My question is for Senator Gold.

Discussions about routine childhood vaccination have taken on a new intensity. In fact, according to the Angus Reid Institute, opposition to mandatory childhood vaccination has jumped from 24% to 38% since 2019. They also found that 17% of parents said they are really against vaccinating their kids compared to only 4% in 2019.

Given that data on vaccine hesitancy in Canadian parents was last collected by the Public Health Agency of Canada in 2017, what is the government’s plan to bring this research up to date and help Canadians make evidence-informed decisions about vaccine-preventable diseases?

Thank you for your question, senator.

First and foremost, it’s the position of the government — and I trust all of us — that the high rates of vaccination in this country help to prevent the spread and outbreaks of infectious diseases in Canada, many of which would be very serious if not indeed life‑threatening.

Colleagues, I’m not aware of any plans at the moment for the Public Health Agency of Canada to conduct new research at this time. I can advise that the agency monitors any new information or any new studies that emerge on this subject. It continues to work with provinces, territories and, of course, stakeholders on routine childhood immunization. It’s so important.

Thank you, Senator Gold. If you could pass along my concerns, that would be appreciated.

Vaccine hesitancy was listed as one of the 10 threats to global health in 2019 by the World Health Organization. This poses a significant risk to the progress achieved in combatting vaccine‑preventable diseases, such as measles, of which we are seeing outbreaks in the U.S. and Europe. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, doctors and nurses were essential for parents to overcome hesitancy; therefore, primary health care providers play a key role in driving vaccine acceptance.

Considering that 6.5 million Canadians do not have a primary care provider —

Thank you. One of the reasons that we have low rates of certain infectious diseases in Canada is because of the high rate of vaccination that we have launched. For the past year, there has been, as you know, a campaign on routine childhood immunization, which includes marketing materials and others to encourage parents and families to continue to vaccinate their kids.