Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to address the chamber. I believe this is, in fact, one of the most important debates we will have this year in terms of the significance of a great deal of hope that I believe is out there at the end of the day.
Ever since this world pandemic started to take flight, the government has been aware of it and has been taking action. Canadians understand and appreciate that we made an early decision to listen to what science, health experts, civil servants and Canadians as a whole, the different stakeholders, had to say on this very important issue. I believe that when we take a look at how Canada has managed through this whole process, we will come out okay. I really and truly believe that.
For example, with regard to the vaccination issue, which is today's debate, we have the COVID-19 vaccine task force. We have to remember that this is the group that, in essence, recommended that we go out there and secure these contracts. There was concern about capacity here in Canada. At the end of the day, the most important thing we have to do here is ensure that we have a vaccination that is free, safe and effective. Those are the expectations of Canadians from all regions of the country.
When we hear about this lack of a plan, nothing could be further from the truth. We have known for weeks, if not months now, of the government's commitment to ensure that every Canadian who wants to get the vaccination will in fact have that opportunity by the end of September of this year.
We are working day in, day out with provincial and territorial jurisdictions to ensure that not only is Canada acquiring the vaccines that are so critically important but also that there is high co-operation with provinces to make sure the distribution is there. I believe that Canadians can be confident of the system we have in place.
Opposition members will pick and choose and talk about country X doing better or country Y already vaccinating, but it is important to realize that Canada received vaccines back in December. Many other countries did not receive vaccines late last year. Some countries such as Japan, New Zealand, Australia and South Korea have not even started vaccinating. Someone mentioned earlier today, and I believe it was the health critic, my New Democratic colleague, that the United States is going to bring vaccinations up to 1.5 million people per day. There are over 350 million people living in the U.S.A. Do the math: There are 37 million people in Canada.
I believe Canada is doing exceptionally well in meeting the expectations Canadians have of the national government. We are doing that because we are working with those health experts and groups that have a vested interest in making sure we get it right.
Some of the criticisms are interesting. The member of Parliament for Foothills says that the government's first priority was a deal with China. That is just not true. It is not the only thing members of the opposition will say that is factually incorrect. There is misinformation out there, and opposition members have to take some responsibility for the type of information they are passing on to Canadians.
I believe, at the end of the day, Canada is in a great position. Based on the recommendation of the COVID-19 vaccine task force, Canada actually signed agreements with seven different companies to reserve vaccine doses for Canadians. Those who want to be vaccinated will be able to be vaccinated, at the very latest, by the end of September. There should be no doubt about that. We know we will have six million doses by the end of March and that we are on target to be able to get them. These are pretty straightforward and fairly easy to understand.
When I heard that we were going to be talking about the vaccine and having this emergency debate today, I thought it would provide us an opportunity to provide some other thoughts. I had some correspondence from the Manitoba Teachers' Society. One of the things I really appreciated them raising, and I want to share with members tonight, is the impact school closures have on our economy. It is incredibly significant.
Members should do some research and try to understand, when our public schools start to shut down, the impact it has on our economy, as well as society in general. They are recognizing that the government needs to urgently look to maintain and return in-person schooling as a key component toward Canada's economic recovery. We all know that it is the provinces that establish these priorities, but Ottawa does have a role to play in terms of sharing some of our thoughts.
We parliamentarians all agree that there are situations where we need to establish priorities in terms of the vaccine. For example, everyone agrees those in long-term care, and the health care workers who have been working in long-term care facilities serving seniors, have to be a priority.
The government relies on the advice of the National Advisory Committee for Immunization to inform vaccine priority lists across the country. Being able to share thoughts on that issue would be of great value. We recognize that Pfizer and Moderna are the two we have secured and that have met the requirements from Health Canada and their regulations. Because of that, we know they are safe and effective vaccines. We have an organization, through our regulations, that is second to no other in the world.
We also know that there are still five others that are out there. AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson are under current review, and hopefully we will see more approvals not that far in the future. We cannot include or incorporate those into the numbers, because they have not been approved, but at least we have a government that recognizes that the best way we can guarantee that every Canadian will get vaccinated is to have that diverse portfolio.
If members want to use stats and say that country X is doing this and country Y is doing that, in an attempt to try to make Canada's vaccination plan look bad, I would suggest that they are being very selective, in terms of what they are using.
There is no doubt in my mind that, whether it is the Prime Minister, cabinet members or members of Parliament, to a certain degree, from all sides of the House, we understand the importance of getting this right. There will be an opportunity for us to be able to get more into the details in the weeks, months and years ahead, so that we are better positioned to be able to deal with this.
To say that we would not have wanted to see a made-in-Canada solution is ridiculous. Of course it would have been nice. Members can take a look at what we did with some of the personal protective gear and how industries in Canada responded that need.
I see my time is already expired. I appreciate the opportunity to share a few thoughts.