International Trade committee  Declan, this probably is a good one for you to take on.

International Trade committee  I think there is a global ethical and moral obligation to make sure that everyone in this world has access to vaccines, absolutely. In terms of the COVAX facility, it was very clearly set up to do that, but also to be of assistance to countries that were contributing the vaccines.

International Trade committee  I think the answer to that question is complex. There are multiple possible answers, from supply chains to the fact that it is a revolutionary technology. As I mentioned in my comments, the technology we're using for most of the current vaccines didn't even exist a few years ago, etc.

International Trade committee  I do believe there is a relationship. Without pointing fingers at any particular government, for decades now it's not been an, I'd say, “ideal” relationship. The life sciences sector writ large—the pharmaceutical industry is one part of that—has not been viewed as the contributor to the health and the economy of the country that we feel it should be.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Madam Chair and honourable members, for this opportunity to address this motion to study Canada's trade and investment policies and the impact they are currently having on the production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines within our borders. These efforts, I'd like to note, have been remarkable for the degree of co-operation we are seeing across governments and our health systems during a time of unprecedented challenges.

Health committee  I will start by acknowledging, as several have, Mr. Keon in particular, that the drug industry is global. Whether we're referring to generic or patented drugs, it is a global industry with inputs from around the world. There are multiple ways in which the supply, the supply chain, the flow of drugs can be affected.

Health committee  No, consistent with Dr. Neame, we've been monitoring very vigilantly throughout this time. We check with our members regularly. We do everything we can to make sure that drugs are in full supply. Our members have told us there have not been problems. This is on the patented drug side.

Health committee  I hate to sound like a broken record on this particular question, but probably the most important piece that we could do in Canada would be to get that balanced, whole-of-government approach to the two issues of cost containment and the investment attraction programs that are in place.

Health committee  Thank you very much for the opportunity to respond to that. I also have something to add to your previous question to Mr. Keon, if there is time. We looked at Health Canada data—it isn't our data but Health Canada's data—and compared the data from Q4 2019. The regulations were passed on August 21, 2019.

Health committee  I think my colleagues, Drs. Halperin and Neame, might be the best to respond to that. As I say, there's quite a bit of coverage in the press right now in terms of making that decision. Do you provide it to the most vulnerable, the elderly, the marginalized populations, or do we identify the biggest spreaders, young people, etc., who are perhaps asymptomatic but spreading the disease?

Health committee  I would emphasize the policy-making decisions that are going to be required by every government to determine who gets these vaccines first. There's a lot of coverage in the media these days about that very question. First of all, once we get the vaccine—and I say “once”, because I'm confident we will—we have to create the supply and the distribution.

Health committee  If I may add one quick comment. It's almost a good news story that I can't give you a list of every company and how many dollars they received and how they benefited, because what it means—to Dr. Neame's point—is that everyone is working in collaboration. I can point to a company of ours in Quebec, Medicago, which we mentioned in the opening comments.

Health committee  Let me say first of all that Canada is seen as a very attractive country, so companies want to invest here. We have a good health care system. We have excellent researchers. We have good institutions. We have diverse populations with clinical trials. We are an attractive place.

Health committee  It's all about the patients. As you say, there is no industry without patients, and there is no industry without good outcomes for these patients. That is the driver, yes.

Health committee  I remain an eternal optimist. I would like to think that this slight delay will give us the opportunity to open that door. The industry has, for the last two years, been very open to working with government to find the best policy solutions possible. We have brought ideas and efforts forward.