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House Hansard - 79

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 1, 2022 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 79 - Jun/1/22
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)
  • Jun/1/22 3:12:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, we see the Conservatives refusing to remember that we actually had a very important election last year on the question of mandates and on the question of protections for Canadians, and they lost that election. Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Right Hon. Justin Trudeau: Mr. Speaker, overwhelmingly, Canadians supported moving forward with vaccination mandates to keep Canadians safe. Unfortunately, they are stuck on the wrong side of things, but we continue to know putting science first and putting vaccinations first actually matters most to keep Canadians safe and to keep our economy going well. That is what we will continue to do.
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Context: House Hansard - 79 - Jun/1/22
Mr. Gary Anandasangaree (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Jun/1/22 10:34:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to talk about our government's response to the pandemic. Vaccination is one of the most effective tools we have to combat the pandemic and keep Canadians safe. While the provinces and territories are responsible for establishing vaccination requirements within their jurisdictions, vaccine requirements and restrictions were introduced in the summer and fall of 2021 across a number of areas of federal jurisdiction, namely at the border, among federal public servants and within the federally regulated transportation sector. Vaccine-related policies, along with public health measures, have helped keep Canadians safe. They have supported safe working conditions and spaces for federal public service workers and travellers on federally regulated transport and have reduced the risk and impacts of absenteeism for businesses. At the time that federal vaccine-related requirements and restrictions were introduced, overall vaccination rates were significantly lower. There was strong scientific evidence from international and domestic sources demonstrating that vaccines were effective at preventing infection against specific COVID-19 variants such as alpha and delta. There was also evidence that showed vaccines protected against severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19. The benefits of vaccination continue to outweigh the risks. It is also important for us to take stock of where we are, and have a more flexible and responsive approach in managing COVID-19. Vaccines and therapeutics continue to be important cornerstones of our responses. We are fortunate that vaccination coverage rates in Canada are among the highest in the world, resulting in more lives saved in comparison with other countries, but there are still more opportunities to enhance our protection. As of May 22, 2022, over 84% of the total population had received at least one dose, 81% had received two doses and more than 18 million Canadians had received a third dose. We know that vaccination does not give us full immunity from infection, but it does prevent us from getting very sick and reduces the potential need for hospitalization. Our goal of minimizing serious illness and death is still the same; so too is our goal of minimizing societal disruption. We need to recognize that COVID-19 is not going to disappear. We have learned a great deal over the course of the pandemic, but there is still a great deal of uncertainty. Thanks to Canadians' adherence to public health measures and high rates of vaccination, including booster doses, our outlook continues to improve. Individual public health measures, along with vaccines and therapeutics, will remain key in protecting individuals should a virulent or highly transmissible variant of concern emerge.
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