Reality Check

Conservative government’s response to the H1N1 pandemic

Dear friends,

The H1N1 flu pandemic remains a serious issue on the minds of Canadians.

Canadians have every right to be concerned about the Conservative government’s response to the H1N1 pandemic, which remains a serious threat to the health of our families, schools and communities.

As the virus continues to spread, with 198 deaths to date, questions remain about when all Canadians will be able to get vaccinated.  This ongoing confusion is troubling, particularly when the virus has not yet even reached its peak.

First the government said vaccination would be complete at the end of November.  That target was revised to Christmas.  Now we’re being told that, in fact, it won’t be until February – well after the virus is expected to peak.

The federal government could have avoided this delay and confusion if they had been better prepared.

Liberals stand for a national government that leads by protecting Canadians with a properly resourced and prepared health system. Instead, Canadians can see that Conservatives can’t be counted on in times of national crisis, based on their botched H1N1 response.

The Conservatives ignored the evidence by putting seasonal flu vaccine production ahead of H1N1 flu vaccine production.  Some 35 other countries ordered the vaccine well ahead of Canada, and many started vaccinating their populations weeks before Canada.

With almost all reported cases of flu being H1N1 and not seasonal flu, six weeks have been lost that could have been used to produce and deliver the H1N1 vaccine ahead of the late November peak.

Most Canadians still don’t know when they or their children can get vaccinated, and the Conservatives have provided no additional support to get the vaccine into schools.

We shouldn’t be surprised at the lack of coordination and complacency we’ve seen from the federal government.  Auditor General Sheila Fraser’s found the same thing in her latest report, where she slammed the Conservatives for neglecting their emergency response plan for national crises like the H1N1 pandemic. 

We need a federal government that is ready to protect the public, no matter what threat comes our way.  Liberals have continued to push for answers and action from this government, so that all Canadians can be reassured that everything possible is being done to help them through this crisis. 

Last week, the House of Commons adopted our motion calling for the allocation of $400 million in pandemic response funds to help the provinces deliver vaccines to Canadians and provide additional planning support for overwhelmed hospital ICUs.

Parliament also asked Stephen Harper to put people ahead of politics by redirecting the estimated $100 million being spent on partisan, self-congratulatory ads promoting the Economic Action Plan to a comprehensive public awareness campaign that will keep Canadians informed about H1N1 – its symptoms, treatment and prevention.  We are also calling on the government to provide this information in the many languages that Canadians speak at home so that local public health units can use their scarce resources to hire extra nurses instead of paying for the duplication of translation services.

After spending months ignoring our requests, the Conservatives should respect the will of Parliament and take the necessary action to fix their mistakes.

The health and wellbeing of all Canadians depends on it.

Sincerely,

The Honourable Marlene Jennings, P.C., M.P.
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine