With all due respect to David Butler-Jones, I'm sure if he were to go on a unit where 100% of the patients were affected with H1N1, he would be wearing an N95--well-fitted. That I guarantee.
The evidence is not clear. We've been working on this with the agency for three years. No one can say 80% or 90% that the evidence is clear on what to wear. We do not believe safety should be put into jeopardy here.
We urgently went to the Standing Committee on Health on the safety issue because it was urgent. The Minister of Health urged us in May not to go public with this, not to create a public outcry. It is early October, we still don't have any results, and the pandemic could hit anytime. What governments, provincially, are telling us is that any health care worker who asks for an N95, regardless of where he or she works, can get one. That means every health care worker will have to defend himself--look for the mask, get a fit test. That is not appropriate in this country, and we will not stand for it.