding. Maybe the reason the army was needed in long-term care homes during the first wave was that the Conservatives and Liberals have been cutting health care funding for years, and the federal transfers are not keeping up with the demands of Quebec and the provinces.

Before we can get vaccines into people's arms, we need to get some, so that members of the military can help with the vaccination campaign. In response to all of this, the Liberals are proposing national standards. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

Members of the military even decried the lack of resources in their report during the first wave. To get resources, the government needs to supply money so we can pay our staff and provide medical equipment. I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about that.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Madam Speaker, I agree, we need national elder care standards.

The situation our Canadian Armed Forces encountered in seniors' homes was terrible. I completely agree with my colleague that we need those standards. We continue to help the provinces care for seniors along with the Red Cross—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

Order. The member for Shefford on a point of order.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Speaker, I never said I agreed with national standards. I was criticizing the Liberals' solution, which is to impose national standards instead of investing money.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

That sounds like debate.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am sorry I misunderstood the question. I truly believe that we need national standards.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague and also the Canadian Armed Forces for the work they have done, as well as the truth telling from Major-General Dany Fortin. Thank goodness we have somebody telling the truth. CTV News stated:

For the next four weeks, Canada’s vaccine deliveries will be cut in half with up to 400,000 doses delayed, according to Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who is leading the country’s vaccine rollout. Canada won’t receive any new deliveries from Pfizer this week, and only one-quarter of the previously promised delivery next week.

I am wondering when the government will start actually having some accountability and being transparent to Canadians, like we have seen from Major-General Dany Fortin. Canadians deserve answers about what is going on. We are in a crisis and we need answers now.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Madam Speaker, I do believe that we have said it in the House today. We have been providing answers and we will continue to.

By the end of March, there will be six million doses. By the end of September, every Canadian who wants a vaccination will be able to receive a vaccination.

Major-General Fortin is doing incredible work. The current delay is temporary. We will be receiving all of the doses so that Canadians can get vaccinated if they wish to.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to virtually rise in my home office today to address the government's ongoing strategy for rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations.

As my colleagues have outlined this evening, from the very early days this government's focus has been on doing whatever it takes for as long as it takes to get us through this pandemic. We know that the only way to conquer this pernicious virus is for all of us to continue to follow public health advice alongside a successful vaccine rollout.

Intense pandemic fatigue only serves to further strengthen our resolve to get vaccines out to Canadians as rapidly as possible. Across the globe, every country is faced with a challenging vaccine supply chain. Every country wants to get vaccines to its citizens as soon as possible, and every country shares the same goal: to get to the other side of this pandemic.

From the beginning, the focus of this government has been to provide safe, effective and reliable vaccines to all Canadians who wish to be vaccinated. Our comprehensive and meticulously planned vaccine strategy means vaccines are getting into the arms of Canadians. We have hit more than three-quarters of a million vaccine doses administered across Canada. As the Prime Minister announced on Friday, the number of doses administered daily is now four times what it was just three weeks ago. That is the good news. The number and pace of vaccine delivery to Canadians is increasing.

However, the government has pledged that it will be up front with Canadians when it comes to bumps in the vaccine rollout road. Yes, the temporary delay of delivery of doses of the Pfizer vaccine is frustrating for all of the countries supplied by that company's Belgian manufacturing facility. That is why when we set out our vaccine strategy we were so ambitious in the large number of contracts that we signed and the doses that we secured.

Here in Canada, during this historic worldwide scramble for vaccines, such bumps in the road were expected. This pandemic is happening in real time. The government's comprehensive planned vaccine strategy means when bumps occur, we are able to respond and adapt in real time.

From the start, our government recognized the highly complex and intensely competitive global market for vaccines, and that is precisely why we pursued a diversified vaccine procurement approach. We knew that temporary production delays such as that announced by Pfizer would be highly likely, given complex manufacturing, unprecedented global demand and a rapid ramping up of production.

Allow me for a moment to remind the House what the world looked like when we started our COVID-19 vaccine procurement strategy. At that time, none of us knew if it was even possible to develop a vaccine that would be effective against COVID-19. We knew that, historically, developing and testing a new vaccine to protect against an infectious disease would normally take several years, but the world did not have several years.

