44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2022 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the New Democratic Party really does not think independently anymore. They just side with the Liberals on every single piece of major legislation.
What is also important to point out is that Dr. Bonnie Henry in British Columbia is not even counting the number of COVID cases anymore because it would not be accurate, for some of the reasons I have already listed. That is in the news.
It is time. The disease is entering an endemic stage. It is time for the Government of Canada to change its approach, and it is time for the NDP and the Liberals to wake up, stop wasting taxpayer dollars and start giving people their freedom back.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in this wonderful House and speak on behalf of the residents I represent. I will be sharing my time with my friend and colleague, the member for Kings—Hants. I wish him well when his opportunity arises.
We are here speaking about the urgency of getting to Bill C-10 and ensuring Canadians, and the provincial and territorial governments, have the tools they need as we continue the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic but also as we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. That is exactly what we are doing.
We procured vaccines. We procured personal protection equipment. We have now procured literally hundreds of millions of rapid tests. I wish to give a shout-out to my friend from Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, the minister responsible, for the Herculean efforts that the minister and her department officials have made on the file. I wish to thank them. Again, this is another tool in the fight against COVID-19. It is also another tool so that Canadians can gradually and safely return to normality in their lives. That is what we in the House all want, to again have normality in our lives, but we can only do it gradually and safely.
It is Valentine's Day and I do want to give a shout-out to my wife. I thank the hon. member on the opposite side who I am friends with for that applause. I wish his spouse the same greetings as well.
I am grateful for the opportunity to rise in the House to speak to the urgency of Bill C-10. As Canada emerges out of this omicron wave with vaccines widely available and promising therapeutics like Pfizer's Paxlovid starting to roll out, the focus of our planning will naturally shift towards recovery and a more sustainable approach to managing the ongoing presence of this virus.
We know the virus does not have an end date. My opposition colleagues may think that, but it does not. We need to be prudent and gradual, and do the right thing for Canadians while protecting our health care system. This is where the importance of testing comes into play. In spite of all the promising gains, in terms of vaccinations and therapeutics, COVID-19 is still with us. We need a strong system in place in order to manage the virus, now and in the future, to prevent increased caseloads and hospitalizations as we reopen our economy and to prepare for possible future waves and new variants of concern.
Testing complements and builds on the existing health response to COVID. Informed by science and the advice of public health officials, the Public Health Agency of Canada has developed guidance and tools regarding public health measures to help manage COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. This public health guidance is developed jointly or in consultation with Health Canada or other federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, health authorities and public health experts.
As the evidence and understanding of COVID-19 has evolved, guidance has been adapted in turn. Provinces and territories also have guidance specific to their jurisdictions. This may include legislative regulatory policy and practice requirements, as well as professional guidelines. Their recommendations may differ, reflecting their local realities. Guidance developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada complements these provincial and territorial efforts.
As COVID-19 continues to circulate in Canada, we have seen epidemic waves crest and fall, and numerous public health measures, testing strategies and personal protective practices deployed in response. It has been a multi-layered approach. This multi-layered approach taken on by our government in conjunction and working with all the provincial and territorial governments is to protect our health care system and make sure we can emerge safely from the pandemic.
The Public Health Agency is working with provincial and territorial partners to plan for a sustainable approach, an approach that includes using testing to identify and isolate even more quickly cases of COVID-19. Canadians have become accustomed to terms and practices, such as using a layered approach to protecting themselves, which may include physical distancing, masking and avoiding poorly ventilated spaces.
Testing will become a crucial component of this layered approach, especially as testing spreads more and more into workplaces. Canadians have been doing what it takes to collectively get us all through the various waves and have pulled together when it matters most. Through our ongoing sacrifices and efforts, many infections and severe outcomes have been averted.
PHAC scientists have analyzed data and completed modelling from Canada that shows that, in most jurisdictions, implementation of public health measures was associated with reduced transmission of COVID-19. Studies have also shown that the public health measures that some jurisdictions have implemented, such as school closures, social distancing, stay-at-home rules, quarantine and masking, have reduced the severity of the pandemic. These measures, alongside our high rates of vaccination, have resulted in decreases in daily case rates, rates of infection, hospitalization, daily ICU admission rates and deaths.
