Ask your MP to support global vaccine justice
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Dear Friend,
We may be “done with COVID,” but the virus is likely not done with us.
As long as huge inequalities in access to vaccines between countries persist, new variants will continue to emerge. If we want to end the pandemic, we must end this “vaccine apartheid.”
That’s why the Council of Canadians initiated a parliamentary petition last November calling on the federal government to stop blocking the manufacturing of generic vaccines in Canada, and to support the temporary suspension of patents on vaccines and other life-saving medicines at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
More than 4,500 people joined that call, and we are extremely grateful to all the Council supporters and allies who signed and shared the petition.
Unfortunately, the Trudeau government’s response to our petition reveals it is still placing Big Pharma’s profits ahead of global public health.
That’s why we’re asking you to continue showing your support for vaccine justice by writing to your MP today.
The government’s petition response completely ignores our core demand: to facilitate the manufacturing of generic vaccines by domestic producers in Canada. It then dishonestly asserts that the government is ready to discuss any “IP [intellectual property] challenges” regarding vaccines at the WTO. In reality, our trade officials in Geneva have continually obstructed discussions over a temporary suspension of patents on vaccines, ever since the measure was first proposed in October 2020.
Instead, the government’s response celebrates Canada’s pledged vaccine donations – neglecting to mention that the government has delivered only 6 per cent of what it had pledged.
You can read more of our analysis about the government’s response here.
We need a vigorous “People’s Lobby” for vaccine justice.
Now that Parliament is back in session, the Council of Canadians and its allies are calling on supporters to contact their MPs to urge them to speak out against the Trudeau government’s Big Pharma-backed obstructionism.
In solidarity,
Nik Barry-Shaw
Trade and Privatization Campaigner
The Council of Canadians
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