Putting Canadian jobs first would also ensure that when it comes to vaccines, we are not at the back of the line.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on November 30, 2020.

Now that several vaccines are on the horizon, there is hope in sight for an end to this global pandemic.

But Canadians are now learning that we might have to wait longer than other countries to be vaccinated since there is no domestic manufacturer.

The government was quick off the mark to sign agreements securing multiple potential vaccines as soon as international universities and companies began researching vaccines. Canada has already stockpiled enough syringes to vaccinate every single citizen.

But the material used to go into the syringe is not so easy to obtain.

Without a made-in-Canada vaccine, we are being forced to line up behind other countries that understandably want to protect their own citizens first.

Outgoing president Donald Trump launched Operation Warp Speed with the intention of securing enough vaccines as quickly as possible, strictly for American citizens.

Early on in the pandemic, he made it very clear that any personal protective equipment manufactured in the United States would be staying there. At one point, he even made it illegal to export 3M protective masks to Canada, even though Canadian pulp was imported to form the basis of the masks he was refusing to share.

In the end, the Canadian government partnered to open a 3M factory in Canada, the only way to guarantee security of supply of the medical-grade masks.

So why hasn’t the government done the same thing for vaccines?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the country does not have the capacity to produce vaccines. Its strategy, instead, was to sign as many vaccine deals as possible so that Canada would be in a position to secure vaccines from multiple sources.

That strategy does not explain why the government did not secure domestic licensing agreements during the advance purchase negotiations.

Many other countries have those licensing agreements and are already beginning production in anticipation of an approval by the American Food and Drug Administration or the European certifying authority. Unlike many countries, Canada does not accept health certifications from other jurisdictions, and carries out its own analysis.

That gives most of us a sense of security that we are not simply mimicking approvals from elsewhere.

But to those familiar with the system, Health Canada approval delays are actually restricting the development of a robust domestic pharmaceutical industry.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am currently working to assist a number of Canadian companies selling PPE and/or developing tests to help in the global pandemic fight.

One such company in the Toronto area, BTNX, has been making Health Canada-approved test kits for drug testing, strep throat testing, pregnancy and others for more than 20 years.

In the early stages of the COVID outbreak, it started working on the development rapid antigen and antibody tests.

The tests were approved in Europe last spring, and are currently sold in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain. Brazil, Peru, and with a partner in the United States.

But its test kits in Canada are still awaiting approval. Not only can the test kits not be sold in our country, according to Health Canada regulations, kits cannot even be exported for sale in countries that have already approved it.

So, the Canadian company, located in the riding of the minister for small business, was forced to set up its COVID manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom. That country has already approached the company, offering financial assistance to move the balance of its operations there.

But even though its test was included in the Regeneron drug protocol given to Trump, it is still awaiting Canadian approval.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government last week announced the purchase of 20 million similar test kits from a foreign competitor, despite the fact that the Canadian test kit was better ranked by the World Health Organization.

Purchase orders from major Canadian airlines remain unfilled while those airlines secure test kits from foreign companies.

Another Canadian company, again with deep roots in the testing area, has developed a saliva test that it expects to be approved in Europe and the United States in January. When asked about expected Health Canada approval dates, the company sarcastically suggested it might come in 2031.

But if the vaccine delay shows us anything, our country must have a made-in-Canada pandemic strategy.

A good start would involve prioritizing domestic pharmaceutical companies in testing and purchase of COVID-fighting tools.

Putting Canadian jobs first would also ensure that when it comes to vaccines, we are not at the back of the line.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Courageous, when she told the country that successive governments had neglected their responsibilities by not investing in pandemic preparation. Dangerous, because at the end of the day, Canadians will blame current governments when things go wrong.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on April 6, 2020.

OTTAWA—Health Minister Patty Hadju made a courageous and dangerous statement last week.

Courageous, when she told the country that successive governments had neglected their responsibilities by not investing in pandemic preparation.

Dangerous, because at the end of the day, Canadians will blame current governments when things go wrong.

The general strategy in politics is never complain, and never explain. That is based on the belief that the more information is out there, the more it can be twisted by political opponents to become disinformation.

The general rule of thumb in communication is that less is better.

But these are no ordinary times.

And Hajdu is no ordinary politician. In the daily briefings she is clear, concise, informed and not overly verbose. Like Dr. Theresa Tam, Hajdu transmits an aura of believability.

The Hajdu admission may be out of step with her political colleagues but it reflects what is happening out there in the real world of hospitals, nursing homes and health delivery across the country.

The overreaction to Hajdu’s admission also underscores why governments hesitate to publish modelling projections of worst-case scenarios. Those projections have not been available in all parts of Canada.

Ontario and British Columbia have promised or delivered modelling projections. Some other provinces have not. And the federal government is trying to synthesize disparate data from different provinces, as some experienced the virus onset earlier than others.

According to the premier of New Brunswick, all provinces should be collating the same information, but that is apparently not the current case.

Canada’s chief public health officer suggests that building projects too far in advance is not useful because it is simply not accurate.

Information is vital in the fight to engage all Canadians, but too much information could cause panic or complacency.

American President Donald Trump went from claiming we should all be out celebrating at Easter to suggesting that a quarter of a million Americans may die because of the virus. The American newscasts reported last week that their military has been tasked with securing 100,000 body bags for the dead.