I would be remiss if I did not give a shout-out to the wonderful residents of my riding and the region that I represent, York Region, where 90% of individuals have received their vaccine and the third dose rate is continuing to increase. That is great to see. Thanks to Canadians' willingness to follow these effective public health measures and to roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated, our outlook for the next several months continues to improve.
Public health guidance will remain a critical tool to address how we respond to the virus in the months ahead and, as the guidance shifts to include testing, the Public Health Agency of Canada will continue to work with partners across the country and around the world to learn more as well as to evaluate the emerging science to inform public health advice and guidance for Canadians. In order to support Canadians to make the best decisions for their personal protection, the Public Health Agency of Canada has developed web-based tools, such as My COVID-19 Visit Risk, that enables Canadians to better understand the factors that affect the risk of getting COVID-19 when visiting or gathering with others.
If Canadians are also able to use rapid tests to determine whether they are infected they will be able to make better, more-informed decisions to determine their risk of spreading COVID-19 and will be able to trust more that others are doing the same so that all Canadians can better protect their communities from further transmission. This is incredibly important when we go to visit our loved ones in long-term care facilities or seniors' residences or other vulnerable populations.
Rapid tests will be critical and crucial as we move forward and finish the fight against COVID-19, but we know COVID-19 will continue to be with us and we need to be prudent. Testing and general public health measures all fit together to stop the spread of COVID-19. Wearing the best-quality and best-fitting mask or respirator available, having access to rapid tests to determine infection and following the various other measures are important in the context of variants of concern, particularly for vulnerable populations who have the highest risk of severe outcomes or experiencing the broader negative impacts of the pandemic.
Recognizing that further waves will occur, longer-term sustained approaches and capacity building are required. As restrictions are gradually lifted in response to local epidemiology, approaches will concentrate on preventing severe cases of COVID through vaccination, supporting Canadians to use personal protective measures and making testing readily accessible. The longer-term, more sustained approach as we fight this virus will leverage all tools to balance the need to manage COVID-19 while minimizing societal disruption and enabling recovery.
We all want to go to our favourite restaurants and gather with a large group of friends. I know we want to baptize my four-month-old and we want to invite all our family and friends there. We want a gradual reopening as well. We know that, and rapid tests will be a critical piece of that. As restrictions ease, ongoing updates to guidance and web tools posted on government websites continue to support Canadians in making decisions for their protection based on personal risk assessments.
I would like to finish by reaffirming that this pandemic has demonstrated that we need a range of measures in our public health tool box, including vaccines, PPE and social distancing, to continue to fend off highly infectious diseases. That includes testing. To fight this pandemic, we have already made vaccinations readily available. Again, 90% of individuals in York Region are vaccinated. That is wonderful. We still have more work to do, but we are getting there. Now is the time to make testing readily available. With members' support of Bill C-10, we can give Canadians a better chance to manage their own health, to remain vigilant and to support each other throughout the remainder of this pandemic.
I wish to say that we all need to work collectively, collaboratively and in the best interests of all Canadians to get through this pandemic. That should be the focus, that should be our end game, and we should not lose sight of that goal.
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On that note, Mr. Speaker, I would like to wish my wonderful spouse a happy Valentine's Day, and I would like to wish the member across the way a terrific Valentine's Day as well. He is a member whom I respect greatly.
Because we will not have a chance at committee, I want to ask a question that I might ask at committee if given the opportunity. This COVID endemic or pandemic could last for some time. Could the member let me know, if he knows off the top of his head or send the documents, when the rapid tests the government is going to purchase will expire?
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by saying hello to my constituents in Trois-Rivières, and everyone else for that matter. Over the weekend, many people told me that they were not too happy that the government was shutting down debate in these circumstances. I guess that when a government does not believe in its own bill, it invokes closure.
In any case, I would like to ask my colleague from Vaughan—Woodbridge a question on vaccination efforts around the world. Canada does not exist in a vacuum, and, if we want to fight COVID-19, we will have to look beyond our borders.
What does my colleague intend to do to secure the logistical support needed for getting vaccine doses to developing countries and ensuring that those doses get there and are properly administered?
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Mr. Speaker, I have to give a shout-out to my husband on Valentine's Day as well.
I wonder if the hon. member would agree with me that there is a danger in all the rhetoric about freedom that we forget the people who are actually the real victims of COVID. As of last Friday, there were 87 people in the hospital in my community and 14 in intensive care. We were averaging two deaths per day and over 200 new cases. We have 22 outbreaks in long-term care homes. We are still delaying over 500 surgeries a week for things like hip replacements.
