HESA Committee Meeting
Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.
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Minutes of Proceedings
Michelle Rempel Garner moved, — That the committee invite the following representatives from the Public Health Agency of Canada to give a joint presentation of no more than 15 minutes:
- Roman Szumski, Senior Vice President of the Vaccine Acquisition Branch
- Gina Charos and / or Stephen Bent, Director General level official for the Centre for Immunization and Respiratory Infectious Diseases
- Kim Elmslie, Vice President of the Immunization Branch;
and that Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization be invited to give a presentation of no more than 10 minutes;
That the above witnesses be asked to present on:
- NACI’s recommendation against using the AstraZeneca vaccine for Canadians 65-and-older
- Reports that Health Canada will advise against following the advice from NACI
- Evidence of the AstraZeneca vaccine’s effectiveness in the 65-and-older cohort
- Potential ramifications of administering / not administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to persons aged 65-and-older in Canada
That the witnesses present concurrently on one single panel and remain available for question rounds after their presentations, that the meeting be no less than two hours duration, and that it be held no later than March 8, 2021.
Debate arose thereon.
Luc Thériault moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “fifteen (15) minutes:” with the words “ten (10) minutes:”
That the motion be amended by replacing the words “ten (10) minutes;” with the words “seven (7) minutes;”
That the motion be amended by adding after the words “aged 65-and-older in Canada” the following:
“That the meeting of March 8, 2021, be three (3) hours long, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.;
That the above witnesses appear in a first panel for one hour, and that they be available during the last hour of the meeting, between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., to respond to questions following their presentations; and
That the witnesses already scheduled to appear at the meeting of March 8, 2021, be invited to appear between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., in a first and second panel, each lasting one hour, in order to give a presentation of approximately five (5) minutes, and that they be available to respond to questions following their presentations”.
Debate arose thereon.
The question was put on the amendment of Luc Thériault and it was negatived on the following recorded division:
YEAS: John Barlow, Chris d'Entremont, Bernard Généreux, Larry Maguire, Luc Thériault — 5;
NAYS: Don Davies, Darren Fisher, Mike Kelloway, Marcus Powlowski, Sonia Sidhu, Tony Van Bynen — 6.
Don Davies moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “no later than March 8, 2021.” with the words “on March 11, 2021, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.”.
Debate arose thereon.
The question was put on the amendment of Don Davies and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:
YEAS: John Barlow, Don Davies, Chris d'Entremont, Bernard Généreux, Larry Maguire, Luc Thériault — 6;
NAYS: Darren Fisher, Mike Kelloway, Marcus Powlowski, Sonia Sidhu, Tony Van Bynen — 5.
Sonia Sidhu moved, — That the motion be amended by adding after the words “Vice President of the Immunization Branch; ” the following: “that Dr. Supriya Sharma and Dr. Marc Berthiaume from the Department of Health to give a joint presentation of no more than 10 minutes”.
Debate arose thereon.
The question was put on the amendment of Sonia Sidhu and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:
YEAS: John Barlow, Don Davies, Chris d'Entremont, Darren Fisher, Mike Kelloway, Larry Maguire, Marcus Powlowski, Michelle Rempel Garner, Sonia Sidhu, Luc Thériault, Tony Van Bynen — 11;
NAYS: — 0.
The question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:
YEAS: John Barlow, Don Davies, Chris d'Entremont, Darren Fisher, Mike Kelloway, Larry Maguire, Marcus Powlowski, Michelle Rempel Garner, Sonia Sidhu, Luc Thériault, Tony Van Bynen — 11;
NAYS: — 0.
The motion, as amended, read as follows:
That the committee invite the following representatives from the Public Health Agency of Canada to give a joint presentation of no more than 15 minutes:
- Roman Szumski, Senior Vice President of the Vaccine Acquisition Branch
- Gina Charos and / or Stephen Bent, Director General level official for the Centre for Immunization and Respiratory Infectious Diseases
- Kim Elmslie, Vice President of the Immunization Branch;
that Dr. Supriya Sharma and Dr. Marc Berthiaume from the Department of Health to give a joint presentation of no more than 10 minutes;
and that Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization be invited to give a presentation of no more than 10 minutes;
that the above witnesses be asked to present on:
- NACI’s recommendation against using the AstraZeneca vaccine for Canadians 65-and-older
- Reports that Health Canada will advise against following the advice from NACI
- Evidence of the AstraZeneca vaccine’s effectiveness in the 65-and-older cohort
- Potential ramifications of administering / not administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to persons aged 65-and-older in Canada
that the witnesses present concurrently on one single panel and remain available for question rounds after their presentations, that the meeting be no less than two hours duration, and that it be held on March 11, 2021, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m”.
At 12:28 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.