Debates of Feb. 3rd, 2021

Health

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's vaccination rate is the lowest in the G7. The Globe and Mail pointed out this morning that Canada will need to vaccinate 300,000 people per day, or 2.1 million people per week, to meet the September deadline the Prime Minister keeps promising.

So far, only 124,000 Canadians have been completely vaccinated. Where is the Prime Minister's plan to vaccinate 2.1 million Canadians per week?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have had a strong plan on procuring vaccines since last spring. We have signed more deals with more potential vaccine manufacturers for more doses per capita than any other country. That is paying off.

We are getting shipments of vaccines into Canada. We are delivering them across the provinces and territories, and they are getting them into arms. We continue to be on track to receiving the six million doses promised by the end of March, and 20 million doses in the spring. We will have all Canadians vaccinated by September, if they want to be.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, this morning we learned that last March, the CEO of PnuVax, a pharmaceutical company in Montreal, offered to manufacture vaccines in Montreal. Unfortunately, his proposal was totally ignored by this government. The Prime Minister must tell Canadians why he did not negotiate last March the possibility of manufacturing vaccines here at home.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is just not true.

From the outset of the pandemic, we knew that we had to expand our domestic biomanufacturing capacity in the short and the long term. That is why we immediately made investments to support projects like Medicago, VIDO-InterNac, the National Research Council Canada and AbCellera.

We acted quickly to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity across the country, and we did so by listening to and following the advice of our scientists and experts every step of the way.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, that is not true.

Information about vaccine deliveries is trickling in. No vaccines were delivered this past week. We have heard nothing. There continue to be delays. The Liberal government is asking Canadians to be patient, but Canadians want the truth.

How many Moderna vaccine doses will arrive on February 22?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to confirm, once again, that we will be receiving all the doses promised by Moderna and Pfizer by the end of March, as agreed, with doses arriving weekly.

There are weekly fluctuations in vaccine deliveries, but we are still on track to meet our objectives for the upcoming months. In addition, we continue to have the capacity to give the vaccine to everyone who wants it by September.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we knew that Canada does not manufacture vaccines. We knew that Canada is happy with a vague verbal promise from Europe. We knew that Canada had not negotiated delivery guarantees into its procurement contracts.

The Prime Minister told us that everything is fine because Canada is now going to manufacture its own vaccines. However, he has been corrected by his own minister. We will not see that vaccine until 2022, or six months after the date by which he says everyone will be vaccinated.

If this is the Prime Minister's contingency plan for the shortages, can we at least see the contracts?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we signed contracts with more vaccine manufacturers than many of our allies, ensuring more potential doses for Canadians than for the people of any other country.

We did this because we knew that there would be potential delays in the delivery of these new vaccines. This is why we are still confident that we will meet our end-of-March targets. Furthermore, we will be able to meet our targets to get everyone vaccinated by September.

We will continue to work with our partners around the world, such as the European Union, to ensure that Canada continues to receive vaccine deliveries. People are—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The member for Beloeil—Chambly.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we want to see the contracts.

Europe is making a vague promise that even its own members do not condone. The United States is placing restrictions on its vaccine exports. The United Kingdom plans to do the same thing, and Canada will not produce any vaccines before 2022.

Yesterday, 590 doses were administered in Quebec, but there were over 1,000 new cases. We will never get anywhere at that rate. We will never see the end of this.

During his discussion with the American Vice-President yesterday, did the Prime Minister at least ask that the restrictions on Pfizer vaccine exports from Kalamazoo be lifted?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, while the leader of the Bloc Québécois continues to fearmonger, I want to reassure Quebeckers and all Canadians. As expected, the European Union has not imposed any restrictions on the delivery of the vaccine to Canada.

That is consistent with what the EU representatives told us when they announced those measures. The Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade remains in contact with her EU counterparts. We will continue to work with all our allies to ensure that essential medical supply chains remain open and resilient.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, vaccine delays mean more people will get sick and more people will lose their lives.

The government's lack of clarity around vaccine production in Canada will erode public trust. The Prime Minister said we would be able to produce vaccines here by September, but his minister says by the end of the year.

The NDP has always said we need local production. Why did the Prime Minister not start planning this a year ago?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we knew from the start that we needed to boost our domestic manufacturing capacity, and that is exactly what we did.

We immediately invested in organizations such as Medicago, VIDO-InterVac, the National Research Council Canada and AbCellera. We have worked to generate production capacity here in Canada while securing supply around the world. That is why we signed more contracts with more companies for more doses per Canadian than any other country.

