House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 36% of the vote.
Health November 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, federal authorities have acknowledged that they were poorly prepared and that some clinics will have to close because of a lack of vaccine. My question is for the Minister of Natural Resources who, speaking about the current Minister of Health, said: “I really hope she never gets anything hot”.
Would the Minister of Natural Resources not agree that the Minister of Health's behaviour is confirming her worst fears?
Madam Speaker, if I may, before I begin, I would like to once again thank my colleague from Churchill for her birthday wishes.
Yes, Quebec's health and social service centres had their action plans in place, but they could not vaccinate people without vaccine. There is no question that the federal government is responsible for providing vaccine to the provinces. It cannot hide from that. It cannot wash its hands of the whole affair and give all kinds of excuses for why the vaccines are not available. The government should have had a detailed timeline from the very beginning.
Once again just now, I asked the minister about this. I asked her if she could provide clearer answers about when previous levels—400,000 doses per week in Quebec—would be reached again. She could not even give me an answer. I asked her a straightforward question during this debate and she could not give me an answer. That inability to answer is what makes people wonder when they are going to get the vaccine. My question is absolutely pertinent.
Madam Speaker, my colleague is somewhat correct. The question is a good one. Is Christmas early enough, when we are currently in the second wave of the pandemic? That is what the debate this evening is about.
The government realized that the supplier might not be able to supply the hoped-for doses because it had only one production line. The government denies it, but on the other hand, it seemed like it wanted to blame the company because the company had overestimated its production. That really does not make sense when distribution has to be planned during the period when the pandemic is in full swing. We cannot play with words like this when ultimately it is the public’s health at stake.
Has the government failed in this regard?
Madam Speaker, if I may, because my colleague the chair of the Standing Committee on Health pointed it out, I would like to officially thank her for her birthday wishes. She may boast of celebrating my 36th birthday with me in the House, if she likes, on the night of this emergency debate.
In fact, when Grand Chief Evans came to meet with us at the committee, all of his comments dealt with the support he had received from his province and private agencies to put together a kit so it could be distributed. That was the gratifying aspect of his comments: in a nutshell, preparation plans in the event of a major problem were ready. In fact, we have heard this on several occasions from officials of this House and from government employees. I was completely bowled over to see the Grand Chief hold up that ten percenter, because to me it did not belong there. As parliamentarians, we prefer to offer accurate information and make sure that our fellow citizens have access to a vaccine or appropriate kits, for example.
Madam Speaker, like my colleagues, I am pleased to participate in this emergency debate on the second wave of the H1N1 pandemic.
It goes without saying that there is an urgent need for this debate, since in Quebec and in all the provinces of Canada, we are seeing lines of people waiting to be vaccinated but unable to get the vaccine.
I heard the minister and the government members accusing the opposition of playing politics with this debate. I can understand some of the government's criticisms of the Liberal Party, because, unfortunately, the Liberals used a 10 percenter to send a document to aboriginal communities, resurrecting the body bag issue, when the communities had already accepted the government's apologies. However, I do not appreciate having the minister associate me and my party with this or having her accuse us of simply trying to take advantage of the situation.
Throughout consideration of this issue, ever since the WHO declared the pandemic a level six on June 11, we have been trying in every way possible to cooperate with the government and the Public Health Agency in order to ensure that the people of Quebec and people across Canada receive the best services, the best information and the best care.
That has always been our motivation. However, we see the confusion surrounding this vaccination. It is important to get answers from this government since it is up to us to relay accurate information to our constituents. We want to ensure, through our interventions, that our constituents have access to the vaccine, the antivirals and the information.
In August, the members of the Standing Committee on Health held a meeting to get an update from the government on the status of its plan. At the time, I already mentioned to the minister that I felt this plan was being disclosed bit by bit. It is hard to work with a piecemeal plan because we end up reacting to situations instead of providing the public with clear guidelines. The public was entitled to the facts because when it comes to H1N1, it is their health that is at stake.
