- Member of Parliament
- Member of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians
- Bloc Québécois
- Montarville
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 59%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $115,582.71
- Government Page
- Dec/16/21 2:58:41 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the minister does not seem to understand that the variants are developing because of the low vaccination rate around the world.
Negotiations on the vaccine patent waiver for developing countries are at a standstill. We see that Canada's passiveness is contributing to putting entire populations at risk. It is turning these countries into potential sources of variants against their will, instead of letting them have vaccine manufacturing facilities that would increase worldwide vaccination rates.
Will the government commit to applying pressure internationally, at the WTO in particular, so that rich countries and their pharmaceutical companies will finally agree to this essential patent waiver?
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- Dec/16/21 2:57:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the science on COVID‑19 is clear. No one in the world is safe until everyone in the world is.
We will never get out of this pandemic if we have to keep battling new variants emerging from countries that have low vaccination rates because of a lack of resources.
It is not rocket science. The government must waive patents on the vaccines so that developing countries can produce their own and administer them quickly. Ottawa must also provide logistical support where required.
Will the government put pressure on other countries and on the industry to get patents waived more quickly?
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- Dec/7/21 9:22:09 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it seems obvious that these methods have not produced the desired results.
In any event, a few moments ago, the minister noted that some vaccines had been given to certain Caribbean countries. What is more, vaccines were given to Egypt. I commended that donation, which is exceptionally positive.
That being said, what criteria does the government use to choose a country? We have expressed a desire for Taiwan, which is under pressure from the People's Republic of China, to have access to vaccines. We noted the situation in Palestine, where Israel is preventing the Palestinian population from accessing vaccines, even though the vaccination rate of its own population is extremely high. We have also expressed a desire for vaccines to be offered to Haiti.
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- Dec/7/21 9:21:43 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I had hoped for a response on waiving patents to help outsource and ramp up the production of vaccines around the world.
Is it possible to get a response on that?
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- Dec/7/21 9:20:13 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I applaud the government's efforts to improve access to vaccines in developing countries.
The omicron variant has shown us that, until the pandemic is under control in developing countries too, Canada is no safer despite its high vaccination rate, so I applaud the government's efforts.
Those efforts come with a hefty price tag. Would it not have been faster, cheaper and more efficient to just join the movement to waive patents? That would have made it possible to outsource vaccine production to many places around the world.
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- Dec/7/21 9:17:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to inform you that I intend to use all my time to debate with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the minister and her cabinet colleagues for participating in this exercise, which is fundamental to the system of responsible government that was hard-won by the Patriotes of Lower Canada and the Reformers of Upper Canada. I thank her very much for participating in this fundamental exercise of accountability.
In the supplementary estimates (B), we see that $375 million will be allocated to developing countries to make it easier for them to access COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tools. How will that $375 million that we heard about a few months ago be distributed? Will it be by means of direct transfers to certain countries and, if so, to which ones? Will this happen through COVAX or the ACT- Accelerator initiative?
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- Dec/7/21 5:56:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. I think that when we must intervene or are called upon to intervene we must do so in a timely fashion.
I also agree with him that Afghanistan, which is currently under Taliban rule, is not the same Afghanistan that the Taliban controlled when the international coalition intervened. This intervention by the international coalition is likely the reason why the Afghanistan of today is not the same one that the Taliban controlled when we first intervened.
I agree that we should be optimistic, but we must also take a realistic look at which aspects of our intervention were successful and which aspects were more or less appropriate.
Yes, we must intervene, but we must also find the best way to do so.
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