Two respected health experts say Public Health Canada failed on the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Globe and Mail reports that the federal government was warned years ago that the Public Health Agency of Canada was destined for serious problems unless changes were made to its oversight, but those concerns were ignored.
A steady erosion of scientific capacity and a chronic shortage of resources are cited by Perry Kendall and Paul Gully.
Recent problems, including the mishandling of the country’s pandemic early warning system, emergency stockpile shortages and allegations that scientists were forced to “dumb down” reports for senior government officials, are all symptoms of a larger ailment afflicting the agency, the doctors said.
“We are of the view that long-term deficiencies of expertise and funding prevent the Public Health Agency of Canada from fully carrying out its intended and necessary role,” Dr. Kendall said.
“A lot of the tools that the Public Health Agency had for influencing policy and programs were removed and budgets were cut."
Dr. Kendall preceded Bonnie Henry as B.C.'s provincial health officer from 1999 to 2018, and has been a leading voice in public-health policy.
Dr. Gully spent 14 years in senior roles at Health Canada, and was also the country’s deputy chief public health officer from 2004 to 2006. He later worked on pandemic preparedness for the World Health Organization.
Both Dr. Kendall and Dr. Gully say many of today’s problems can be traced back to serious funding constraints that began in 2011, and a controversial 2015 decision to restructure the management hierarchy.
A move by the Harper government to install a president to run Public Health effectively reduced the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) to the role of an adviser, and left the department exposed to competing priorities and political influence.
Dr. Kendall warned during federal hearings five years ago that the change would weaken the agency in ways that were not readily apparent.
This was particularly risky during the years in between a crisis, Dr. Kendall argued, when resources could be reallocated without thought to the consequences.
