The federal Conservatives are pledging to call an inquiry into the Liberal government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kenora MP Eric Melillo suggests we need a Canadian-made source of not only vaccines but PPE as well.
“We need to ensure that Canada is better prepared for future waves of COVID, but also future crises as well, so we need to be working with pharmaceutical companies to boost our domestic production capacity and strategic stockpiles of essential products,” he says.
He adds that access to the vaccine has been inadequate.
“The procurement of vaccines at the federal level has been very, very slow, and I don’t envy the position of the provinces right now. They’re trying to do what they can with the limited resources that they have,” Melillo says.
Melillo argues those delays in securing vaccines have had devastating impacts on Canadian lives and livelihoods.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole says it’s necessary to learn from past mistakes if we want to honour the lives lost and prevent future tragedies.