Yes.
Evidence of meeting #20 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was prorogation.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #20 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was prorogation.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:45 p.m.
Associate Professor, Director, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
Yes.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
Would you agree that when there is a novel virus, our researchers, our doctors, our health practitioners become the front line, working as hard and as quickly as possible to get answers to provide scientific and medical information?
12:45 p.m.
Bloc
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
I have a point of order, Madam Chair.
Once again, the interpretation is not coming through.
I'm really sorry, Ms. Duncan.
12:45 p.m.
The Clerk
Madam Chair, we'll look into the problem. It's not quite clear at this moment. Please stand by.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
I think we've lost interpretation.
I'm sorry for all the disruption today. Usually it's right at the beginning or at one point, but we've had consistent disruption throughout.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Madam Chair, you all do a very good job of keeping us going.
Do let me know when I can start back and what time I actually have, please.
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Chair, can we extend by five minutes just to get the final questions in?
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
We can extend by five minutes, but I don't think we can extend any more than that. I did talk to the clerk and we have a tight switchover that has to happen in the room.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
Go ahead, Dr. Duncan. You can begin your second question again. I'm sure that even if it was heard, it may have been forgotten.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Professor Turnbull, would you agree that with the novel virus, our researchers, doctors and health professionals become the front line, working as hard and as quickly as possible to get answers so as to provide scientific and medical information?
That's a yes or no, please.
12:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Director, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
Yes.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
Do you accept that the science, the data and the information we have changes over time?
That's a yes or no, please.
12:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Director, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
Yes.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
I strongly believe that science advice should be made available to decision-makers. Do you agree?
That's a yes or no, please.
12:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Director, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
Yes.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
I also believe that science, research and public health matter and that they are fundamental building blocks of the country, not just when we are in crisis. Do you agree?
That's a yes or no, please.
12:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Director, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
Yes.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
I'm going to look back to the 1918 flu. We heard a lot about the 1918 flu at the beginning. It was known as the forgotten pandemic. For almost a century it remained a medical mystery. I think there are lessons to be learned. The people matter. The story of the people matters. The doctors, nurses, front-line workers, survivors, family members and communities, everyone's voices must be included.
Would you agree?
12:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Director, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
Yes.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
When people live through trauma, it is important that they have the opportunity to talk about their experiences to be heard and to heal.
Would you agree with that?
12:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Director, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
Yes.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
I think we heard that again this morning. We are hearing about the steady data on mental health challenges facing health care workers during the pandemic. People are exhausted. They've been fighting this for a year now. I think it is really important that the government listens to Canadians.
The last thing I'll say is that in 1918 and 2020, poverty, hunger, good health, well-being, gender equality and economic status play a role in who gets sick, who gets treated and who survives. I'm wondering if you have comments on how we can do a better job of protecting our most vulnerable.
12:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Director, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University, As an Individual
That's a very important question.
I think it's really difficult at this point. We're still in the eye of this thing. With increasing variants, it's scary to think about how long we're going to be locked down. I think we've already seen evidence of the fact that there are vulnerable populations whose challenges have only become worse.
To some of your previous points, I think a really important part of this is proper data collection, which we don't always do a great job of. We have to think about how we're compiling information and make sure that not only are we getting the right voices in the conversation, but we're getting the right data in the conversation so that, going forward, we have a really informed picture of how to fix programs, change programs and figure out what people's plights are.
That is going to be a huge undertaking for politicians, researchers, the public service and corporations. We all have a role to play.