441-02564 (Health)

Protecting the health and safety of all Canadians is a top priority of the Government of Canada. COVID-19 demonstrated the need to take bold action to ensure we are better prepared for the next pandemic, which is why Canada is working closely with other countries and international partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO), to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery through two distinct Member State-led processes.

Canada is working with over 190 other countries to develop a new WHO Pandemic Agreement. The Government is engaged in a process to consider and negotiate amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR (2005)).

With respect to the Pandemic Agreement, the original timeline was to finalize Agreement text to be presented to the 77^th World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 27 – June 1, 2024. As Member States required more time to ensure that international consensus could be reached reflecting the needs, domestic priorities, and national sovereignty of all Member States, the negotiation process was extended by one year, with a plan to develop text no later than for the 78^th World Health Assembly in May 2025.   

Member States will continue to meet and discuss modalities and the way forward regarding the continuation of the negotiation process. Canada will continue to actively engage in the negotiation process, and will work to ensure Canadian values and objectives are reflected. The Government of Canada will also continue to provide updates to Parliamentarians, stakeholders and the Canadian public as appropriate.

Regarding the IHR (2005), these regulations are a legally binding treaty that entered into force in 2007. Canada is a Party to the IHR (2005) along with the other 193 Member States of the WHO and two non-Member States. The IHR (2005)’s main objective is “to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks, and which avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade." They are an important tool to keep Canadians healthy and safe through commitments and obligations that require countries to work together in a global health emergency.

In the nearly 20 years since their entry into force, amendments to the IHR (2005) have been adopted on three occasions: 2014, 2022, and 2024. At the 75^th World Health Assembly on May 28, 2022, amendments to the IHR (2005) were agreed by WHO Member States, including Canada. This included a technical amendment to Article 59 that would change the time for entry into force of future IHR amendments from two years to one year. To ensure operational consistency within the IHR (2005), four other amendments were made to support this same technical change. These amendments mean that in the future, Canada and other States Parties will have one year to implement any new amendments to the IHR.

Following the adoption of these technical amendments in 2022, and after two years of negotiations, WHO Member States adopted a series of substantive amendments to the IHR at the 77^th World Health Assembly on June 1, 2024. These new amendments include:

• introducing a definition of a pandemic emergency to trigger more effective international collaboration in response to events that are at risk of becoming, or have become, a pandemic;
• a commitment to solidarity and equity on strengthening access to medical products and financing;
• the establishment of the States Parties Committee to facilitate the effective implementation of the amended Regulations; and
• the creation of National IHR Authorities to improve coordination of implementation of the Regulations within and among countries.

The amendments to the IHR will be officially communicated to States Parties once they have been translated into all six UN languages.

The amendments support effective implementation of the IHR and will help countries to better prepare for and respond to future health emergencies, and strengthen WHO Member States’ commitment to work together.

As these are treaty amendments, Canada’s treaty adoption process will be followed as per previous amendments to the IHR (2005). This will include tabling the amendments in the House of Commons prior to the Government taking steps to implement them for Canada, before their entry into force on June 1, 2025. 

The role of the WHO has been and will continue to be advisory in nature, as the WHO does not have jurisdiction in Member States, including Canada. Canada was an active participant in the negotiation and adoption of the latest amendments to the IHR (2005) and, as such, was able to ensure that its priorities and interests were reflected in the negotiated outcome. The IHR amendments that received consensus at the 77th World Health Assembly continue to respect national sovereignty and Canada will remain in control of any future domestic decisions related to health emergencies. 

The WHO has made a statement providing more information on the Pandemic Agreement and the IHR (2005) amendments following the 77^th World Health Assembly.