NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh calls on the government to ensure vaccines are available worldwide

OTTAWA – Today, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh spoke to media about the increasing cases of the Omicron variants that have been found in Canada. New Democrats have been advocating for the federal government to take the necessary steps to ensure developing countries can produce vaccines.

“Canadians are worried about the increase of cases of the Omicron variant in Canada. For months, people have done the right thing by getting vaccinated and following public health recommendations. This new variant of COVID-19 makes it clear that no one is protected from COVID-19 until everyone is protected,” said Singh. “For months, health experts, the WHO and New Democrats urged the Liberal government to ensure vaccines are available around the world. This is not just the right thing to do; it’s an essential step that will help keep Canadians safe.”

Last February, Singh was joined by Stephen Lewis, Canada's former Ambassador to the United Nations, to discuss Canada's role in the fight against COVID-19 on the international stage. They called on the Liberal government to stop protecting the interest of big pharmaceutical companies and help ramp up global production by suspending drug patents for COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier this month, NDP MPs again stood with stakeholders to call on the Trudeau government to authorize the compulsory license and support patent waivers that would allow more access to vaccines across borders. If a license is granted by the government, millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine could be produced by developing countries. This mechanism has been used once before to manufacture and export HIV medicine for Rwanda in 2007.

Instead of taking immediate action to ensure developing countries could manufacture vaccines for their citizens, the Liberal government ignored the advice of health experts and have openly opposed making vaccines more accessible.

“When it comes to this global pandemic, we are all in this together. Making sure people in other parts of the world have access to vaccines helps them stay healthy and it also keeps Canadians safe,” said Singh. “The Liberals need to stop putting the profits of big pharmaceuticals ahead of the health and well-being of people. Taking these steps to allow more developing countries to produce the vaccine will save lives both abroad and here at home. If Justin Trudeau won’t take action to help people around the world have access to vaccines, we will continue to see dangerous, new variants of COVID-19. The Liberals must stop defending the interests of big pharma and start protecting Canadians.”