Foreign Affairs committee  I can't comment on the specifics and what process was followed, but I think we are in a crisis situation due to the pandemic globally. I understand the stance that WHO has taken, given Philip Morris's 21% stake in the company, but I was asking myself, if this had been the first

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm not privy to that information, sir. I don't know if Dr. Waite has anything to add here.

Foreign Affairs committee  In my view of the top three things, the first is to support the TRIPS waiver and to take a very active role in that. Currently, I think we're waiting to see what the draft will look like. I think taking an active leadership role would be desirable. The second thing is supporting

Foreign Affairs committee  Neither am I. I'm not in a good position to answer that question.

Foreign Affairs committee  A number of companies have recently made announcements that they will be developing new plants based in Africa. This whole process may take a year or longer, but I think we really have an opportunity here, with the technology help that has been established by the WHO. They have t

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm not sure we need very complicated distribution algorithms. There is significant demand in most countries. I think Dr. Waite or one of the earlier speakers said that vaccine demand is significantly high. Vaccine hesitancy, as it has been presented in the western world, is low,

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. Vaccine nationalism is something we have seen across the globe. Canada is not the only country. The U.S. and most European countries have taken a very similar route, which is, in some ways, understandable. There is public pressure on the government, but at the same ti

Foreign Affairs committee  As I pointed out, the company that used that flexibility in 2008 was extremely frustrated with the process, and the recent experience of Biolyse was not particularly different. Just getting a drug on schedule 1, as I said, takes several months, and the approach of going country t

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm happy to go first. I have not engaged directly with the government on this particular issue, but I've seen several accounts of how Canada has engaged or not engaged in this process. In fact, last year a number of accounts emerged suggesting that the Canadian government has,

Foreign Affairs committee  There have been lots of suggestions to lead one to conclude in that direction.

Foreign Affairs committee  I agree. I think the U.S. and the European Union are much bigger players than are some of the other countries. It was good to see that the U.S. last year started actively supporting vaccine waivers, and the European Union certainly has some reservations in this area as well. Whi

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Two years into the pandemic, 64.5% of the world has received at least one dose of the vaccine, but the percentage in the developing world is only 14.5%. This massive vaccine inequity is, quite frankly, an embarrassment. Companies have prioritized sales t