Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I will tell Canadians the truth. The opposition wants to turn vaccine procurement into a partisan political issue. The fact is that the government is exceeding all its targets and all expectations with respect to vaccine delivery by millions of doses, as we saw with the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. I can assure Canadians that we will continue to have good news for them about thi…
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Madam Speaker, on vaccines, the Prime Minister is telling the truth, both in the House and to all Canadians. He is about to do so again in a few minutes. The fact is that the opposition is playing political games, while we are busy working to get vaccines into Canada more quickly. We have demonstrated that over and over again, and we will continue to demonstrate it.
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Madam Speaker, this government will stop at nothing to protect its citizens and, indeed, our government and its institutions from cyber-attacks. The minister is completely committed to his work on that file, and that file will continue. That work includes doing work with our technology companies, doing work across the government and funding adequately our cybersecurity efforts.
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Madam Speaker, in fact, our government is incredibly committed to reaching that 5% target of procurement from indigenous companies. I had the pleasure, along with the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, of participating in a round table and working on the modernization of procurement in delivering successful procurements for indigenous companies and indigenous peoples right across the cou…
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Madam Speaker, we have already furnished 12.7 million doses to the provinces and territories to vaccinate Canadians. We have managed to advance tens of millions of vaccine doses from one quarter to another and, just moments ago, announced that an additional eight million doses of Pfizer vaccine will be supplied to Canadians over the coming weeks and months. The Canadian vaccine procurement strateg…
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Madam Speaker, we just had a great example of the member's reading the question instead of listening to the previous answer. As I just reported, we will be increasing the number of Pfizer vaccines available to Canadians by eight million over the next weeks and months. That will mean that approximately 50 million doses of vaccines will be distributed to Canadians. The real question is when will the…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, a negotiation team was assembled in June 2020, led by Public Services and Procurement Canada, to initiate negotiations with leading vaccine suppliers. During these early engagements, both Public Services and Procurement Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada raised domestic options for manufacturing vaccines. The specific details of the negotiations cannot be disclosed as it is…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, PSPC has been in constant contact with key partners including the Public Health Agency of Canada, PHAC, Health Canada, Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada, ISED, Global Affairs Canada, the COVID Vaccine Task Force and others to plan and execute the procurement of personal protective equipment and medical equipment, such as masks,…
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), as per the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act, the procurement ombudsman can review two types of complaints: complaints respecting compliance with regulations made under the Financial Administration Act regarding the award of certain contracts; and complaints respecting the administration of certain contracts. Since March 1, 2020, the ombud…
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Madam Speaker, of course we are thrilled to have reached our target of securing six million doses in the first quarter, and those doses are already here. On top of that, we expect another three million doses to arrive next week. We did experience a slight delay with one supplier due to internal quality control concerns, but we are determined to maintain the momentum when it comes to importing and …
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Madam Speaker, the minister did in fact issue a press release yesterday saying that she had just been informed that the company in question was experiencing quality control issues. As a result, there will be slight delay of just a few days in the arrival of approximately 600,000 doses in Canada. Next week, we will receive three million doses to distribute to the provinces and territories, which wi…
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Madam Speaker, I can assure my hon. colleague by saying that the government monitors vaccine supply and the arrival of vaccine doses. That is why we were able to move up delivery of nearly two million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, including 1.5 million doses from the United States next week through our agreement with the U.S. government. We have proven that we can acquire vaccine doses and mov…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague was a member of the government that restricted the national shipbuilding strategy to just two shipyards and knows very well that, since we were elected and unlike the previous government, we have been working on getting ships in the water and building ships at a reasonable cost. We will continue to do this work, including working on the polar icebreaker. We will ha…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), as of March 16, 2021, the quarterly breakdown of expected deliveries of approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen) is eight million by the end of March, 28.5 million between April and the end of June, and 81.5 million between July and the end of September, for an aggregate total of 118 million by the end of September 2021. This inc…
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), a contract in support of the government’s COVID-19 response was awarded to the SNC-Lavalin PAE Joint Venture, SNC-Lavalin PAE Inc., on April 9, 2020, to design and deliver mobile health units following a limited tender solicitation. This contract is valued at $150 million. With regard to (b), two Canadian contractors were invited to submit proposals based on their …