I know there is a lot of frustration about how long the pandemic has gone on, but would he agree with me that we have to keep in mind that some people are suffering the real impacts of COVID?
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Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute privilege to be here today to speak to Bill C-10, which is legislation that is being introduced to increase the number of rapid tests being sent to the provinces and territories by the Government of Canada. I cannot see this being a controversial piece of legislation. It is straightforward and it is needed, given we are still in the midst of COVID-19. Therefore, I will support it, but I would be remiss to not use this opportunity to explain my view on the broader front of what we are witnessing across the country vis-à-vis COVID-19.
I have spoken at length in this House on my perspective surrounding the protocols associated with COVID-19. I will let Hansard reflect my interventions to date, but let me say this: We collectively simply cannot wish away the pandemic. We all want to be able to move on. People are tired. There has been a significant impact on our lives for the past two years and I will readily admit to a differing degree on the basis of one's profession and circumstance.
When we look at the history of the outbreak of the Spanish flu, today known as influenza, the same debates we are having now on vaccine mandates, around health protocols and the pathway forward were taking place then. In fact, it took approximately three years for that pandemic to make its way through Canada at that given time. Let us be clear: The puck is moving on how jurisdictions around the world are evaluating their respective health measures.
Here in Canada, Dr. Tam has signalled that we, too, will be evaluating our existing protocol at the federal level, and other provincial and territorial governments that are largely responsible for the measures which have been cited in this House are also evaluating next steps. We should celebrate that. It is because Canadians have embraced vaccination and by and large followed the recommendations of public health that has allowed us to be in the position we are in to be able to move forward.
It is important to caution all of us as policy-makers that the decisions surrounding public health should not be made alone on public sentiment, but rather on science, on data and what is a reasonable balance between collective and individual freedoms. I trust and expect that governments at all levels will act accordingly and not on the instinct of what their supporters or partisan base may desire.
I want to go broader and discuss what we are seeing across the country, what I worry about for our democracy and our civil discourse in this country.
First, what we are seeing right here in Ottawa is not a protest. It has gone beyond that. It is a coordinated occupation. We would be naive to assume that what we are seeing in this country is simply and solely tied to COVID-19 and health protocols. The actions being undertaken are to cause direct disruption to Canadians. As is being reported, the organizers behind these actions are well funded, including from foreign sources. The last statistic I saw was that nearly 50% of the funds were from the United States.
The membership includes former law enforcement officers and ex-military members. The actions, particularly this last week, have gone beyond burdening the residents of Ottawa, which has been terrible, but it has also included a deliberate targeting of the Ottawa International Airport. These individuals have openly stated their goal is to overthrow the government. They have espoused ludicrous ideas of meeting with the Governor General and forming a “coalition” to establish a new government. This may seem crazy to some, but that is the stated goal of the individuals behind the protest here in Ottawa.
Elsewhere in the country, there are coordinated efforts to block critical public infrastructure. In Coutts, Alberta, in Emerson, Manitoba, in Sarnia, and the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, which represents 25% of our trade relationship with the United States vis-à-vis vehicle traffic that crosses our border every day with our important partner. This, by all accounts, is an effort to destabilize our country and causing economic harm.
I have the privilege of sitting on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. We heard today from a number of witnesses, the impact that this is happening on our supply chains. There were industry leaders from the pork industry, for example, who said there have been hundreds of trucks that have been impacted and have not been able to travel back and forth. The economic harm is clear. The auto industry has been impacted. This is having adverse impacts on everyday Canadians.
This is a relationship with our most important trading partner and it is impacting our food security. I submit to the House that these actions being undertaken in a coordinated fashion with the open goal of overthrowing the government is akin to an insurrection and we as parliamentarians should see it as such.
Yes, as I have done before, I will not suggest everyone in the country who is protesting has this intent. I think that is very clear, but I truly believe that the principal organizers who are behind particularly what we are seeing in Ottawa have that intent that I have just laid out before us.
Last week, I was pleased to hear the leader of the official opposition call for protesters to go home. Unfortunately, this was the same member who a week ago actively encouraged these individuals to stay and make it “the Prime Minister's problem”. I truly hope that members of Her Majesty's loyal opposition understand the gravity of what the country is facing and do not fan the flames.
