The federal government is quietly self-assessing its response to COVID-19, with internal audits underway by various government departments, a Senate committee heard Wednesday.
Ontario Sen. Marty (Martha) Deacon asked if the federal government intended to establish a commission of inquiry into the federal response to COVID.
Quebec Sen. Marc Gold said in response, “The government knows that it is very important for us to take stock of the lessons that we learned during this pandemic and prepare for future health emergencies and, indeed, any kind of emergency.”
He said that he had been advised that some of the work was already underway. The Public Health Agency of Canada is conducting internal reviews and independent reviews are underway by the Global Public Health Intelligence Network and by the auditor general, Gold said.
He said the government hasn’t determined the final format of the COVID review.
Accountability
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Conservative MPs requested a judicial inquiry in 2021, specifically audits into contracts awarded during the endemic.
“Companies with Liberal-friendly lobbyists or close connections to the Prime Minister or his inner circle received preferential treatment in the awarding of contracts,” then-Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole alleged at the time.
O’Toole said the federal government’s pandemic management measures were “slow and confused.” He was critical of the Public Health Agency for mishandling a national stockpile of medical supplies, and said the Department of Health was “late at the border, late on securing rapid tests, late now on vaccines,” and questioned contracts approved without competitive bidding.
“When the pandemic is over we need answers,” O’Toole said at the time. “We need to know what worked and what didn’t. We need complete transparency and accountability.”
“More can be done, and that is why I am advised the government will in fact have a COVID-19 response review in a format yet to be determined that will be announced when the details are finalized,” Gold said in the Senate on Dec. 7.
A Privy Council report, Continuous Qualitative Data Collection of Canadians’ Views, released Oct. 10 said government focus groups found that large numbers of Canadians rated the federal government’s management of COVID lower as restrictions dragged on.
The report said the public also became negative about originally-popular COVID programs like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that offered $2,000 monthly cheques to those without jobs.
Canadians “expressed frustration at what they felt to be lack of oversight related to the distribution of financial supports throughout the pandemic, believing ineligible individuals had been able to receive financial assistance,” said the report.
“Some also were of the view that benefits such as the CERB had contributed to what they believed to be a labour shortage in many Canadian communities, stating many of those who had accessed the CERB and other financial supports no longer desired to return to work.”
Frustration over the government’s lockdown restrictions and mandatory vaccines led to the largest protest in Canadian history. Earlier this year, the Freedom Convoy descended on Ottawa for three weeks of protesting, which included bouncy castles, singing, hockey in the streets, and honking by rigs parked on Wellington Street.
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