Health committee  I don't mean to be glib about it. You're asking me a very complex question—

Health committee  I love general questions like that. More so than before.

Health committee  —and you're asking me to distill it into a simple answer, so I will do my best. I think there has been great progress in collaborative work between provincial and federal organizations in both preparing for and implementing the response to the pandemic plan. Has it been perfect?

Health committee  The first thing that happens from a public health point of view after any event like we've had is that we understand, as much as we can from our experience, who was mostly affected, who had the most severe outcomes, and how big a problem it was all around. I think we've learned a lot.

Health committee  If we're talking about the pandemic H1N1 influenza, just to be clear, there is a whole set of strategies and actions that are needed to reduce the morbidity and mortality that we may anticipate from the next wave of this. Good health, being as healthy as you can, having your chronic medical conditions well looked after, knowing about measures to reduce the spread of disease, all of these things are important.

Health committee  Thank you. I'd like, first of all, to thank you for inviting me to attend this meeting on this important topic. I'm going to say three things. One is that I want to be clear what my role is here. That's the first thing I want to briefly talk about. Second, I want to talk--very high level--about what we've learned in Manitoba from the first wave of the pandemic.