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Canada expected to address vaccine patents at upcoming WTO meeting

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International Trade Minister Mary Ng will attend the upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, where her office says she plans to address the waiving of intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines.

A temporary suspension of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement would allow low-income countries with less buying power to produce vaccines locally.

In the spring, the federal government opted out of supporting a TRIPS Waiver proposal brought forward by India and South Africa and backed by 100 countries.

In a statement to CTVNews.ca, Alice Hansen, a spokesperson for the minister’s office said “TRIPS is a key part of the on going Trade and Health discussion, and Canada will play a leadership role in Trade and Health discussions at the upcoming MC12 meeting.”

The statement went on to say that the minister has been working with international partners to reach “concrete solutions” to trade and health.

Opponents of the proposal, including pharmaceutical giants, say waiving patents could hurt innovation and prevent companies from recovering their investments in research and development.

The 12th WTO ministerial conference will take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 in Geneva, Switzerland. It will be chaired by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov.

The NDP have been calling for a suspension of the patents on COVID-19 vaccines to help with global supply.

“That would be a more long-term solution that would actually help countries get their populations vaccinated immediately and for the long-term. That’s something I would support,” leader Jagmeet Singh said on CTV’s Question Period on Sunday.

Global health experts have long argued that efforts now should be directed towards increasing the rate of first and second doses administered in developing countries.

The federal government has made several donations to COVAX, a global initiative for the procurement and equitable distribution of vaccines.

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