C-293Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act
An Act respecting pandemic prevention and preparedness
Private member's bill, introduced in the House of Commons on June 17, 2022
- Status
- Defeated at second reading in the Senate
What it does
Requires the federal government to create and update a pandemic prevention plan and appoint a coordinator to oversee it.
What it does
- Requires the Minister of Health to create a pandemic prevention and preparedness plan that covers risk factors, response measures, research, surveillance systems, public health capacity, border risks, and roles for other federal ministers.
- Requires the plan to include information from other ministers on issues such as manufacturing capacity, communications systems, land use, wildlife trade, biodiversity, foreign health equity and border measures.
- Requires the Minister of Health to work with provinces, Indigenous communities, other governments and relevant agencies, and to use a One Health approach that looks at human, animal, plant and ecosystem health.
- Requires the Minister of Health to table the first plan in both Houses of Parliament within two years and publish it on the Department of Health website within 10 days.
- Requires the Minister of Health to update the plan at least every three years, table the updated report in Parliament and publish it online.
- Requires the Minister of Health to appoint a national pandemic prevention and preparedness coordinator from the Public Health Agency of Canada and give that person the powers and duties the minister chooses.
Who it affects
- Minister of Health
- Other federal ministers
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- Provincial governments
- Indigenous communities
- Health care workers
- Public health agencies
Background
The bill says its purpose is to prevent future pandemics and to promote transparency and accountability in the federal government’s efforts. It also amends the Department of Health Act to add a national coordinator role.
Where it is
House of Commons
First reading
Completed.
Second reading
Completed.
Committee
Completed.
Report stage
Completed.
Third reading
Completed.
Senate
First reading
Completed.
Second reading
Defeated here. Defeated
Committee
Not reached.
Third reading
Not reached.
Royal assent
Royal assent
Not reached.
Introduced by an MP who is not a minister. These bills compete in a lottery for debate time, and most do not become law. How a bill becomes law
How the House voted
3rd reading and adoption of Bill C-293, An Act respecting pandemic prevention and preparedness
Vote 802,
Passed
164 yeato144 nay · 12 paired
Party breakdown for vote 802 Party Position Yea Nay Did not vote Liberal Yea 139 0 16 Conservative Nay 0 113 5 Bloc Nay 0 30 2 NDP Yea 21 0 3 Green Yea 2 0 0 Independent Yea1 broke ranks 2 1 0 Total 164 144 2nd reading of Bill C-293, An Act respecting pandemic prevention and preparedness
Vote 255,
Passed
176 yeato142 nay
Party breakdown for vote 255 Party Position Yea Nay Did not vote Liberal Yea 148 0 10 Conservative Nay 0 112 4 Bloc Nay 0 30 2 NDP Yea 24 0 1 Green Yea 2 0 0 Independent Yea 2 0 0 Total 176 142
What MPs said
Each party’s first speech on this bill in the House, from Hansard. Excerpts are the speaker’s opening sentences, unedited.
LiberalNathaniel Erskine-Smith· November 15, 2022
“Simply put, the message of this bill is that we need to learn the lessons from this pandemic in order to prevent and prepare for the next one. No, we are not done with COVID, but we have also lived through enough to learn from our pandemic response across all levels of government, and those lessons should inform our plans going forward.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caConservativeTed Falk· November 15, 2022
“The bill's proposal that the Minister of Health and other government ministers be the ones to put together or even make up the advisory committee to review their own response to the coronavirus is, frankly, quite ridiculous. That is like having the fox guard the henhouse, because they all have a very vested interest in the outcome.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caBlocJean-Denis Garon· November 15, 2022
“What is more, as I said earlier in my question, this bill is very proactive. It talks about establishing an advisory committee, developing a plan for the future and appointing officials to prepare contingency plans for future pandemics, although the bill provides a lot of room for that to potentially evolve in one way or another.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.caNDPDon Davies· November 15, 2022
“Tonight, I speak to Bill C-293, which, in our view, represents an unacceptable attempt to provide the illusion of accountability and oversight with respect to Canada's response to the most severe pandemic in a century. I am going to briefly review the measures the bill calls for.”
Read the full speech on openparliament.ca
Read the source
LEGISinfo status: At second reading in the Senate. Bill data from LEGISinfo, votes from openparliament.ca and the House of Commons. Last updated October 13, 2026.