From making sure the vaccine was safe to making sure it was effective, to obtaining regulatory approval to manufacture truly vast quantities of vaccines such as we have never witnessed, we knew from day one that first scientists and then regulators and then manufacturers around the globe would be working under intense time pressure to produce a safe and effective vaccine demanded by every country in the world. Faced with a myriad of differing vaccine types, dosage requirements, as well as manufacturing and finishing needs, working day and night, this government has been dedicated to procuring the very best vaccine candidates for Canadians.

These efforts paid off. Canada invested in one of the most diverse COVID-19 vaccine portfolios in the world. We knew that not all vaccines would make it through the clinical trials. We knew that global demand for the safe and effective vaccines would be like nothing previously witnessed, and we knew that the pressure on biomanufacturing facilities could lead to production delays. That is why from the start Canada had plans in place to mitigate the impact of these challenges. Canada had plans in place to make sure that this country would receive as many vaccine doses as possible, as rapidly as possible.

Because of this foresight and planning, Canadians have been receiving the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines since last month. We have agreements in place with five other potential vaccine suppliers. We have access to more vaccine doses per person than any other country. We continue to work day and night to get as many vaccine doses as possible into Canada.

So far the government's vaccine strategy has succeeded in delivering 1.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the provinces and territories so that they can rapidly administer the shots to vulnerable Canadians and those on the front line battling this pandemic day in and day out.

Yes, the delay in the Pfizer shipments will have a short-term impact on the vaccination rollout, but this is temporary. Let us be clear: We remain on track to receive the four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine we are expecting by the end of this quarter.

As we head into spring, we expect to be able to send out more than 20 million doses to provinces and territories. That will keep us well on track so that each and every eligible person across this country who wants a vaccine will be able to get one by the end of September.

By the end of March we expect to have six million doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in Canada and up to 80 million doses by the end of the year. The agreements we have in place for five additional vaccine candidates will provide access to even more doses, which we will bring to Canada as soon as regulatory authorization is in place.

Further disruptions to supply are likely, but again, multiple agreements with multiple manufacturers mean that Canada is prepared. As spring gets under way, Canadians will begin to see a dramatic increase in vaccine deliveries. We remain on track for each and every person across this country, as I said, who wants a vaccine and is eligible to be able to get one by the end of September.

Across this country and around the globe, we all have the same aim: to end this pandemic. Nobody in this House underestimates the pain, the anguish and the grief felt by Canadians. The terrible loss is felt by our friends and by our families across the globe during these past depressing, distressing months.

It has been months and we are all living with pandemic fatigue, but this government is steadfast in its commitment to the health and safety of Canadians. The pathway out of this pandemic will not be straightforward and we will face setbacks, but the meticulous early planning of our government means that we will get through it. By continuing to pull together and to support each other, we will make it to the other side of this pandemic.

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

Madam Speaker, in response to a question from my colleague from Montcalm earlier, the member for Winnipeg North said that opposition members were being, shall we say, very critical this evening and lacking in good faith.

He also said that the Liberals have a plan. The government has a plan, and its plan is even available online at coronavirus.ca. However, the House of Commons has blocked the site in both languages. Madam Speaker, I invite you to look it up on your phone and try to access it.

Where is the Liberals' plan? If we want to debate it in the House, we need access to it at the very least.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Madam Speaker, there has been a lot of talk about what other countries have done in regard to transparency. I am not aware of another country that has shared as much detail in their vaccine rollout. They have not shared the numbers of weekly deliveries and they have not shared contract details.

By separating out the weekly deliveries for each province and territory our government has done its absolute best to be as transparent as possible from day one. We will continue to do so even though, as I acknowledged, there may be bumps in the road on delivery of vaccines in the future.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, I mentioned earlier that I was talking to a friend who is an infectious disease specialist. He is really concerned about the volume of unnecessary international travel that is happening, especially as we have new variants of the virus out there right now, the South African virus and the U.K. virus, which are spreading more quickly and are deadlier. He said that it is critical that as we are reducing the spread in Ontario and Quebec, we use all barriers to keep transmission low. The last thing we need is one of these variants to be even worse or something that we do not have a vaccine for to protect our citizens against.

If we look at what other countries are doing, such as 14-day quarantines in place at hotels that those countries pay for, instead of having a piece of paper with which people are expected to play the honour system, does my colleague not agree that we need to do more to make sure that we are lowering the spread and stopping international travel, or at least ensuring that we are protecting our citizens as people come home?