Canada should support waiving COVID vaccine patents and press the EU to follow suit

As one of the first countries that negotiated the purchase of a large number of vaccines with major vaccine-producing companies, Canada has the moral responsibility to come out in favour of the proposal to temporarily lift vaccine patents.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, and his International Trade Minister Mary Ng have remained noncommittal after the U.S. backed the waiver earlier this month. With each day passing, many more people will die of COVID-19 in many countries whose vaccination per capita rate is far lower than much of the Western world, writes Amirahmad Azhieh.The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY AMIRAHMAD AZHIEH

May 26, 2021

Weeks after the United States signalled support for waiving intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines, it’s very unfortunate that the Canadian government has not yet followed suit. On May 5, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai

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