Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
At the start of every time I get a chance to speak at committee, I always thank the witnesses, but I have to tell you, I am so appreciative that we have experts and scientists like the people on this panel, the people at Health Canada and the people at NACI, who are making these decisions and these recommendations for provinces and territories, and not politicians. My gosh, what a state we'd be in. Thank you so very much for all that you are doing.
We talk about NACI, and we heard that they have been independent expert advice providers for over 50 years and have been appreciated by provinces and territories for 50 years. This is absolutely....
I want to go to Dr. Quach-Thanh.
When it comes to the health and safety of Canadians, we know that we need to rely, as I said, on experts in science. It's imperative that medical decisions be made by health professional experts, as I said, and not by politicians. Canadians need to know that the vaccines they are taking are safe and that the recommendations made for their use are based on what is best for them and what is best for Canadians across the country.
Dr. Quach-Thanh, can you talk just a little bit more about the role of the national advisory committee on immunization? Whom does NACI create their recommendations for, and what factors are you considering when making those recommendations?