Is that why you left PHAC?
Evidence of meeting #35 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was pandemic.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #35 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was pandemic.
A recording is available from Parliament.
2:55 p.m.
Michael Garner
It is not why I left PHAC. I loved working at the Public Health Agency of Canada. There are so many amazing public health professionals there, but I had a sense of calling and wanted to exercise some of my public health skills at a very local level, in a parish.
2:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Mr. Powlowski.
Ms. Gaudreau, you have the floor for one and a half minutes.
2:55 p.m.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This is my first term as a member of Parliament. It always amazes me to hear that public health people become administrators. The message sent to all Quebecers and Canadians was to trust in the science. However, clearly, no scientists are at the table. I am becoming aware of several things today, and I thank you for being here.
My question is for Ms. Barrett.
Ms. Barrett, you mentioned the key contribution of volunteers. I believe there was some mention of rapid testing. You talked about traceability and speed. Could you tell me more about what you did to help your community, because it might serve as a model for us.
2:55 p.m.
Assistant Professor, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
It's interesting, because many times I've spoken to many folks in many parts of this country, and the first thing that people always bring up is, “You're small. You can do this. You can engage people because you're small.” I think what I would say to people is that I've been doing this at a national level with HIV and hepatitis C for 15 years, and it's an economy of scale, in fact, smaller but fewer resources.
Anywhere can do this. You need to find the granular unit of engagement, whether that's a neighbourhood, a city or a municipality, in order to engage people. Here, we are smaller, but we sent out a very organic, grassroots call for volunteers, and instead of—
2:55 p.m.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
I'm sorry to interrupt, but my time will soon be up.
Do you have anything to say about rapid testing?
2:55 p.m.
Assistant Professor, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
All our rapid tests are run almost exclusively by volunteers. We said, “Hi, everyone. Would you like to come help?” They actually do the swab. They've been trained. They could be a secretary. They could be a librarian. They could be an airline attendant. They do the swabs. They do the physical tests. They do the reporting. They do the registering of people, and it's a tool of engagement in the community. Over 1,400 people so far have volunteered, and continuously volunteer over the course of seven months.
3 p.m.
Bloc
3 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Ms. Gaudreau.
Mr. Davies, it's over to you now.
I must confess, I got distracted by the testimony, so I went a little over last time. Why don't you take two minutes this time?
3 p.m.
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Thank you.
Ms. Barrett, in that letter you co-signed to Maclean's, it says,
As much as we might wish otherwise, COVID-19 is not done with us yet. The consistent failure to learn from the experience of other jurisdictions and even worse, failure to learn from our own miscalculations, is a sad statement on Canada’s political leadership.
I have two questions. In your view, what has Canada's political leadership failed to learn from other jurisdictions? Can you provide us with an overview of best practices from other jurisdictions that you think could be applied to Canada?
3 p.m.
Assistant Professor, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
That's a big one in a couple of minutes, so I'll try to squish it in.
I think we can learn from what's been going on in Atlantic Canada and Q-14. I don't know why we haven't done it in the rest of Canada. That's not another jurisdiction, but it's here.
Do things early. If you have a reproductive level of the virus that's 1.5, or if you have an average of 400 new cases a day in an area, don't leave your gyms and restaurants open for a week and a half to two weeks. These are just very practical things.
Don't not engage people. If you have people volunteering to do things, don't say that a medical expert needs to do a test that you can train a 16-year-old to do, who's one of my best swabbers. Don't turf protect.
In terms of other jurisdictions, New Zealand has always been a leader in this. Australia's always been a leader in this. They engage and they fund public health a lot. They lead by public health—not by having other people on the stage when they're giving direction and advice—and by scientists. I'm a scientist, so I'm biased, but I think that's helpful, and when someone says to do something like that, you do it quickly.
I am recapitulating some of the things I mentioned earlier but also with a few specific examples. Don't go far. We have a fairly successful example here in Canada within the Atlantic. Q-14 is a big part of it. Definitive policy is another part of it, and rapid testing and continued testing are a huge part of it.
3 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Mr. Davies.
That brings our questions to a close. I thank all of the witnesses once again for sharing with us their time and their great expertise.
It is most helpful and most important that we hear from you. I appreciate your time and your spending it here with us today.
Thank you all, members. With that, we are adjourned.