You have five minutes, Mr. Van Popta.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Blair, for joining us, and thank you to all of the other witnesses for taking the time to join us this evening.
Mr. Minister, you said in your opening remarks that your ministry pivoted to a COVID response when the World Health Organization declared this to be a pandemic. I want to ask you a question related to that. Were you made aware of the cancellation of the health pandemic early warning system that had been in place in Canada since the 1990s and had put Canada in a good position to defend against the SARS and the H1N1 outbreaks?
Sadly, it was cancelled six months before the COVID-19 pandemic. Was that your decision, Minister?