We know that some patients with this disease have had very serious respiratory problems and that a number of deaths have been associated with this flu pandemic, hence the need for a clear plan.
However, it seems that the government does not want to give us a clear indication of the availability of doses of vaccine that will be distributed to Quebec and the provinces. We know that in Quebec and in the provinces structures are already in place or are being implemented in order to optimize the doses received at the mass vaccination centres.
The fact that the Chief Public Health Officer and the minister only found out last Thursday that Quebec would receive approximately 300,000 fewer doses of vaccine indicates a lack of foresight.
To inform people at the last minute, while they are waiting in line to get a vaccination, that they will not be able to get it the next week or in coming weeks shows a lack of preparedness. It simply makes no sense that they did not know beforehand. The Chief Public Health Officer seemed to even say that vaccination clinics will have to close. That just does not make sense.
In my opinion, the confusion began when the government delayed approval of the vaccine. Other countries had approved the vaccine before Canada. The United States, Australia and France approved a vaccine on September 13, 18 and 25 respectively. At that point, Canadians began saying that the government must have delayed approval because there was something not right with the vaccine. Conspiracy theories surfaced on the Internet about how components of the vaccine or the adjuvant were harmful to health. People began to have doubts.
But when people understood, they all wanted the vaccine. We did educate people, and I do not accept the government's suggestion that we did not do our jobs. My Bloc Québécois and I did everything we could using scientific evidence to reassure our fellow citizens that the vaccine is safe. Once we did that, a huge number of our people wanted to get the vaccine. Once again, the government should not have based its action plan on the assumption that a certain percentage of the population would get the vaccine. It should have acted on the assumption that the vast majority of people would want it.
Earlier, the minister said that the vaccine supplier—the sole supplier, I should point out—completed its production of seasonal flu vaccine before starting to produce H1N1 flu vaccine because seasonal flu can be fatal and we need the right tools to deal with it properly. I agree with that. However, a government with a clear and precise plan would have sought out other avenues or even other suppliers to ensure that all of our fellow citizens receive the vaccine while it mattered.
At the moment, we are right in the middle of the second wave of the H1N1 pandemic, and many of our fellow citizens are not yet vaccinated. We know that those at low risk of complications will not be vaccinated until December. Earlier, the minister said that everyone would be vaccinated by Christmas. However, people are coming to see us and they are saying that by Christmas, it will all be over. They are wondering if they will even need it by then. They are wondering whether they will already have come down with this flu by Christmas. These are legitimate questions. The government has to give people the answers they need.
The minister also said again in her speech that production of adjuvanted vaccines for the general public had to be stopped so that GSK could produce unadjuvanted vaccines for pregnant women. But I believe I heard that the World Health Organization and government representatives have said that the adjuvanted vaccine could also be suitable for pregnant women. This message will have to be clarified.
Last Monday, the government announced that it was purchasing 200,000 doses of unadjuvanted vaccine from an Australian company. When the government announces that it is buying unadjuvanted vaccine for pregnant women, people can easily think that the government has found an alternative way to distribute unadjuvanted vaccine to Quebec and the provinces for pregnant women. But now, a week later, we are finding out that that was not the real reason the government was buying unadjuvanted vaccine from Australia. Here again, the way in which the government is going about procuring vaccine is not clear.
All these questions are relevant because, as I said earlier, people expect to be vaccinated quickly because we are right in the middle of the second wave of the H1N1 pandemic.
We know that the federal government has a $400 million special fund created by the previous government for use in the event of a pandemic. We have watched the Conservative government whittle away at this money, withdrawing $80 million a year because the fund had not been used to respond to a pandemic in the previous 12 months. But this money could be made available to Quebec and the provinces to improve information sharing about the vaccination campaign, for example. Or it could be transferred to Quebec and the provinces to help them hire more nurses to administer the vaccine when it arrives. Of course, all that needs to be part of a clear, coherent plan.