While I appreciate that policing is inherently within the jurisdiction of municipalities and the provincial governments, the actions we are seeing and where this is headed is of truly a national security risk and needs to be dealt with as such. We need to continue to coordinate with all levels of government and I ask our government to match our actions and our posture to the level of the threat that exists. Indeed as I stand here delivering my remarks, it is common knowledge that the government intends to introduce the Emergencies Act moving forward.
It is important that we also recognize the decline of civil discourse in the country. Over the past two weeks, we have seen how journalists have been harassed, intimidated and threatened simply for trying to do their jobs. Mr. Speaker, we have had members in the House who have been targeted, you being one of them, along with the member for South Shore—St. Margarets, the member for Cape Breton—Canso, elected officials across Nova Scotia with packages, with hateful information and indeed chemical irritants. This is completely unacceptable. This is disgusting. We as members of the House have a responsibility to call it for what it is.
I want to talk about the use of “mainstream media”. It is an Americanized term and I have started to notice a number of members in the House start to use it. It concerns me and here is why. It is giving the suggestion that media outlets in this country are propagating false information.
I will readily admit that certain news agencies will have ideological bents. I read the National Post, for example. It has a more centre right conservative view on issues. The Globe and Mail may be in the centre, and CBC could be seen to be centre left, but when we as members start to use the term “mainstream media”, and I hear some of my colleagues across laughing, it starts to denigrate the integrity of media in our country. It leads, frankly, to tribalism, because if we cannot agree on a common element of fact in the House, and yes, we should debate different ideologies, different processes, but if we do not have some basic common element of truth, we see what is happening in the United States, the divide in the country. I ask all members of the House to be mindful of our civil discourse, of our behaviour and the words that can denigrate media outlets from reporting.
I lay these concerns before colleagues in good faith. I do not believe myself to be alarmist, but to be reflective of what we are seeing. I am confident that Canadians, our democracy and our institutions are resilient to what we are experiencing. I ask my colleagues to please be mindful of our role to maintain a healthy democracy, to maintain civil discourse and to ward off those who may want to undermine our beautiful country.
Given that I have about 20 or 30 seconds left, it being Valentine's Day, let me say happy Valentine's Day to all Canadians. To my sweetheart and my fiancée, Kimberly, and to our loyal Bernese mountain dog, Sullivan, I say happy Valentine's Day.
I look forward to taking questions from my colleagues.
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Mr. Speaker, as we move forward with making sure that people have the rapid tests they need to continue to address the realities of COVID, we know that in Canada we are still not seeing the investment that we need to support local businesses in being able to provide PPE and other necessary requirements for us to deal with these kinds of health concerns. That is unfortunate.
I wonder if the member could explain why the government is not taking that dedication and especially making sure that we are never in a place again like we were at the beginning of the pandemic when we could not even find the things that we desperately because they simply were not created in our country.
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Mr. Speaker, I know that members will be disappointed to hear this, but I will be sharing my time with one of my colleagues.
We are at a critical time in this nation's history. We hear a lot of, frankly, intentional efforts by other parties to misstate the Conservative Party of Canada's position, but I think it is important to put some clear things on the record about what we are proposing in terms of the response to this pandemic.
Number one, Conservatives oppose the federal mandates. That is why we put forward a motion calling on the government to put forward a plan to end federal mandates. Now, why do we oppose these mandates? It is because they do not make sense, because they are not rooted in science, because they do not help us fight COVID-19, and because they infringe on the rights and liberties of Canadians.
Let us talk about the truckers' mandate. These are people who work alone inside of their trucks. They have to abide by all provincial regulations when it comes to masking and accessing restaurants. Whatever the rules are in the province or state they are in, they have to abide by those rules just like everyone else. An exemption for truckers crossing the border was in place through the entire pandemic up until January, and then the government brought in this additional punitive measure, targeting these frontline workers who had served our country so ably throughout the pandemic and for a long time before. We oppose the truckers' mandate.
We have consistently called for vaccine mandates when it comes to air travel, train travel or the public service, and we have talked about legitimate exceptions for people so that they can have some level of autonomy and choice. That means getting a rapid test before getting on a plane is a reasonable alternative when it makes sense to have that in place. Many public servants throughout the pandemic have worked from home, so a vaccine mandate for firing people, removing people from their jobs, simply because they are making a personal health choice when they are already working from home just does not make sense. Conservatives have been clear on a position that I think is rooted in science and evidence in opposing these federal mandates.
