Health  Mr. Speaker, the member asked two questions, one I cannot answer and the other I will. When will the COVID‑19 pandemic end? Unfortunately, I do not think we can answer that today. However, if my colleague wants access to more information in addition to what I have already provided, I would be happy to provide it in the most appropriate way possible.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to receive this question because it enables me to add one more piece of information, this time from the United States. One million is the number of deaths that were avoided because of Americans were vaccinated. It was mentioned earlier that they could have avoided many more deaths with more vaccinations, as we did in Canada.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I mentioned earlier the amount of $4 billion. That is a lot of money, which the federal government and other governments have saved because of high vaccination rates, in part due to vaccination mandates, but most importantly, that is a lot of household income, family income, income to look after children, to care for seniors, to look after those who may not often find it easy to make ends meet.

Health  Mr. Speaker, we are going to do exactly as my colleague suggests on April 1. On April 1, pre-entry testing requirements will go away. That will simplify everyone's life and encourage more people to come see my colleagues and me in wonderful Quebec City and the beautiful surrounding area.

Health  Mr. Speaker, there are two things I assume my hon. colleague already knows. The first is that I am indeed the member for Quebec, which is probably the most beautiful city in the country and I am very proud of it. I represent this area along with other distinguished members of the House.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I will speak to something I think is extremely important for us to understand, which is long COVID. Among all those infected by COVID, whether it be severe or mild, the estimate is that between 10% and 30% will suffer from long COVID. This has dramatic impacts on their lives in the short and longer term.

Health  Mr. Speaker, compassion is the key word. We need to have each other's backs. We need to protect each other's health. That is best done by following public health measures, as most of us are doing today, but not all of us. It is also done by being vaccinated, which protects our health and that of those we love.

Health  Mr. Speaker, we all agree and are all thankful for humanity. Humanity means thinking about others and caring for others. I will mention the fact that, on average, in the last week we have had about 50 to 60 additional deaths. Those are not just numbers: those are people whose families obviously are very much impacted.

Health  Mr. Speaker, Conservatives have to choose between vaccination, which is not punishment but protection, and lockdown. We cannot have no vaccination and no lockdown. The fact that the Conservatives do not seem to believe in vaccination, in March 2022, is very serious. If we did not have vaccination, and if we did not keep insisting on vaccination, we would be closing schools, shops, stores and factories and we would be overloading hospitals with patients.

Health  Mr. Speaker, that question gives me the opportunity to continue speaking about the hardships and stress many Canadians feel, including health care workers and obviously patients. We have seen, over the last two years, a backlog of surgeries approximately equal to 700,000 patients.

Health  Mr. Speaker, we would all like to be able to declare the date when COVID‑19 will disappear from the earth. That would be marvellous. I would certainly be the happiest man on earth, and in this Parliament, to be able to tell the House on what day COVID‑19 will disappear. Unfortunately, I do not know.

Health  Mr. Speaker, it is true the mental health of Canadians has been deeply affected the last two years. We estimate that about one Canadian out of two has seen his or her mental health deteriorate over the last few months. For health care workers, it is about three quarters. Now, health care workers have been at the front lines of this crisis—

Health  Mr. Speaker, I was going to point to health care workers. Obviously, we are deeply thankful to them, but thankfulness is not enough. We need to think of them and we need to act in a way that protects them if we want them to protect us.

Health  Mr. Speaker, hardship is the right word. I was speaking yesterday with the Canadian Pharmacists Association, which represents another group of health care workers who have been at the front line and living very difficult times. Their personal mental stress has been heightened by COVID, as has the stress of their families when they go home after a day at work, the stress of their staff and the stress of the patients they have cared for, now for more than two years.

Health  Mr. Speaker, let me try again to make it very simple. I will use one number this time, instead of two, which is 135,000. That is the number of Americans whose deaths were avoidable. If the U.S. had been vaccinated to the extent we have in Canada, in part due to vaccination mandates, they would not have died.