That is the plan we are putting into action, and it is working because we will be able to vaccinate everyone who wants a vaccine by September.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, delays in the vaccine mean more people will fall sick and more people will lose their lives. On top of that, the mixed and confusing messages from the government on the ability to produce the vaccine in Canada will erode public trust. The Prime Minister said that we would be able to have the production capacity by September. His minister said it would by the end of the year, and the NRC says by 2022.

New Democrats have long called for local production of the vaccine. Why did the Prime Minister not start to plan a year ago to have this capacity here in Canada, so we could make the vaccine here in our country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we did start working on creating biomanufacturing capacity a year ago, which is why we immediately made investments in Medicago, VIDO-InterVac, the NRC and AbCellera to develop domestic vaccine capacity. However, at the same time, we also signed contracts with companies around the world to ensure that we would be able to get Canadians vaccinated.

Despite the fears being pedalled by members of the opposition parties, I can reassure Canadians we are very much on track to getting the six million doses planned for the end of Q1, or more, and having everyone who wants a vaccine to be vaccinated by September. That is the plan we are working with, and that is what we are delivering.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has highlighted how underfunded Canada's provincial health care systems are. All of the provinces have asked for an increase in health transfers.

The leader of the official opposition has pledged to hold a summit on this issue within the first 100 days of a Conservative government. The Prime Minister could do this immediately, but he just wants to talk about the national standards imposed on the provinces. When will he finally act and increase health transfers to the provinces?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would not want my hon. colleague to mislead the House.

We had a meeting with the provinces and territories to talk about health transfers, and we all agreed that health transfers to the provinces would be increased. There is no question about that. As evidence, we have already transferred billions of dollars more during this pandemic to support the provinces and seniors in our long-term care centres.

We will continue to be there to invest in health care systems across the country. We will continue to be there as a long-term partner to increase transfers.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claim they are going to provide additional funding for long-term care, but this funding comes with ridiculous conditions that once again add to the burden on the provinces.

The leader of the official opposition has promised a clear, predictable and unconditional increase to transfers. Why does the Prime Minister not trust the provinces to administer their own health care systems?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed that my colleague thinks it is ridiculous for seniors in Canada to be concerned and wish to be treated as well as anyone else in the country.

What the federal government is proposing is to work with many provinces and territories to share best practices so that no senior anywhere feels they would get better treatment if they lived in another province. It is the responsibility of every one of us to ensure that all our seniors have quality services.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister said that vaccine production in Canada would begin in September. His Minister of Industry contradicted him, saying that he thought it would be more toward the end of 2021. Later, on the evening news, he was even talking about mid-2022.

At the beginning of this crisis, the Prime Minister signed a vaccine production agreement with China instead of Canadian companies. Clearly, the vaccine could have been produced in Canada. Could the Prime Minister explain to Canadians why he chose Chinese companies over Canadian ones?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, several times now, I have heard hon. members from the opposition say things that are not quite true. What I said at my press conference is that construction of the vaccine manufacturing facility would be done in the summer. The Minister of Industry confirmed that production would begin by the end of the year.

We will continue to work on speeding up the arrival of vaccines in Canada with our domestic production, but especially by working with our partners around the world so that we can get everyone vaccinated as planned by September.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, people need to understand that this new building will not be ready until 2022. There will be no vaccines for this pandemic.

However, companies like PnuVax in Montreal raised their hand last year and said that they could quickly get facilities up and running and produce vaccines if asked to do so. They did not even get a call back. There are also other companies, such as Providence Therapeutics in Toronto.

Could the Prime Minister explain why he is not prepared and why he did not negotiate with these companies earlier?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, since last spring, we have invested in various vaccine producers in Canada and we have created partnerships.

We have invested millions of dollars based on the best recommendations of vaccination, immunization, and public health experts. We have always followed the recommendations of our experts, and we are constantly investing in science and research. Above all, we will always be there to protect Canadians, and we will ensure that everyone can be vaccinated by September 2021.

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

Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period, the Prime Minister said there would be “fluctuations”, that is his word, in vaccine delivery in coming weeks. That is a big problem, because if there are unexpected “fluctuations”, it makes it very difficult for the provinces to properly time the two doses of the top candidate. So, fluctuations are a problem.

Can the Prime Minister tell Canadians if he is expecting a reduced or zero shipment from Moderna in the week of February 22?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we knew that vaccine production was going to be a massive challenge for companies around the world, to develop and produce a vaccine that did not yet exist when we were signing these contracts last summer. That is why we signed so many different contracts for so many potential doses for Canadians to ensure that we would be able to get Canadians vaccinated regardless of the challenges or, yes, fluctuations in the week-to-week delivery program. That is why we can continue to guarantee that we will receive those six million doses we promised by the end of Q1. We will have everyone who wants it vaccinated by September of 2021.