Indeed, the firefighters community does a lot of great work in many of our communities. To provide you with an update, first I will state that we do not want to have a Canadian pandemic influenza plan be a barrier for provinces and territories in responding to a pandemic, including the area of vaccine rollout.
Having said that, the unique characteristics of each pandemic must be considered when determining health risks for Canadians, which then informs decisions on priority access.
The revised Canadian pandemic influenza plan will outline a risk-based approach to decisions on priority access and will include consideration of the first responders to other individuals such as the elderly or pregnant women, which they may face. The first responders would include the firefighters in jurisdictions where they exercise that role. The consultation process for the Canadian pandemic influenza plan will be occurring over the next year, and key stakeholders, including the firefighters, will have an opportunity to provide their views on that process. I would encourage you to notify the firefighters in your regions to participate in that process.
We are always looking at ways to improve the pandemic plan for Canada, and we are evaluating that plan again. I encourage you to convey that to the firefighters, to participate in that process and put their views forward.