QUESTION PERIOD — Health
COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
April 20, 2021
Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.
Senator Gold, as an Ontario senator living in Toronto, I have been receiving distressing messages from Ontarians concerned about the vaccine shortage in the province. Given that our vaccine supply is still unreliable and that roughly 10,000 booked appointments were cancelled in Scarborough alone — as a result, disproportionately affecting racialized and lower-income Canadians — when will the Prime Minister take the tough decisions for the good of the people and offer to deploy the Canadian Red Cross to help with Ontario’s vaccination efforts? It is pointless if there are no vaccines for them to administer.
Just this morning we heard, as the province is running short of AstraZeneca, that there might be a delay in supplying AstraZeneca, too.
Thank you for your question. I won’t repeat everything I said in response to earlier questions. The federal government is doing what it can and working with other provinces and areas within its own jurisdiction to provide as much assistance as possible to all residents finding themselves in difficult situations but, in particular, in the province of Ontario. Requests have been made to other provinces to see how they can assist. Many provinces have stepped up with offers to share medical personnel, which is one of the challenges that many jurisdictions are facing, but each province has a responsibility to its own residents and citizens. To date, I don’t believe there has been any redistribution of the vaccines that have been allocated to the provinces.
Senator Gold, Ontario is in a dire situation. You talk about redistribution and responsibility. There are no vaccines to administer. We’re hearing of doctors that are facing the reality of critical care triage. It’s very scary being in Ontario. Ontarians’ desire to be vaccinated is so strong that residents armed with lawn chairs and umbrellas line up outside clinics hours before they open, waiting to be inoculated. Hundreds have resorted to camping outside pop-up clinics just to get their name on a list to receive a vaccine. With growing delays in vaccine shipments to the province, the time for talk is over. This is the time for leadership, Senator Gold.
How will the federal government prevent Ontario from reaching over 18,000 cases per day by late May?
Senator, thank you for your question. The Government of Canada and I, personally, are very preoccupied with the situation in Ontario. Ontario is the province in which my children were born and in which I lived happily for many, many years. The Government of Canada is doing everything that it can to secure as many vaccines as possible and to provide as much assistance as possible to Ontario for the benefit of its residents.
Senator Gold, in answer to Senator Housakos’s question, you said the government does not lie. Over a year after the pandemic began, the Trudeau third wave is at the most dangerous point for Canada. Yet, Senator Gold, the Minister of Finance recently said that COVID-19 has created — hear this — “a window of political opportunity.” Over 23,000 Canadians are dead, and there are around 8,000 new cases every day. Hospital intensive care units across several provinces are stretched to capacity. Millions of children are out of school. Small businesses are barely hanging on. And the Trudeau government thinks this is a political opportunity?
Leader, if your government had secured a better supply of vaccines, we could have stayed ahead of the variants, but you didn’t. Now they’ve taken hold. How can the Trudeau government have failed Canadians so badly?
Honourable senators, the Government of Canada has not failed Canadians. It is serving Canadians, and serving them well.
The statement of the Minister of Finance was in the context of a discussion with former minister — Dryden, I believe — and it was in the context of the issue of child care. The minister was saying what we in this chamber know: That the importance of access to early and affordable child care and education has been on the public radar for some 50 years — since the Royal Commission first recommended it.
It was this pandemic, tragically, that exposed the gaps and flaws and structural problems in our society that have affected so many groups, women, their children, racialized Canadians and others. It was in this context that the minister was speaking about the opportunity, finally, to address an important measure set out in the budget to provide Canadians, women and their families an opportunity to participate fully in the workforce to the benefit of our economy and our social fabric.
Thank you, leader. “COVID has created a window of political opportunity.” You cannot twist that. It’s impossible.
The Trudeau government failure on vaccines is being noticed internationally. In a report last week, CNN said Canada’s poor vaccine rollout is a real failure by the Trudeau government, leader.
The Centers for Disease Control in the U.S. updated their guidance to warn that even fully vaccinated travellers to Canada may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants. Japan has tightened its border controls for people arriving from Ontario, leader. They are trying to protect their citizens against Canadians, leader.
This is what your government has done. The Trudeau government’s vaccine rollout has been a disaster for Canadians and an international embarrassment. Leader, please don’t twist this. How is this a political opportunity?
Senator Plett, I am not going to repeat what I just said. You are entitled to take that statement and put it in the context that you choose; it’s a free country. But, as I explained, the comment that the minister made was in response to and part of a conversation that was very specifically focused on the need for better access to child care. In all other respects, I’m afraid that I cannot share the premise of your comment.
