First of all, I'd like to thank the Standing Committee on Health for inviting us here today, and good afternoon. I have to commend the other communities as well for all of the work they've done.
As the CEO of the Athabasca Health Authority, I will say that we have worked relentlessly since April with all of our partners, both federal and provincial, to ensure that we have a comprehensive pandemic preparedness plan ready. It has taken a lot of work to ensure that the partnerships are there with our communities, our outside agencies, and the medical health officers throughout the ministry of health in the Province of Saskatchewan, as well as working with our federal partners through Health Canada. We wouldn't be in the position we are right now if that cooperation had not taken place.
We're in a unique position. We're funded by both provincial and federal authorities. So that cross-jurisdictional boundary whereby we work on first nations reserves as well as in provincial communities is part of our day-to-day operations, and we're comfortable with that. But we also understand and know from the first nations side not just the health status and determinants of health but also the day-to-day issues they face. So we have to find balance with everybody to ensure that we work hand in hand in the best interests of these communities with the resources we have in hand.
As we've said in the past, it takes a team effort to ensure the best service delivery to any resident, no matter their race or colour. We don't discriminate; we try to work with our partners. People have talked about taking their plans through a test run, hopefully. For us, the litmus test will be the actual pandemic itself, to see if we are as prepared as we say we are.
Thank you.