Health committee  We believe that there are two specific improvements to the legislation. The previous version only mentioned the closest point of entry while now we say that it is at the receiving port of destination. Furthermore, instead of talking about a designated authority, as we know that t

Health committee  Honourable member Bennett, the public health community is a small one. I know Dr. Schabas, and I know all the others. They're all my colleagues. I'm part of that community. From the consultations and practical interactions we've had with our colleagues in the United States and o

Health committee  I guess it's a question of intent--whether it was wanted in the bill. I can just say as a public health official, notwithstanding the rest of the world, that my closest working relationship is with my counterparts' quarantine program in the United States. As we indicated earlier,

Health committee  Yes. It wouldn't be the minister, but certainly the quarantine officer making the assessment does have power under the Quarantine Act—

Health committee  —to take the appropriate measures, which could be quarantining, or at least having all the other passengers assessed, as appropriate.

Health committee  No, there was never any assumption. If you look at the old International Health Regulations and the new, modern ones, which in a sense are completely different, all that the old International Health Regulations required--and my legal colleague, Dennis Brodie, can add to this--was

Health committee  We've hired new people. The quarantine program has grown in recent years because of the emerging situation based on SARS and so on. Our quarantine program now certainly has expanded compared to what it was ten years ago.

Health committee  A rough number is about 30 to 40.

Health committee  We've actually made applications and are looking at additional quarantine officers also at major marine ports.

Health committee  In terms of the quarantine program, when we talk about quarantine officers, they're trained health professionals. By and large, they tend to be nurses by training, and certainly they've been trained to recognize and look for the symptoms of infectious diseases. However, we reco

Health committee  No. I was one of the people involved in the SARS crisis. It was an individual who came in, but they exposed that family after they came to Canada. So it was more that in the hospital setting they didn't have appropriate infection control measures in place. It had nothing to do wi

Health committee  Yes.

Health committee  Yes. The quarantine program in the U.S. is similar to ours. If there were an ill passenger on an aircraft arriving in the United States, as is similar to us, we would take the appropriate measures in ensuring the proper follow-up of any passengers on that flight regardless of whe

Health committee  Yes.

Health committee  I am sorry, but I may have misspoken. It is not a cost issue but a matter of risk management. As I explained earlier, the mandatory reporting of a sick person on a plane or a ship is to make available the necessary resources at the point of entry. If someone gets ill on a bus, th