Mr. Chair, the external independent panel announced by the Minister of Health in November 2020 released its final report in July 2021. A number of the key findings are, as has been mentioned, that the GPHIN did what it was designed to do, and it also confirmed that it had never been shut down. The GPHIN did identify the outbreak in Wuhan and allowed PHAC leadership to take immediate action, so I would say the leadership was listening and did act immediately.
We notified officials across the government, followed by the public health officials across Canada by January 2. Therefore, very early on, the system was sensitized. Our response effectively began on the first days of 2020. The panel saw no evidence that any earlier identification by the GPHIN of the outbreak would have been possible, based on their assessment of other open-source data systems.
There were 64 recommendations from the independent panel on three different themes: GPHIN roles and purpose; the organization and flow of information; and technology. As has been stated, there were some broader recommendations, including looking at broadening our approach to risk assessment. In that regard, the agency has implemented, in December of the previous calendar year, a centre for integrated risk assessment so that we can move forward on those important recommendations.
I'll just pause and see if my colleague Mr. Allison would like to add anything with respect to the broader surveillance question you've raised.