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House Hansard - 50

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 31, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 50 - Mar/31/22
Mr. Bryan May (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Lib.)
  • Mar/31/22 6:36:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada has been supporting Canadians. Our goal has been to minimize serious illness and overall deaths with minimal disruption to society. With the recent emergence of the BA.2 variant, we are seeing rising cases and differing levels of severity in regions across the country. This reminds us that COVID-19 is still circulating. The Public Health Agency of Canada provides guidance and advice on recommended public health measures. This is done at both individual and community levels. The agency's guidance has been informed by scientific evidence, expert opinion and established public health practices. It aims to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of people living in Canada. Across the country, there is variability in how jurisdictions are assessing risks and adjusting approaches. However, we continue to recommend using individual public health measures, such as wearing a mask in indoor public settings, as the COVID-19 situation evolves. We expect recommendations for these measures, of course, to change. Vaccines and therapeutics continue to be important cornerstones of our pandemic response. We are fortunate that vaccination coverage rates in Canada are high, but there are still more opportunities to enhance our protection. Vaccine-related requirements and restrictions have helped keep Canadians safe. They have supported safe working conditions and spaces for federal public service workers and travellers on federally regulated transport. They have also been a tool to support vaccine uptake to help prevent serious illness and to help prevent our health care system from becoming overwhelmed. With vaccines widely available and higher levels of immunity due to prior infection, Canada is in a much stronger position now than we were at the beginning of the pandemic. Our best advantage going forward will be maintaining a state of readiness. This includes all of us keeping our COVID-19 vaccinations up to date and getting a booster dose when eligible. Canadians should also continue to make informed personal choices to protect themselves, their families and their communities based, of course, on their local situations and personal circumstances. Using individual public health measures in a layered approach and, along with vaccines and therapeutics, results in fewer hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19. Provincial and territorial governments and regional local public health authorities will continue to make decisions about when it is necessary to maintain, ease or reinstate public health measures. In doing so, they will consider indicators of readiness, the most recent evidence, the current situation and other factors. As Canada moves forward with its ongoing pandemic response, a risk- and evidence-based approach will continue to be used across jurisdictions.
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