I'm not sure, though I could add my perspective as a researcher based in Toronto since 2006.
What I've always found astounding is the failure to make accessible data that are paid for, assembled and cleaned on the public dime available to Canadians in a manner that doesn't threaten anyone's privacy or well-being. I've found that astounding for a long time.
A lot of my work, since I've come to Toronto, uses the national hospital discharge survey from the United States, which is pretty similar to the stuff you get from CIHI, except that if you ask for the data online from the CDC, they will FedEx it to you and pay for the FedEx, whereas if you ask for the same stuff from CIHI, you pay them. I don't understand it.
There's a much deeper issue here than COVID, and I thank my colleague for flagging it. We have a culture of what I call data hugging in Canada, and it does need to change. It harms us all.