It will really be a missed opportunity, I think, if we don't take the lessons learned from the pandemic—constructively, that is.
In terms of the science and science advice, the federal government provided significant investment into research during the pandemic. I think that investment could have been better used if our system were not fragmented. We're still going along the lines of disciplines. Here, we actually had a problem to deal with that required all the disciplines.
Really, it required a different kind of approach and a different kind of prioritization as to what needed to be done between the extramural community and the government scientists—for example, the National Microbiology Lab, and others as well. I think we need to look into how we make these connectivities and this fast decision-making better and make sure that we have the tools and the capacity—the human capacity and the physical capacity—to respond to emergencies in the country.
We talk a lot about the pandemic, but we have climate emergencies over and over, and of course they will have an effect in terms of health, in terms of displacement of the population—you name it.