QUESTION PERIOD — Health
Federal Vaccine Support Program
May 6, 2021
Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.
Canadian health experts have been calling for a national vaccine injury compensation program since the mid-1980s. In December, just a few days before Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout began, I was pleased to learn that the federal government announced a Pan-Canadian Vaccine Injury Support Program. Canadians were told it would provide financial support to those who experience rare but serious permanent injury after receiving a vaccine.
A call for applications to administer this program closed on February 24, 2021, but we have heard very little since. As you may know, my home province of Quebec — and yours — implemented its own such program in 1985 and yet Canada remains the only G7 country without a national no-fault vaccine fund.
Senator Gold, this Pan-Canadian Vaccine Injury Support Program is long overdue. Can you tell us when the federal government plans to implement and provide Canadians with the information they will need to access the program should they require to do so? Thank you.
Thank you, colleague, for raising this question. I’ve been advised that while vaccines are safe and effective, the government wants to make sure that Canadians have access to support in the very unlikely event they do suffer adverse reactions. The government is still working to create a federal support program around vaccine safety for all Canadians and for all vaccines, including those treating or preventing COVID-19. I’ve been advised that this program will be rolled out soon.
It is my understanding that these programs will offer funding in the rare event — as you say, rare event — that someone experiences a serious side effect to a vaccine, while at the same time helping pharmaceutical companies to produce vaccines without fear of liability in these circumstances. According to an article in The New England Journal of Medicine published in December 2020, manufacturers won’t agree to procurement contracts or to ship vaccine without liability protection.
Senator Gold, can you tell us if the creation of the federal vaccine support program was a requirement under the procurement contract agreements our federal government has with various vaccine manufacturers?
Thank you for your question. First, I should tell you, senator — and I should have mentioned this in my answer to the first part of your question — that the program Canada is designing for Canadians is, in fact, based upon the Quebec program to which you referred.
On the subject of vaccine contracts — and I’ve made this point on a couple of occasions in this chamber — the government is committed to providing as much information as possible on its procurement efforts throughout the pandemic without putting our critical access to those vaccines at risk. We do a number of things in that regard, such as releasing delivery schedules and the like. I don’t know whether these were part of the contracts and I’m not sure that I could disclose them. I’ll certainly make inquiries; and if, of course, they are part of the contracts and can be disclosed, I’ll report back.
