Trudeau faces criticism after hinting other countries will get vaccines first

The prime minister may be getting set to release some more information on how his government plans to vaccinate Canadians against COVID-19.

This comes as Justin Trudeau faces steep criticism from opposition parties after saying Canada may have to wait longer than others for a vaccine.

The federal government have called a briefing with government officials to talk about procuring and regulating a potential vaccine but criticism is mounting against Trudeau after he admitted that Canada would be receiving their doses later than other countries.

He says countries who produce the vaccine will get their hands on it first and Canada simply doesn’t have the production capacity to make their own.

According to Trudeau, the lack of production means countries like Germany and the United Kingdom will get likely get their doses first.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh calls the explanation unacceptable.

“The fact that we are the tenth largest economy in the world, and we can’t produce vaccines. There is something deeply problematic about that,” says Singh.

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel-Garner is demanding answers from the Trudeau government.

“Did you even bother to negotiate the right for Canada to manufacture these vaccines at home? And when are Canadians going to get these vaccines?”

The opposition is claiming that Trudeau is to blame for the lack of production but the prime minister says that many pharmaceutical manufacturers  stopped production under the Stephen Harper government.

“What happened to domestic manufacturing in Canada? The conservative government happened,” says Trudeau.

Provinces are hoping to get more details on the delivery of vaccines when Trudeau holds his regular phone call with the premiers on Thursday.