The other thing that we as Conservatives oppose are the efforts by this government, in particular this Prime Minister, to demonize friends and neighbours who may have made different choices about their personal health. As other members have said, every person has their own story. Every person certainly has the responsibility to take the measures they can to protect those around them, but people have to make those decisions individually, and we do not believe in being the kind of country where people are compelled against their will or on pain of job loss to take a vaccination that they still have questions about.
I hear Liberal members now talking about the tone, about bringing down the temperature and about inflammatory comments. The Prime Minister of Canada asked the question, “Do we tolerate these people?” Those were the Prime Minister's words. He talked about not tolerating people. He will call all kinds of names and put in place any kind of policy measure to squeeze those who are making different kinds of personal health choices. It is not helpful, frankly, in persuading people about any issue, to try to demonize and “otherize” those who are making a different choice about themselves. Therefore, we oppose the federal mandates and we oppose the clear efforts by this government, as called out by members of its caucus, to polarize the conversation and demonize those who have made a different choice.
We have also said, and I have said consistently, that we support the right to protest and we support the message of those who are coming to protest on the issue of the federal mandates. Thousands of Canadians who have been forced out of their jobs, have lost businesses, are in a dire position because their livelihoods and the livelihoods of their families are threatened, whose mental health is threatened and are experiencing things they have not experienced before have chosen to come and protest. Many have not ever come to protest before. We support the right of people to protest. We support people's message when it comes to saying that these mandates are fundamentally flawed, they are not based on science and they infringe on individual liberty.
At the same time, we have also been consistently clear in opposing the blockading of critical infrastructure as part of a protest. The great thing about the Conservative Party of Canada is that we have been entirely consistent in opposing blockading critical infrastructure in every case. We have called for additional legislative tools consistently for years when it comes to issues around blockading critical infrastructure, and it does not matter what the cause is. If the cause is federal mandates, if the cause is Idle No More, if the cause is opposing a pipeline, if the cause is trying to create a multi-heritage month—a cause near and dear to my heart—or whatever the cause is, people should not be blockading critical infrastructure. Conservatives have always said this—
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Mr. Speaker, throughout the pandemic, we have been able to provide the provinces and territories with the necessary rapid tests, PPE and vaccines. What the provinces are asking for are additional rapid tests. This is based on the demand from provinces and territories. I myself stood in line during the holidays in the cold to get a rapid test because my family did catch COVID over the holidays, and I know that parents want to make sure they have a rapid test at home in case their child is exposed. What we are asking for is support for the provinces based on what they need.
Would the member agree that it is really important to give parents and those of us who want to visit loved ones in long-term care facilities that tool so that we can make sure not to infect someone if we become exposed?
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Mr. Speaker, I am not going to disagree with the member, but here is the point: We were saying these things in the House two years ago, and the record shows it. The record shows that in my very first interventions in March 2020, I said to the Minister of Health that we should look at the countries that have been most successful at fighting the virus and do the things they did. I suggested looking at Taiwan, South Korea and countries that deployed this kind of testing and these tracing regimes, and those proposals were, at the time, dismissed by the health minister, who allegedly was the authority on all things science.
It is great to see this late-stage conversion. As we are likely moving out of the pandemic phase of COVID-19, it is great to see the government now say that testing is important, but I think we need to recognize the reality of what is happening here and the clear failure of the government to be on this train when it would have made that much more of a difference.
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Mr. Speaker, when I hear Conservatives talking about the blockades, I sometimes get the sense that they are kind of like the kid who was playing with matches in a hay barn and was then surprised that the barn burned down.
That said, the motion we have before us is trying to forward a bill very quickly that Conservatives have been calling for for over a year now, and I am wondering why the Conservatives are holding back on something that would allow provinces to get the resources they need so that we can quickly track where COVID is happening and give many families peace of mind.
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Mr. Speaker, I will adjust my language to simply point out the inconsistency of the Prime Minister's message prior to the election campaign. As my colleague from the Liberal Party in Quebec very effectively highlighted in the press gallery this past week, there was a real change in the Prime Minister's rhetoric in the days leading up to the election, which he had promised he would not call. I certainly know what that is, and I know Canadians watching do as well.
