Cabinet is demanding MPs take an oath of secrecy as a condition of seeing terms of its $5 billion contracts with vaccine manufacturers. Members of the Commons public accounts committee called it a dangerous precedent to limit scrutiny of federal spending, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“It sounds like they’re trying to protect the government and not the taxpayers,” said Conservative MP Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West, AB), who called the proposal “a horrible precedent” for all Commons committees. “We cannot allow something like this to stop parliamentarians from doing their job,” said McCauley. “It makes you ask, what’s next?”.MPs for two years have sought terms of signed contracts for pre-ordered vaccines with seven manufacturers at undisclosed prices: AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Medicago, Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer and Sanofi..Liberal MPs on the public accounts committee agreed to let parliamentarians read the contracts providing they first sign non-disclosure agreements. “We want to make sure confidentiality is respected,” said Liberal MP Anthony Housefather (Mount Royal, QC)..“We do as the Government of Canada, not as Members of Parliament, have confidentiality obligations vis-à-vis the suppliers,” said Housefather. “These are contracts that were signed at a highly unusual time right at the beginning of the pandemic when vaccines were very scarce and suppliers had a great deal of leverage.”.“What are you trying to guard against?” asked Conservative MP John Williamson (New Brunswick Southwest, NB), chair of the committee. “My concern would be that something came out,” replied Housefather..Bloc Québécois MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné (Terrebonne, QC) said taxpayers deserve reassurance they weren’t cheated by vaccine dealers. “These are commercial contracts with pharmaceutical companies,” said Sinclair-Desgagné, noting other jurisdictions have disclosed what they paid for vaccines..“They charged different prices to different countries for the same vaccine,” said Sinclair-Desgagné. “Europeans paid $14.50 per dose, Americans paid $19.50 a dose. Pharmaceutical companies with the same vaccine charged different rates. It’s to their advantage that this remain confidential.”.The Auditor General who was given access to the contracts wrote in a December 6 report COVID-19 Vaccines that costs averaged about $30 per dose. One Canadian manufacturer, Providence Therapeutics of Calgary, told the Commons finance committee in 2021 it negotiated a fee of $18 per dose with the Government of Manitoba with a “fairly reasonable profit at that price.”.New Democrat MP Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach, AB) said legislators should not have to be sworn to secrecy to scrutinize public spending. “The Government of Canada cannot super-navigate the will of Parliament,” said Desjarlais. “The will of Parliament is asking that these documents be readily available.”
