I personally made the decision to use the word “discouraged” to describe my perception of the situation. I am discouraged that long-standing deficiencies have not been addressed. The Public Health Agency of Canada was not made aware of these problems only once; they were made aware of them repeatedly by our office, in addition to the lessons they themselves have learned from other health crises.
It is disheartening that we wait for an emergency to respond. So I chose this word in the hope that it would provoke a change in the approach to preparing for another health crisis in this country.