We want to see rapid tests in the hands of Canadians. We want to see the tools used. I never thought, prior to getting involved in politics, that I would invite local weekly newspapers to come to cover me getting my COVID-19 vaccination because I believed that was in the best interest of the country. However, to hear that the Liberals would somehow change their narrative to demonize the fact that we acknowledge there is not universal agreement on something, it speaks to how utterly ignorant and discriminatory, quite frankly, their rhetoric has become.
We have mandates being changed around the country, and the usage of things like rapid tests, which we are talking about here today, is a tool to help us move forward to learn to live with COVID, yet we have the Liberals who, instead of backing up and carefully considering a path forward, double down on failures and division. Now there is the invocation of the Emergencies Act. My constituents remind me often, because I am not old enough to remember the elder Trudeau when he was prime minister, and I know I am not allowed to say the name of the current, but I was referring to the previous, there are scars that this country has not healed from, from the elder Trudeau. I find it incredibly troubling that the Prime Minister is taking Canada down a path where I fear what the consequences will be.
Whether the Liberals are playing politics with the fact that we Conservatives in the official opposition want to do our job or playing politics with the fact that even though we may disagree on aspects of the pandemic response, we cannot find much agreement, instead of charting a path forward that would put the interest of Canadians first, the Liberals, again in this bill and everything they do, are dividing Canadians for their narrow political game, and that has to stop. For the sake of our country, that has to stop.
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Madam Speaker, at least it is predictable that a bill dealing with spending money on something health-related will generate a question from the Bloc about health transfers. At least that is more predictable than what I am hearing from my colleagues in the Conservative Party.
I will say, in an attempt to answer his question, that this government has been focused on a holistic approach from the beginning. The hon. member mentioned $8 out of $10 coming from the federal government. The federal government has looked at itself as the leader, in terms of working with our partners. We have never, throughout this entire process, said that we were just going to hand over money to the provinces and let them fight COVID on their own.
We are going to do this together, and we are going to do it in a way that allows us the purchasing power we can get by working together, and that allows us the opportunity to properly make sure that every Canadian can be treated equally.
Can members imagine if we had all of the different provinces and territories fighting for rapid tests and fighting for vaccines? No. The approach has always been that we work together.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her kind words on our first exchange.
I heard an infectious disease doctor on the CBC this morning doing an interview and he had a great point about assessing our individual risk tolerance, learning to live with COVID and doing things that help with our personal protection. I think it is absolutely critical that when we go to visit grandma, grandpa or somebody who is at high risk, we have honest conversations with them so that we are making sure they feel safe and we feel safe and that we have have what we need to make everybody safe.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-10. I will begin my remarks by reminding the House why this important legislation is necessary.
It was introduced because it responds to an urgent need. This bill is critical, as it would provide Health Canada with $2.5 billion to purchase and distribute rapid tests across the country. This legislation would also create the necessary authorities to allow the Government of Canada to transfer inventory directly to the provinces and territories, speeding up the shipping process for rapid tests.
Also, I will be sharing my time with member for Vancouver Granville.
COVID-19 continues to threaten the health, social and economic well-being of all Canadians. It is crucial for us to implement all the tools we have available to get our country back on track. These tools include widespread vaccination efforts, the wearing of masks, targeted measures at borders and the facilitation of COVID-19 testing and screening. I will focus my remarks on the role the federal government has played in supporting our provincial and territorial counterparts through testing and screening.
In combination with other essential public health measures, testing and screening will remain critical to continuing to control the spread of COVID-19. On July 27, 2020, the Government of Canada announced it would provide $4.2 billion, part of the over $19 billion announced by the Prime Minister on July 16, 2020, as part of the safe restart agreement to further expand testing, contact tracing capacity and the associated data-management and information-sharing systems. The objective of the safe restart agreement is to ensure that Canada has the resources and information it needs to reopen the economy safely. The $4.2 billion included $906.2 million for the Public Health Agency of Canada to procure 92 million tests between October and November 2021, which were distributed mostly to the provinces and territories. With this objective in mind, we have built on the solid foundation of the diagnostic laboratory PCR testing capacity built up by the provinces and territories. Rapid point-of-care tests enable health care professionals to target and respond to new outbreaks by isolating those who are sick and initiating contact tracing.
