Skip to main content

Canada supports plan for international pandemic treaty

Share
OTTAWA -

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says Canada supports the development of a new global convention on pandemic preparedness and response that will be debated at a special meeting of the World Health Assembly today.

It is only the second time in its history that the group has held an emergency summit of this kind.

If member countries agree, the assembly would go to work developing what would essentially serve as an international treaty on pandemic preparedness.

The idea is to prevent another global crisis like the one posed by COVID-19 and it's new, more transmissible variants.

Duclos, who would serve as the federal government's chief delegate, says the convention would help countries to collaborate and would allow Canada to more easily share its expertise on the world stage.

The WHO working group on the file says that governments should look to develop the convention in tandem with efforts to strengthen existing International Health Regulations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2021.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight

After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.

Local Spotlight

Stay Connected