The United States is also claiming that statistics from other countries, specifically China, have been underreported.

Hajdu debunked that claim during a press conference last week, saying that the World Health Organization is gathering all the pertinent data from multiple jurisdictions, and there is no evidence that China understated its deaths. According to Hajdu, the current numbers in that country are actually less than what was originally reported.

But each country is doing its best to reassure its own citizens and position its response to the pandemic as in keeping or superior to that of other jurisdictions.

For the past several weeks, Canadian politicians from all levels of government having been reassuring the country that we have enough supplies of masks, gowns, and ventilators to meet the upcoming crush facing hospital emergency departments.

Front-line workers are living a whole different situation.

A hospital in Ottawa recently told their medical staff that protective material would not be available in the delivery ward as the normal protective devices were being repurposed to fight the COVID-19 battle.

The federal and provincial governments have been pulling out all the stops to secure protective supplies for the medical front lines. With a $2-billion purchase order, Ottawa is locking down supplies, and provinces are even sending planes to secure materials that have been ordered from international sources.

Their efforts include public bulk purchasing and financial support for Canadian companies to replace their normal lines of business with COVID-19-fighting materials to join this war on the coronavirus.

Irving is retooling operations to make hand sanitizers. Bauer is switching from hockey masks to hospital masks.

Stanfields is making medical gowns and protective apparel where the company usually focuses on underwear.   Canada Goose has moved away from their iconic down filled jackets to medical gowns.

Canadian medical suppliers are partnering with auto companies to speed up production of desperately needed life-saving ventilators.

Transformations take time. Frontline workers are scrambling to protect themselves by recycling materials and seeking out any sources they can. Some make their own protective masks, and others are trying to source protective equipment in whatever way they can.

But they also face a race against time and a global hunt for similar products. The issue of supply is not just a Canadian problem.

“Many governments around the world are going to be reflecting on this issue,” Trudeau admitted last week.

Pandemic reflection yes, but flattening the virus comes first.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Canadian Bruce Aylward is leading the World Health Organization team charged with stemming the spread of the virus. He warns us that this is not the common flu and is 10 times more deadly than that.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on March 16, 2020.

OTTAWA—Call me contrarian. But I refuse to join the wave of panic reacting to the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19.

Two women in Australia were arrested for fighting over the purchase of toilet paper.

People are crossing the street when they see anyone who looks a little different from them.

The price of hand sanitizers and hygiene wipes has skyrocketed as merchants exploit the law of supply and demand.

Members of Parliament go into voluntary lockdown. Planes are no longer flying to China, Korea, Italy, or Iran.

The Canadian government is introducing a stimulus package to help the country weather the storm, with targeted support for affected industries and workers.

Canadian Bruce Aylward is leading the World Health Organization team charged with stemming the spread of the virus.

He warns us that this is not the common flu and is 10 times more deadly than that.

But he also says that there are ways we can reduce the spread of the disease, the single most important being scrupulous handwashing. If no one with the virus sneezes on me, I am not going to be affected.

And even if I am, the chances of getting through it are good because I am a healthy sexagenarian.

I am a great believer that when my time is up, my time is up. I could get hit by a bus crossing the street in Ottawa. I cannot and will not stop living for fear of dying.

We could shut down the whole world and people still need to interconnect for work and sustenance.

The whole of Italy is now in lockdown and they are warning the worst is yet to come in other parts of Europe. But the world goes on and putting everyone into quarantine is simply not possible.

Not everyone grows their own food so a trip to the grocery store is inevitable.

Likewise, the decision to cancel sporting and entertainment events seems to be a huge overreaction.

I guess everyone is following the mantra, better safe than sorry.

If you don’t have to get out of your house, it is easier to stay there.

But what if you have already made the move?

I am currently half-way around the world, getting ready to embark on a 25th anniversary cruise of the South Pacific.

The cruise was booked more than two years ago, when nobody thought the coronavirus would be playing a role in people’s travel plans.

Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam has issued a warning that people should cancel planned cruises, because of the risk of coronavirus contamination.

So why would I even consider ignoring her blunt warning?

Thus far, only two cruise ships have been reported to be affected. From the moment they were identified, the cruise industry heightened its boarding procedures. The temperature of every person is taken before they board the ship, and if there are any doubts, the passenger cannot board.

Staff from affected countries are not currently working the ships, and the companies have also cancelled the reservations of prospective passengers from certain targeted countries.

The cruise ship industry seems to have gotten its act together.

It is obviously financially motivated to do so because worldwide, the business is worth $126-billion. The cruise industry can’t afford to simply shut everything down.

Media have identified cruise ships as a Petri dish for disease. But ships are also a Petri dish for disease containment.

If a single new virus has not been found on a cruise ship in two weeks, does that not mean that the methods being employed to contain disease are working?

I must admit, I am thinking with my heart, not my head. Twenty-five years of marriage is a milestone and this voyage is symbolic of that celebration.

I am perusing the news vigorously to watch for reports of any new cruise contaminations.

Luckily for me, I have a first world cruise ship problem. Some dying Covid-19 patients around the world do not even have access to proper health care.

Italian medical staff are reported to have to ration available respirators based on triage, as their hospitals do not have enough to support all patients that might need them.

More than 4,000 people have already died, and more will because of this new super-virus.

During the same period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14,000 people have died from the ordinary flu virus.

Perspective, not panic, should be the order of the day.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.