Madam Speaker, thank you for recognizing me.
I am very pleased to speak in the House this evening. First, I want to say my thoughts are with the people of Alberta. I think this is an important debate and I certainly would like to share a few thoughts. Particularly, I would like to focus my time on our vaccine and our vaccine rollout that began at the end of December and is currently picking up speed.
When COVID-19 asserted itself as a global public health threat at the beginning of last year, Canada mobilized on all fronts to develop a multi-faceted response to an extraordinary challenge. The federal government shaped its plan in a context of rapidly developing uncertainty, and worked with global and domestic communities, an organization of public health experts, to take in the full measure of this threat.
The federal government continues to implement “Canada's COVID-19 Immunization Plan: Saving Lives and Livelihoods”. We are on track to offer all eligible and willing Canadians the opportunity to become vaccinated by the end of September this year.
In the implementation of the immunization plan, the federal government engaged and consulted all level of governments, indigenous leaders, international partners, industry, and medical and science experts, among others. At the heart of it are our core principles: science-driven decision-making, transparency, coherence and adaptability, fairness and equity, public involvement and consistent reporting. These principles continue to govern and inform our vaccination rollout action.
The plan also outlined the steps in the rollout process: communicating with and engaging Canadians throughout the campaign; obtaining a sufficient supply of vaccines; obtaining regulatory authorization from Health Canada to ensure safety and efficacy of vaccines; allocating and distributing vaccines efficiently and securely; administering the vaccine according to a sequence of priority population identified by experts; and collecting data to monitor vaccine safety, effectiveness and coverage.
The federal government and the provinces, territories and indigenous communities are continuing to work closely together on all aspects of the vaccine rollout, specifically the delivery of equipment, ancillary medical supplies and vaccines. The provinces and territories have their vaccination administration programs under way, and are documenting and collecting the data on vaccine coverage.
During the preliminary period of our response, the Government of Canada successfully negotiated advance purchase agreements with manufacturers of seven different vaccine candidates. This strategy has enabled Canada to secure a diverse portfolio of vaccines and to procure more than enough vaccine doses needed to vaccinate every person in Canada.
Last fall, the Minister of Health signed the interim order respecting the importation, sales and advertising of drugs used in relation to COVID-19. This allowed the Government of Canada to expedite the review and authorization of vaccines for COVID-19. Health Canada has so far authorized four vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen. Three of them are currently being delivered to Canada, distributed across the country and administered to Canadians.
Given the ongoing aggressive global procurement of vaccines and the high demand for them, Canada can be proud of this accomplishment. Once a sufficient and diverse supply of vaccines for Canadians was secured through the advance purchase agreement, the focus shifted to deploying those vaccines across Canada. A number of features marked the early part of this phase and some of these saw the federal government develop guidance on priority population, resolve supply chains interruption, and support the provinces and territories in their preparation in receiving the vaccine.
I am happy to report that we have made good progress in the vaccination rollout so far. In addition to distributing syringes and specialized freezers to the provinces and territories, we have distributed vaccines in the amount that has enabled over 30% of eligible adults in Canada to receive one dose of the vaccine.
Pfizer has recently confirmed that it will delivering substantially more doses weekly during the coming months. This sustained increase in scheduled vaccine delivery will enable provinces and territories to have greater certainty in the planning of their vaccination program. The important groundwork we have done to date in establishing the vaccine rollout infrastructure will ensure a smooth and coordinated response.
Thanks to the early efforts of the government to prepare for the steep increase in the volume of vaccines received, the process and infrastructure in distributing and administering the vaccine has been well established and continues to mature. As increased volumes are delivered to the provinces and territories, the federal government will continue to be responsive to the provinces, territories and indigenous groups to identify areas where assistance and support could be provided.
I would like to share that, and I am sure many have seen the news, the Prime Minister called Premier Kenney today to offer federal support as Alberta responds to an increase in COVID-19 cases. I know, coming from Ontario, that that federal response also came through with military personnel. I have to take the time tonight to thank Premier Furey from Newfoundland and Labrador for the support he has provided to Ontarians
I would like to end tonight's debate by saying that despite the progress we are making with the rollout of vaccines in Canada, each and every one of us must continue to implement the public health measures that have proven to be effective at containing the spread of the virus. People should wear a mask, wash their hands, maintain a safe physical distance, do not congregate in large numbers, and please avoid non-essential travel