Health Canada has prioritized the review of all types of COVID-19 tests, including rapid and new innovative testing options and technologies. Our government put in place processes to allow Health Canada to carry out expedited reviews of testing devices through the interim order respecting the importation and sale of medical devices for use in relation to COVID-19. A second order was enacted on March 1, 2021. As of the end of January, Health Canada has authorized 107 testing devices, including 10 self-tests that can be used at home and 27 tests that can be used in a point-of-care setting, as well as rapid tests. Through this expedited regulatory review process, Health Canada's consistent approach to regulatory review and approval throughout the pandemic has ensured that testing devices available for sale in Canada have been accurate and reliable. As a result, we have avoided some of the problems that other countries have experienced, including recalling lower-quality tests. We have also been able to increase testing capacity across the country.
All of the measures outlined above demonstrate that significant gains have been made in shaping a robust testing and screening landscape. However, we continue to adjust and accelerate our actions to ensure Canada gets the right tests to the right people at the right times to break the chain of transmission. The importance of testing to our recovery efforts is why this bill was introduced, and I think all members can agree on its importance. The statutory authority of the Minister of Health to purchase and distribute up to 2.5 billion dollars' worth of COVID-19 rapid tests across the country that it provides will complement and build on the $1.72 billion in funding provided in the December 2021 economic and fiscal update.
Efforts such as these to procure and distribute rapid tests underline the understanding that the delivery of health care falls within the jurisdiction of the provinces and territories, and the Government of Canada will continue to actively support the provinces and territories to meet both their current and future demands. In total, since the beginning of the pandemic, our government has purchased over 490 million rapid tests, at a total cost of $3.3 billion. In January alone, 140 million rapid tests arrived in Canada, over 40 million of which have been shipped to Ontarians, with more than 19 million scheduled in the short term. The provinces and territories decide how to deploy these technologies and are informed by advice, including from the pan-Canadian testing and screening guidance released in October 2020 and the updated guidance on antigen testing released in February 2021.
As rapid testing expands into the private sector, the federal government will continue to ensure that the provinces and territories have access to an adequate supply of rapid tests. We are moving aggressively to bring testing and screening right to where Canadians are. We are working quickly to ensure that rapid testing, in combination with other public health measures, continues to support our country during this pandemic and to help our country reopen.
As members of the House are aware, the health and safety of Canadians is the government's main priority. I can assure everyone that our government will continue to do everything within our power and jurisdiction to protect Canadians during this difficult and unprecedented time. We must continue to remain committed to keeping each other safe, and I ask all my colleagues to join me in supporting the adoption of the bill.
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Madam Speaker, these rapid tests are incredibly important, and as I mentioned in my speech, they are to be used to curb the spread, the transmission, of COVID. When someone is asymptomatic, it does not mean they are incapable of spreading the disease to others who are vulnerable, such as children, seniors and people with underlying health conditions. These are things we must take into account. Just because someone is asymptomatic does not mean they cannot infect someone and bring some real harm to their lives. People have ended up on ventilators and very sick, with long-term COVID symptoms that are ongoing, and it is up to us to be responsible and make sure we protect not only ourselves, but our loved ones and others around us to protect society, to make sure Canadians are safe and to be a community.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-10.
COVID-19 continues to be part of our lives, which we all know, and testing and screening remain important tools. They allow us to rapidly detect and isolate new cases. They support contact tracing and they help prevent community outbreaks by breaking the chain of transmission. As we have been, we continue to be committed to supporting the provinces and territories' testing strategies. These are different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but our job is to support.
A critical part of finishing the fight against COVID-19 is making sure that we continue to prevent outbreaks at schools and workplaces. The $2.5-billion investment to purchase and distribute rapid tests across the country that is contained in this bill would ensure the delivery of millions of rapid tests to provinces and territories and indigenous communities free of charge and continue to support screening programs through our various distribution channels. Rapid tests are safe, they are effective and they are easy to administer. They provide quick results and they will empower Canadians to make more-informed decisions to protect their health and the health of their loved ones.
As all members know, rapid tests represent only one element in the tool kit to fight this pandemic. This bill therefore represents a continuation of the kinds of measures that we have implemented and will continue to implement, measures that are based on the best public health advice and scientific evidence.
Since the start of this pandemic, Health Canada has put in place rapid, innovative and agile measures to ensure prompt access to medical devices to respond to the needs of Canadians. The department has worked closely with public health partners to ensure that applications for COVID-19 testing devices are prioritized to meet urgent public health needs. These measures have allowed Health Canada to authorize over 100 testing devices, including 10 self-tests and 27 tests that can be used in a point-of-care setting.
