Madam Speaker, COVID-19 has been devastating. Getting people vaccinated continues to be our best line of defence against this deadly virus. However, while wealthy countries have enough doses, most lower-income countries cannot protect their frontline workers, their elderly or their most vulnerable. This mean countless unnecessary deaths, but it also means variants like omicron arise.
Vaccine inequity impacts us all. We must waive patents, so vaccines can be produced around the world, but his vital measure, called the TRIPS waiver, has been continually blocked or delayed by wealthy countries like Canada. This is not only morally reprehensible; it is unbelievably short-sighted. It means more variants. It puts us all at risk. I call on the government to openly support the TRIPS waiver, to stop protecting big pharma and to start protecting human health.