Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Dr. Siddiqi and Dr. McKenzie, for sharing your expertise with us today. I think both of you have laid out a very clear and powerful case for why the federal government needs to collect comprehensive national data on social, economic and other factors.
Dr. Siddiqi, you recently wrote that the Canadian government has been reluctant to routinely collect race and ethnicity data, and that the consequence is a lack of accountability, according to your writing, in addressing racial disparities in all sectors of society.
In your view, why has the federal government been reluctant to collect race and ethnicity data with respect to COVID-19 and in general?