<Date>
The Honourable Mary Ng,
Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne,
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
Cc: The Honourable Karina Gould,
Minister of International Development
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON. K1A 0A6
Via email at Mary.Ng@international.gc.ca; ISI.minister-ministre.ISI@canada.ca ; Karina.Gould@international.gc.ca
Dear Minister Ng and Minister Champagne,
Choose one of the following sentences for each of part 1, 3, and 4 below or come up with your own:
1) Introduction:
One year into a pandemic that has affected everyone’s life, we now exceed 100 million confirmed cases globally, with over two million deaths. No country alone can solve this pandemic. There needs to be international collaboration.
Or: The COVID pandemic has spread disease and economic hardship around the world, and nowhere has the impact been more severe than in developing countries.
Or: We are presently in a global pandemic where every country is affected, so we must work together to come up with a global solution.
2) Main ask – all letters should say this in one form or another:
I am a member of the Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN) and we are urging Canada to support the South Africa-India proposal for a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement to ensure that testing, treatment and vaccines for COVID-19 are accessible to all.
3) Consequences of this “ask”:
Supporting this proposal will speed up the COVID response by removing the current IP barriers that limit who can manufacture the lifesaving medical tools and where they can be sold.
Or: Supporting this proposal will allow more affordable versions of COVID-19 technologies to come to market sooner, thus saving many lives.
Or: We are so pleased to see the recent financial support that Canada has pledged to the international COVAX program which will ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available to low income countries. Supporting this TRIPS waiver will ensure the access of low income countries to other medical technologies essential in the fight against COVID-19.
4) Concluding sentence:
If we are ever to beat this pandemic, governments must work together to ensure global access to COVID-19 medical technologies. Supporting this TRIPS waiver proposal will go a long way to ensure this happens.
Or: No one is safe from COVID-19 until everyone is safe. Will Canada support this TRIPS waiver proposal to make the world a safer place for all of us?
Or: Over four hundred Civil Society Organizations from around the world have shown their support for this TRIPS waiver. Will Canada add its support to this global movement? In doing so, many lives will be saved, especially in developing countries.
Or: It is time for governments to work together and put people’s lives before corporate monopolies.
Sincerely,
<Your Name, email and postal address>
Member, Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN)
Cc: <Your Member of Parliament>
The Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development
