Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to my colleagues for raising this. There is kind of a lot to unpack there because of Mr. Barrett's previous comments. My sense is that I don't see any real reason to deviate from the work plan that was adopted unanimously by this committee not that long ago. We're nearing the end of our study on the health care human resources crisis. The number one priority that was identified by the Conservative members of this committee was to study children's health. I note that the work plan that's been placed before us today follows exactly the plan that was agreed to, I believe unanimously, by this committee only a month and a half or two months ago.
With regard to our hearing from specified people, we agreed that between now and the end of June, before we rise, we would dedicate one meeting to a study and one meeting to COVID. That was prudent then, and I think it was prescient and is even more important now because, as some of us correctly surmised, we're not done with COVID. In fact, as Mr. Barrett mentioned, we are very clearly now into a sixth wave. The omicron BA.2 variant is raging through Asia and Europe. There is now the emergence of a new strain, a new immune-escaping variant called “deltacron”. Just in Ottawa, where some of us are today, the wastewater levels are very high and case counts are going up like crazy.
To anybody who is paying attention to the data, the COVID pandemic is very much the number one health issue dominating us. As the health committee, we must be devoting one meeting a week to it at least until June. I say that because with respect to trying to prescribe witnesses, every party has the ability to put forth the witnesses they want.