Whenever we are developing guidance, we start with a review of what the scientific evidence tells us. Then we use a very wide network of stakeholders to help us interpret the evidence and identify gaps in that knowledge, and use that to develop guidance.
We also work with groups such as the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and other unions, because they bring important perspectives to the table from their knowledge of what's happening on the ground. Whilst there can be debates on the interpretation of science, we always bring those perspectives from workers into the conversation. We take their questions and concerns and refer them back to the experts. It's a bit of an iterative process to arrive, finally, at the set of guidelines that we believe at the Public Health Agency, based on our assessment, are the most important, most reliable and most accurate guidelines at that point in time. The reason they're interim is because we're always looking at evidence and are always analyzing evidence, and that may update or change our guidance.
One of the other things we're doing to stay in contact with the nurses' unions and other important unions across the country is having a weekly meeting where we invite those stakeholders to share their experiences. I use those opportunities to give them an update on the guidance that we're developing and on other things that are happening at the agency. They very generously use that time to indicate where they have concerns and where they would like to see the Public Health Agency of Canada doing more work.
It's a really important dialogue that we are maintaining. People don't always agree, but what's important is that we're listening carefully to each other's perspectives. In fact, the perspectives that the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions brought to us during this process led us to clarify areas in the guidance that perhaps were confusing, and to adjust areas where we felt, based on their interventions, we could make important changes.