<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Hi Guys;<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Here’s a petition request from a friend who lives in P.E.I.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Why would Canada, the U.S.A., and the U.K. object to making COVID vaccines more readily available, at a lower price?</div><div class="">Allan<br class=""><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">From: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">"Mary Cowper-Smith" <<a href="mailto:mcowper-smith@rogers.com" class="">mcowper-smith@rogers.com</a>><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><b class="">You may wish to consider signing this petition</b><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Date: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">March 1, 2021 at 8:26:19 PM EST<br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">To: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">"'Mary Cowper-Smith'" <<a href="mailto:mcowper-smith@rogers.com" class="">mcowper-smith@rogers.com</a>><br class=""></span></div><br class=""><div class=""><div class="">Dear Family and Friends,<br class="">You may have heard in the news over the past couple of months that India and<br class="">South Africa have brought a motion forward at the World Trade Organization<br class="">(WTO) to temporarily waive certain parts of the Trade-Related Aspects of<br class="">Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement around COVID-19 medical<br class="">technologies. If the member countries of the WTO approve this temporary<br class="">waiver, it would help ensure production of sufficient quantities of<br class="">affordable COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines, which would<br class="">increase the global supply of these goods, benefiting the global pandemic<br class="">effort.<br class=""><br class="">Without the waiver, low- and middle-income countries don't have the ability<br class="">to manufacture vaccines, and will have to rely on pharmaceutical companies<br class="">and wealthy countries for charity, or go without access to lifesaving<br class="">medicines and technology.<br class=""><br class="">Pharmaceutical companies have received unprecedented taxpayer funding to<br class="">help develop COVID-19 vaccines, and will still be well-paid for their<br class="">vaccines, even if this waiver passes.<br class=""><br class="">The vast majority of countries in the world are supporting the motion, but<br class="">unfortunately, a few wealthy countries including Canada, the US, the UK are<br class="">not.<br class=""><br class="">The petition, below, urges Canada to do the right thing and support the<br class="">motion so that every country will have timely and affordable access to<br class="">vaccines. The WTO will be dealing with this issue at a meeting on March 10.<br class=""><br class="">Please consider signing this petition if you have not already done so.<br class=""><br class="">Many thanks!<br class=""><br class="">Mary<br class=""><a href="https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3181" class="">https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3181</a><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""></div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>