"The contracts, which have not been made public, focused on large-scale shipments after April 1, because the federal government had been told by the companies that no large supplies would be available before then." https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-drug-makers-resist-ottawas-pleas-for-more-covid-19-vaccines-before/

“The official said federal negotiators pushed to acquire as many doses as possible in December after the Pfizer Inc. and Moderna vaccines got regulatory approval.”

“The govt has kept the contracts w/ Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna & the 5 other vaccine suppliers secret. The US & EU have released some contracts. The lack of info means Cdns do not know what assurances, if any, Cda negotiated & whether the federal govt is enforcing the contracts.”

“Drug companies insisted on quarterly deliveries, and are not required to meet specific weekly deadlines, the official said… Because of the quarterly delivery schedules, there are no penalties for the recent cut in shipments.”

“Paul Lucas, former CEO of GlaxoSmithKline in Canada, says the govt didn’t adequately plan for a possible early approval.
‘They assumed they wouldn’t get approval and wouldn’t need the vaccine until the 2nd quarter…’”

Lucas (cont’d): “No one can use the excuse that there wasn’t enough doses, because the U.K. and the U.S. both had massive amounts of vaccines delivered in December.”