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Mr. Speaker, to protect Canada’s negotiating position and to respect confidentiality clauses in our vaccine agreements, Public Services and Procurement Canada cannot unilaterally disclose details of specific agreements. We continue to seek opportunities to be as transparent as possible about our procurements in support of Canada’s COVID response, while respecting confidentiality agreements and pro…
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), as a common service provider for procurement, PSPC has been engaged by its clients to procure a broad range of goods and services related to the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has included requirements such as personal protective equipment; medical/laboratory equipment and supplies; vaccines, logistics; professional services; software; he…
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Mr. Speaker, as the member is well aware, we got some very good news this morning with the announcement that a third vaccine was being approved. That is in addition to all of the other vaccines that are now quickly arriving in the country. The six million Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be here by the end of March. Over 14 million Canadians will be able to be vaccinated by the end of June, and th…
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Madam Speaker, we are fully committed to providing our navy and our Coast Guard with the ships they deserve. As the hon. member knows full well, the previous government systematically underestimated the cost of building frigates, ships and the national shipbuilding strategy, and it excluded the Davie shipyard and other Quebec builders. We are in the process of getting things back on course, calcul…
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Madam Speaker, that is exactly what we have done. We have corrected the past mistakes made by the Stephen Harper government, which shut the Quebec shipyard out of the national shipbuilding strategy. We began by awarding the Davie shipyard contracts for icebreakers and for the life extensions and refits of frigates into ferries. We are currently in talks to make Davie the third authorized shipyard …
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Madam Speaker, the member knows full well that when the current government came to power, it made sure that the Davie shipyard and other shipyards in Quebec were able to participate more fully in the national shipbuilding strategy, which is only right. Because of us, the Davie shipyard is getting frigates to repair icebreakers and ferries. Beyond that, the government is in negotiations to open the…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from the national capital for her question and for her work. As the member knows, 643,000 doses have already been delivered to Canada this week. This means a total of 2.5 million doses by this weekend, 3.5 million doses by the end of March and 1.5 million Pfizer doses in the first two weeks of April. We will have enough vaccines to vaccinate 14.5 million pe…
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Mr. Speaker, we are obviously committed to continuing with our national shipbuilding strategy so that our Coast Guard and navy can be equipped with ships befitting their place in the world. Naturally, we have entered into discussions to include Quebec City's Davie shipyard in this strategy, to have it carry out this work and provide our navy and Coast Guard with the ships they deserve.
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Mr. Speaker, the answer is that we have already done that. We did not wait for the Bloc Québécois to include the Davie shipyard. We already did that for the icebreaker contracts that are worth billions of dollars, for the repair and return of frigates and, obviously, for building ferries. As far as the third shipyard is concerned, we are in negotiations to include Davie. The Davie shipyard could b…
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Mr. Speaker, we of course share the urgency of the hon. member in vaccinating the people of Saskatchewan and indeed every Canadian. That is why we are very happy we are able to fill our commitment to receive six million doses in the first quarter of this year, over 23 million doses in the second quarter and more than enough pre-approved vaccines to vaccinate every Canadian by the end of September.…
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Mr. Speaker, as we do every year, we will of course account for all government spending in the public accounts. It will be as transparent and open as the member can possibly imagine, just as it has been in the past. We will continue to do whatever it takes to protect Canadians with PPE and especially vaccines. We will have enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone by the end of September.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table petition e-2467, which was initiated by Nadine Belzile of Gatineau and signed by 726 people. There are more than 3,000 stillbirths in Canada each year, and experts say that at least 30% of these babies could be saved. The petitioners are asking the government to create a national committee on stillbirth and launch a national awareness campaign.
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Madam Speaker, as the member well knows, and as all Canadians know, we entered into negotiations with many vaccine manufacturers to ensure that we would have the most diversified vaccine portfolio in the world. Some 14.5 million Canadians could be vaccinated by the end of June, and all Canadians could be vaccinated by the end of September. That is excellent news.
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Madam Speaker, we have distributed almost 1.6 million doses of the vaccine to Canadians and this week we received the outstanding news that 14.5 million Canadians will be vaccinated by the end of June, leading to every Canadian who wishes to receive a vaccine being vaccinated by the end of September. We have one of the most comprehensive vaccine supply portfolios in the world, and we will continue…
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Madam Speaker, obviously we are guided at all times, especially during the entirety of this pandemic, by experts, scientists and our groups of immunization and vaccine scientists. That is precisely how we ended up with a very diverse vaccine portfolio, including a Quebec vaccine candidate from Medicago. Obviously we are pleased about that.
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Madam Speaker, what Canada favoured was securing vaccines as quickly as possible. That is why we acted quickly, guided by experts and scientists, to secure the best portfolio of vaccine candidates in the whole world. Thanks to this strategy, we will be able to vaccinate 14.5 million Canadians by the end of June and all remaining Canadians by the end of September. This is very good news.