Earlier, I heard my colleagues talking about the situation on native reserves and in first nations communities, and rightly so. When the health committee examined this issue in August, first nations representatives, including grand chiefs, came to tell us about a disturbing situation, one that this government should be ashamed of. It is also disgraceful for the Liberals, who formed the previous government, since one of the reasons this virus, the flu virus, has been able to spread so quickly in those communities is due to overcrowding, in addition to the fact that certain isolated communities do not have access to potable water.
When, in 2009, our citizens do not have access to potable water in a country that former Prime Minister Chrétien called “the most best country in the world”, that makes no sense. One might wonder about the government's real desire to tackle this problem, which has been an issue for many years.
I remember asking government officials if they had only recently realized that certain areas within Canada did not have safe drinking water. Of course, we were told that measures would be put in place, but they had to be introduced gradually, over time, and so on. As we can see with the first wave of the flu, the fact that this aspect was neglected is making that population even more vulnerable.
The Speaker is signaling that I have only three minutes left. My colleague across the floor wishes to give me 15 minutes, Madam Speaker. Is he right? Do I really have 15 minutes left? Of course not.
In conclusion, I would simply like to come back to the fact that the minister talked about the schedule for ordering the vaccine. How is it possible that we have known since June 11 that there was a level 6 pandemic, but that the 50 million doses were not ordered until August? How is it possible that the government waited until September to order the adjuvanted vaccine, when we could have easily ordered the unadjuvanted vaccines earlier, while we were waiting to hear whether the adjuvanted vaccine was approved or safe?
That would have surely put us in a better position to help those who simply want to be vaccinated. It would be completely irresponsible on our part not to question the minister and the government about this. It is unfortunate; I know. The minister does not like it, but it is clear that deep down, we have some questions, as we all sit here in this House, and we hear from the agency and from experts. I can only imagine what Canadians are thinking, as they receive sometimes contradictory information and wonder when they will be able to get vaccinated.
I would like to thank my colleagues for their attention, and I encourage everyone in this House to participate in this important emergency debate on the H1N1 pandemic.
Madam Speaker, I will be brief.
In her speech, the minister spoke about discussions she had had with GSK, the supplier of the vaccines, regarding the availability of unadjuvanted vaccines, without being specific about when things would get back to normal. She simply told us that more will be available in the coming weeks or in the near future.
Can the minister be more specific about when the unadjuvanted vaccines will be available?
Health November 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, this week, Quebec will receive just 100,000 adjuvanted doses compared to the 400,000 it was receiving weekly for the past three weeks. Canada's Chief Public Health Officer said he did not realize there would be a shortage until last Thursday. What foresight.
How can we trust this government when it did not see this shortage coming?
Health November 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, efforts made by Quebec and the provinces to vaccinate the public against H1N1 are being thwarted by the slow delivery of vaccine, which was prompted by a federal directive. Canada's Chief Public Health Officer said that production of non-adjuvanted vaccines will reduce the production and delivery of regular vaccines for a few weeks.
How can the government explain that because of its lack of preparation, some vaccination clinics might have to close as early as next week?
Industry October 29th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, Quebec has a high-tech industrial policy that covers the innovative pharmaceutical industry. The Prime Minister has met with investors. During those meetings, he was informed that innovative pharmaceutical companies in Canada do not have the right to appeal to protect their patents, as companies in Europe and the United States do. This situation affects a number of companies in Quebec and Ontario.
When will Canada create a right to appeal, allowing innovative companies to stand up to their competition and make the most of their assets, so that they can continue to invest in research and development and preserve these high-tech jobs?
Agriculture and Agri-Food October 22nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, farmers in Saint Amable who had to give up on the 2006 potato crop because of golden nematode still have not received adequate compensation. This summer, the Conservative government said they would have to settle for the $5 million on the table, which will not even cover the interest on their mortgage loans for the past three years.
This government was able to find $10 billion for the automobile industry in Ontario so why can it not find adequate funding to help these potato producers cope with this disaster?