Madam Chair, I am thankful for the opportunity to address the committee on a topic we know all too well.
More than two years ago, our lives were forever changed by the emergence of COVID-19. Since that time, all Canadians have experienced immense sacrifices and loss in one form or another. Kids missed birthday parties and graduation; seniors were isolated from their families and friends; our health care and other essential workers on the front line put themselves at great risk, working long hours so that we could get the services and the care we needed, and we cannot commend them enough.
At its worst, the virus claimed the lives of so many loved ones in this country and around the world. During this crisis, Canadians remained resilient. They stepped up by following public health guidelines and getting their vaccine shot when it was their turn.
Life is getting back to a new normal, but make no mistake, our government's top priority remains protecting the health and safety of all Canadians. Since the beginning, we have worked hard to do just that. Securing life-saving personal protective equipment and ensuring that everyone could get vaccinated were top priorities, and Public Services and Procurement Canada has been vital in those efforts. I can tell members that the department's aggressive procurement approach over more than two years has ensured that Canada has a secure supply of personal protective equipment and vaccine.
When COVID-19 reached our shores, we acted promptly to get our health care professionals the supplies they required, working around the clock to procure critical personal protective equipment and other medical equipment. The entire world was scrambling to get the same material from a finite number of suppliers, making it a highly complex and competitive global environment. Procurement experts worked day and night, aggressively buying from all available suppliers and distributors at home and abroad. Lives were on the line, and every effort had to be made. Thanks to those efforts during the most crucial months, our government acquired billions of units of masks, N95 respirators, face shields, hand sanitizer, protective gowns, gloves and a lot more.
The urgent global demand meant that early supplies largely came from overseas. However, as part of the pandemic response, we also invested in Canadian companies to make the needed supplies here in Canada. Companies from across Canada did their part as well, and some even completely shifted their production lines to meet the urgent need. We should all be proud that Canadian industry stepped up in such a big way.
Medicom out of Montreal and 3M in Brockville are prime examples. Our government has a 10-year contract with Medicom to supply N95 and surgical masks, and we have a contract with 3M for 25 million N95s annually through 2026. Our investment with these companies has helped secure a domestic supply for the production of personal and protective equipment now and well into the future.
These are only two examples, but there are many more across this country. This has truly been a team Canada effort. Canadian companies that stepped up to join the fight have been and will continue to be key to our success.
When it comes to vaccine, our work has been just as effective. Our approach on this front was deliberate, strategic and comprehensive. At the onset of the pandemic, when pharmaceutical companies took on the challenge to develop a viable vaccine, we simply had no idea if it was even possible. Scientists, regulators and manufacturers from many nations worked under intense pressure to produce safe and effective vaccines and somehow make them available around the world.
Once vaccine candidates began to show promise, we knew that once again we would be dealing with a highly complex and competitive global market. That is why we pushed a diversified vaccine procurement approach, one that allowed us to reserve doses as early as possible by signing agreements in principle while the details of the final purchase agreements were being negotiated.
At the same time, we were proactive in acquiring critical goods such as needles, syringes and more in order to support provinces and territories when it came time to administer the vaccines. That work paid off. Today, if eligible Canadians want a COVID-19 vaccine shot, they can get one. Over the past year, Canadians have rolled up their sleeves and done their part during the largest vaccination campaign this country has ever seen. In fact, the Canadian vaccine rate is one of the best in the world. Securing vaccines has saved lives, and it is why Canadians can now get back to doing the things they love.
We are also better equipped for future waves. Our contracts with the world's leading vaccine maker gives us access to the supply of future formulations that will protect us against new variants. I am also proud to say that we are also investing in our capability to manufacture these life-saving vaccines right here at home. Most recently, our government announced the next step in ensuring Canada has a secure domestic supply of the latest vaccines through an agreement with Moderna to set up a manufacturing facility in the Montreal region. This new facility, which is set to be operational in two years, will be able to produce up to 100 million mRNA vaccine doses annually. It will also create hundreds of good-paying jobs.
Because of the actions we have taken and the groundwork we have laid, Canada will see this pandemic through to the end, but, as the minister stated in her opening remarks, the pandemic is not over yet and there is still a lot more for her department to do. That includes working to ensure we have enough supply of rapid tests on top of the more than 600 million we have already purchased at the federal level. We also continue to pursue some therapeutics. We currently have access to some 1.7 million treatment courses.
Before I close, I would like to take a moment to thank the hard-working public servants who are behind these actions. They have served their communities well, and I cannot commend their efforts enough. I would also like to honour the memory of those we have lost, the friends and families who are grieving, those who have made incredible sacrifices and everyone who has been impacted by COVID-19. Of course, we pay tribute to Canadians across the country who continue to work hard in our fight against the virus on the front lines of our health care system.
It has been a long two years, and we know everyone is ready to move on. Public Services and Procurement Canada will continue to deliver for Canadians as we work to finish the fight against COVID. I want to thank the minister, the department and the officials for their dedication and hard work.
I have a question for the minister and here is the preamble. The COVID-19 pandemic is still fresh in the minds of Canadians, and it is still too soon to say it is completely over. We all remember seeing the hospitalization rate and, sadly, even the death tolls on the news. We remember the restrictions and safety measures that were implemented by all levels of government to keep people safe and stop the spread of COVID-19.
We remember how difficult it was to refrain from visiting loved ones, how hard it was on businesses, on children in day cares and schools, on parents, on everyone, but we also remember how Canada made it through the pandemic before many other developed countries. We remember how Canadians stepped up to help their neighbours in a time of crisis. We are proud that when the COVID-19 vaccine became available, Canadians rolled up their sleeves and did their part to protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities, giving Canada one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.
Canada is now ahead of the curve on pandemic preparedness for any future outbreaks of COVID-19 and is well placed for any similar events in the future. The government has made it priority number one to keep Canadians safe, and we will continue to do so. While we are all eager to finish the fight against COVID-19 and return to normal, Canadians need to know that this government has done what was necessary during an extraordinary period to help Canadians pull through. All Canadians know this government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was timely, comprehensive and crucial to the millions of Canadians affected by the necessary restrictions implemented in Canada and across the globe at this time.
Can the minister please detail the numerous ways her department stepped up to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and keep Canadians safe?
