CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Hello, everyone! To begin with, thank you Dominic for that introduction and for all of your work as a Minister, not to mention as a leader for people here in New Brunswick.

A big shout-out as well to our outstanding MP for Moncton – Ginette Petitpas Taylor – and our whole team that never stops working for people in this province.

Also, I want to thank Brigitte and Anne for stepping up as part of the Vitalité Health Network. And again, I want to thank you as I thanked some of the health care workers I met with earlier for having taken such good care of Dominic a couple of years ago. He’s been a really important part of our path through this pandemic as chair of the Cabinet Committee on the federal response to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and many other things. And it’s great to have him at full health.

But also, I want to thank all the incredible health workers who stepped up to make sure that Canadians here in New Brunswick and across the country are kept safe.

My friends, it’s great to be back here in New Brunswick. And what better place to spend some time than at the Moncton Coliseum. Because if there’s any example of New Brunswickers’ warmth and sense of community, it’s here at the vaccine clinic today.

The clinic staff and volunteers – some of whom I met a few moments ago – are doing a remarkable job.

They got up to around 3,000 doses a day administered during peak moments which is incredible.

And it means so many people can worry less and see each other more. We’re seeing people continue to come in – lots of people for second doses, but still people are stepping up on first doses as well.

The fact that we can continue on that path to safety so we can get through this pandemic and back to full normal lives as quickly as possible is really, really important. 

So I really want to thank everyone and tell them to keep up the great work.

Here at the Coliseum, I also chatted with some folks getting their shots.

There’s lots of relief at being more protected, and lots of excitement looking forward to hugging family, or getting together with friends.

I was talking with a young 14 year old who admitted that not all of his friends are getting vaccinated, so I impressed upon him to encourage them to get out and get their doses as well.

Because we all want to get back to normal as quickly as possible and we want to be there to protect our loved ones.

And we know that getting vaccinated is the way Canada gets through this.

That’s why we’ve worked around the clock to secure as many doses as possible.

And on that front, today, I have some really great news to share.

Canada now has enough COVID-19 vaccines delivered to fully vaccinate everyone who’s eligible for a shot. That works out to over 66 million doses in total that we’ve received in Canada.

Back in the winter, I made a promise that we would have enough vaccines for all eligible Canadians by the end of September.

So not only have we kept that promise, but we’ve done it two months ahead of schedule.

Of course, we’ll make sure that as more people become eligible there are doses available for them too.

This major milestone is a reminder of just how far we’ve come.

In a few months we’ve gone from the first doses being given to the most vulnerable, to over 80 per cent of eligible Canadians with their first shot. In fact, Canada continues to lead the world on this front.

Here in New Brunswick, I know that just this weekend, you also had your own big milestone – your millionth dose administered.

That’s huge. And it’s because we’ve worked together.

So for our part, we’re going to keep supporting the provinces and territories in getting these vaccines out.

I know that here in New Brunswick, mobile vaccine clinics are being set up to make it even easier for people to get their shots. So if you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, make sure that you do.

Remember, these vaccines are safe – they’ve passed Canada’s world-class standard for medical approvals.

These vaccines work – they’re one of the best ways to keep yourself and others safe.

Look, what we’re seeing right now is that the overwhelming majority of cases in Canada are in people who haven’t been fully vaccinated yet. In fact, only one half of one percent of cases being recorded are in fully vaccinated people.

These vaccines work and they’re safe. And they’re also available and of course, completely free.

So with enough doses for everyone, there’s no more excuses to not get your shot.

Do it for yourself, because nobody wants to get sick and it’s the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated who are getting sick right now, in larger numbers.

Now, you can still pass on the virus if you’re fully vaccinated. It’s just more difficult and the vaccine is keeping you safer. But unvaccinated people are at the highest risk right now.

And if you’re not going to do it for yourself, do it for your loved ones who need to be protected, including from the new variants of concern.

Do it for health workers, who are out there on the front lines and have been for a very long year and a half, stepping up to keep everyone safe.

We don’t want to have to put them at risk; we don’t want to have to start overwhelming our ICUs and hospitals again with unvaccinated people getting cases.

And do it for kids. Kids under 12 years old aren’t yet able to get vaccinated. Hopefully, that’s going to change soon, and I know that companies are working very hard on making sure that that’s happening and safely.

But as a dad, I find it really difficult to talk to my 7 year old and explain why he can’t get vaccinated when his older brother and sister are being kept safe from this disease.

As we get back to school in the fall, we need to make sure that everyone is as safe as possible to keep our kids safe. It’s about stepping up to do the right thing, as Canadians have been doing all throughout this pandemic.

And that’s been the story, particularly here in New Brunswick, but right across the country. Of people pulling together to be there for each other. We can keep it up and we can continue to lead the world in keeping everyone safe.

Canada has come through this pandemic better than almost any other country in the world. And it’s because we’ve been there for each other.

We’re in the final miles of this crisis, we hope. So let’s keep pulling together to reach those brighter days up ahead.

Before I end for today, I want to once again join all Canadians in congratulating our Olympic medallists.

I will say, as a feminist, it’s particularly great to see just how extraordinarily well our women athletes are doing in Tokyo 2020 right now.

So keep it up! Keep up the great work.

Thanks, everyone.