Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his observation that this really is an all-hands-on-deck event for the world, for Canada, and indeed for government departments. I have never worked so closely with my provincial counterparts as I have through the pandemic. We have each others' cell phone numbers. We are able to contact each other directly, sometimes to share ideas or talk about emerging issues. This has been a feature of the pandemic that has served us well.
I spent many years in public health prior to being elected as a member of Parliament. I worked at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit for a very long time. I have taken it upon myself to also reach out to local public health leaders and local elected officials to understand the local perspective as it fits into that of the province and territory, and to work directly with local communities.
That is where the idea of the isolation housing was born. It was from local public health units talking about their deep need to support people in isolating safely, especially people who did not have options in their lives. I want to thank all the public health units and workers across the country who—