Senator Mégie: Although you said that the government is working very hard on this matter, Canada is one of the few remaining countries in the World Trade Organization that have not explicitly stated their position on temporarily suspending the rules. Nearly all developing countries, France and the United States have already supported this initiative. If the suspension is to be effective, Canada must insist that there be a concurrent transfer of know-how and equipment to developing countries. Many countries would be able to produce vaccines if they were free to do so and could rely on our support. Does the federal government plan to support this suspension? It will not work without that support.

Senator Mégie: Thank you for your answer, Senator Gold. Here’s my supplementary question. To put an end to the pandemic, we need to ensure swift, efficient distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. What impact will the decision to close Canadian borders have on the global distribution of vaccines?