Health Canada is also expediting the review of all treatments for COVID-19. The department has rapidly authorized several clinical trials in Canada, including for some vaccines being developed right here in Canada, without compromising on strict standards for the safety of clinical trial participants. Clinical trial regulations allow the investigation of new drugs or new uses of drugs while affording protection to participants and requiring the proper collection and retention of outcomes.
As of February 9, 115 clinical trials for COVID-19 drugs and vaccines have been authorized in Canada. Health Canada has authorized five drugs to treat COVID-19, including Remdesivir for hospitalized people, as well Paxlovid and three biologic treatments for non-hospitalized folks who have mild or moderate COVID symptoms and are at risk of developing severe disease. The Government of Canada has procured many of these treatments and continues to engage proactively with domestic and international companies to negotiate advance purchase agreements and ensure timely access in the procurement of treatments.
As we know, vaccination is one of the most effective tools that we have to combat the pandemic, and along with the availability of rapid testing, it will play an important role in protecting our supply chains and helping us to get to a point where the pandemic is behind us. Governments have an important responsibility to protect the health and safety of their citizens. That is what we have done since day one. This responsibility becomes especially critical in the face of a public health emergency such as the one we are in right now.
Since the beginning of this pandemic, the government has committed to making decisions that are based on science and based on the advice of public health officials. The government has implemented many critical measures to protect the health and safety of Canadians, including federal public servants. As the employer of the federal public service, it is the government's role to set the conditions for those employees to be safe when they are called upon to provide those services. Last October, we implemented a policy requiring that all employees of the core public service, including the RCMP, be vaccinated. This requirement applies to all employees, whether they are working remotely or working on site. It also applies to contractors who require access to federal government work sites.
Having a fully vaccinated workforce means that not only are work sites safer, but so are the communities in which these public servants live and work. It also means better protection for Canadians who are accessing government services in person, including, in particular, the more vulnerable members of our communities.
The vaccination requirements within the transportation sector have helped to protect our transport system from the impacts of omicron by reducing the frequency and severity of the COVID-19 illness among transportation workers. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we have worked closely with our partners in the transportation sector, including industry, to implement the vaccine requirements and to ensure the overall safety of the transportation system. These partners have played an invaluable, critical role in ensuring that people, goods and services continue to move in a safe and secure manner. Transportation workers have done their part by getting vaccinated and helping us all get through this pandemic.
I want to reiterate that the Government of Canada's top priority is the health and safety of all Canadians. To protect Canadians, the government has taken every measure at its disposal to protect citizens. I know that it has not been easy. The pandemic has had an undeniable impact on Canadian businesses, large and small. Canadians have been patient. They rolled up their sleeves. They did their part to protect themselves, to protect others, and they got vaccinated.
We recognize that this pandemic has created anxiety and additional stress for many Canadians. While we are all fatigued, we are also hopeful for what is to come. We are not where we were at the beginning and we can look forward to a brighter future. The measures that we have put in place, opportunities to be able to access rapid tests like the ones we are making available through this bill, will make it possible for us to look toward a bright future.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and for her work on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. It is a pleasure to work with her as well.
We recognize that we need to work with the provinces and territories to improve our health care systems. We will work together. We all know that COVID‑19 has added another dimension. We will have to look ahead and consider how we will work together to improve and strengthen our health care systems. We will work quickly with the provinces to do so.
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Madam Speaker, the question around rapid tests has been a significant one.
In the province of Alberta, it actually took the provincial government taking their own initiative and requiring, I believe and I could be corrected, an exception from Health Canada in order for them to even procure these rapid tests. I find it interesting that we are debating this. It is an important tool to fight COVID, yet it seems like it is maybe a little late when these have been called for, for a very long time.
I wonder if the member would have further comments on that.
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Madam Speaker, I think I definitely would agree with my hon. colleague that Bill C-10 and, of course, the motion that is shepherding it through the House in a fairly rapid fashion do show evidence of how quickly the federal government can move, when required, to bring in basic health policy.
I would agree with him. Now is the time if we are to learn any lessons from the COVID experience. We have to think about the legacy we will leave for future generations in Canada's health care system. Maybe if my hon. colleague could talk about the legacy system and about how this is really our opportunity to show that leadership and to show people right across the country and in communities everywhere that we need to leave them the health care system they are very much deserving of.
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