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Madam Speaker, we have shown notable transparency. Of course, we communicate dose information to the province and territories and coordinate our vaccination effort very well. Let me quote Innovative Medicines Canada, which represents a number of our vaccine suppliers. It said, “We urge all parties to respect the confidential nature of these commercial contracts which were entered into in good fait…
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Madam Speaker, will you be proceeding to presenting petitions?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on February 15, 1965, Canada's red and white maple leaf flag was raised for the very first time on Parliament Hill. On the same day in 1996, National Flag of Canada Day was declared. Some 56 years ago, an audience of 10,000 enthusiastically applauded Gaétan Secours. He was a 26-year-old RCMP officer when he raised Canada's new flag for the first time over the Peace Tower on Parliament…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I salute you and thank all the staff, especially the interpreters, for continuing to serve us so well. I am pleased to take part in today's debate on Bill C-222, an act to amend the Expropriation Act. The member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke tabled this bill, apparently with the goal of promoting the protection of Canadians' private property. The member stated that her intention with…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, we were saddened to learn yesterday of the death of Robert Labine, a former mayor of Gatineau and great champion of our city. Mr. Labine served as mayor during years of strong growth. We have him to thank for several pieces of municipal infrastructure that define Gatineau's landscape, including the police headquarters and the Gatineau sector city hall. His contributions to the devel…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. As he knows very well, Canada negotiated with seven vaccine manufacturers. Five of those have shown promising results, and the other two have already been approved. We are receiving doses this week and we will continue to receive doses throughout the first quarter, for a total of six million doses by the end of March. Every Canadian who want…
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Madam Speaker, this government is motivated, and we are working quickly and diligently to secure the vaccines needed to vaccinate all Canadians. We signed agreements with Moderna and Pfizer. These companies manufacture the first two vaccines that were approved. We will be getting enough vaccines from these two suppliers alone to vaccinate all Canadians by the end of September. There are now three …
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Madam Speaker, transparency and accountability are top priorities for our government. We are committed to releasing as much information as possible about our procurement efforts throughout the pandemic. We are, of course, collaborating with the provinces and territories. Given the fierce global competition for vaccines at the moment, disclosing certain information about contracts with specific sup…
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Madam Speaker, obviously, we are having regular discussions with all of the provinces and territories, and we are talking about the vaccine deliveries that continue to arrive from Europe. We signed agreements with seven manufacturers, two of which are currently delivering vaccines to Canada. As the member is well aware, we will be receiving 6 million doses during the first quarter and enough vacci…
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Madam Speaker, of course Canada has done exemplary work in this pandemic, including getting billions of pieces of PPE to provinces and territories, collaborating on rapid testing with provinces and procuring from seven vaccine manufacturers enough doses to vaccinate every Canadian many times over. Just with the vaccines we have already approved, we have enough doses to vaccinate every Canadian who…
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Madam Speaker, Canada has seven very solid vaccine procurement agreements. As the hon. members know full well, we will receive six million doses by the end of the first quarter, and we will receive enough doses of vaccines that have already been approved to vaccinate all Canadians by the end of September.
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Madam Speaker, our hearts go out to our seniors, the pioneers who built our communities, who are living in residences and long-term care homes all across Quebec. We are pleased that they have gotten priority access to the vaccine. Some vaccines have already arrived, and others will arrive this week, contrary to what the House just heard. We will be getting enough new doses to vaccinate all seniors…
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Madam Speaker, of course we communicate with the provinces, like the member's province of Manitoba, on a regular basis. We continue to receive vaccine shipments, and people in Manitoba would be receiving them as well. That includes this week. We have doses coming by the end of March, six million in fact, that have already been approved, and enough to vaccinate every Canadian by the end of Septembe…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada pursued a strategy of pursuing the earliest possible vaccines that we could secure from among all of the vaccine candidates in the world. That is why we have reached agreements with seven vaccine manufacturers, five of which we have of course received encouraging clinical data from, and two of which have already been approved and are being deployed on Canadian soil. Every Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, while other countries were acting, Canada was also acting. We were securing PPE for our front-line medical workers and our provinces, working carefully on securing vaccine agreements with seven leading manufacturers around the world, working on building up our domestic ability to produce long-term vaccines, and working to get those vaccines into Canada and into Canadian arms at the ea…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously Canada acted quickly to get enough doses to vaccinate all Canadians multiple times. By the end of September, we will have enough approved doses so that every Canadian who wants to be vaccinated can be. As for COVAX, Canada can be proud of its participation in that program, which seeks to provide vaccines to developing countries. COVAX's very purpose is to ensure that Canada …
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has entered into seven vaccine procurement agreements including five vaccine candidates that offer encouraging news. Of the two already approved, we will receive six million doses by the end of March, as the member just mentioned. Canada will continue to increase its vaccine supply so that every Canadian who wants one will have access to it by the end of September.
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Mr. Speaker, we regularly disclose the number of vaccines we expect to receive. We are experiencing temporary delays with the two approved vaccines, but we will receive six million doses by the end of the first quarter. COVAX was specifically designed so that Canada and other developed countries would receive vaccines during the first phase of the program, and then developing countries would recei…
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Mr. Speaker, we regularly inform our partners, the provinces and territories, of the number of doses they can expect. We have published the number of vaccine doses that we expect to receive in the next quarters. Canada has one of the most advanced and diversified vaccine procurement strategies in the world. Canadians can be proud and rest assured that vaccines will be available to every Canadian w…
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