It's good to be back at committee and getting back to our business.
Thank you to all of the witnesses for being here today, either by video conference or in person.
I know that previous standing committees on health had a lot of information on pandemics and what the government's response was. My former colleague, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, was the NDP health critic. There was very intense information given.
However, I think you should be aware that most of us are new to this committee, so we're a bit green on this issue. If some of my questions seem a bit naive or not very substantive, it's because I just don't have the background that some of our colleagues gained as a result of the events in 2009.
It sounds as though there's a good process in place. We have the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network Council and the Public Health Agency of Canada. It sounds as though things are very well established.
Who actually decides that there is a pandemic? At what point does it move from an epidemic—and I don't know if that's the right term—to a pandemic? What is the qualitative difference? Is it something that we ascribe to under the World Health Organization? Is there a definite line when it moves from one to the other? I'm curious to know what kickstarts that. When we reach that point, how quickly can decisions be made? You have a plan, but I assume you're getting information from local health authorities about cases. Again, what's that line that kicks it into something else?
Also, this committee is going to be looking at electronic health records during the coming months. I would imagine that a lot of what you are dealing with relies on recorded information and a database. I'm curious to know how well developed that is. Are you able to quickly assess that we've moved from one scenario to another scenario?
Those are the questions I have, and I'd invite all of the witnesses to respond.