Information September 2004

Frequently Asked Questions

Chief Public Health Officer/Public Health Agency of Canada

Q.1 Why an Agency?

A.1 The Public Health Agency of Canada was created in response to growing concerns about the capacity of Canada's public health system to anticipate and respond effectively to public health threats. Its creation is the result of wide consultation with the provinces, territories, stakeholders and Canadians. It also follows recommendations from leading public health experts - including Dr. David Naylor's report, Learning from SARS: Renewal of Public Health in Canada, as well as other Canadian and international reports - for clear federal leadership on issues concerning public health and improved collaboration within and between jurisdictions.

The Agency and the Chief Public Health Officer will provide a clear focal point for federal leadership and accountability in managing public health emergencies.

Q.2 How is the Agency different from what Health Canada does now?

A.2 Canada is part of a global community - recent experiences with infectious disease outbreaks, as well as both national and international reports on health care - have made it clear that, in this environment, a new model that supports a rapid response to public health threats and greater national collaboration on health issues is required. Moreover, chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability for Canadians. Coordinated action among federal, provincial and territorial governments is necessary to get ahead of these preventable diseases.

As part of the health portfolio, the Agency will be focussed on emergency preparedness and response, infectious and chronic disease prevention and control, and injury prevention, supported by a collaborative, national network. This new focus and collaborative model ensures these particular areas have the attention they now demand.

Q.3 With this change in structure, what is Health Canada's role?

A.3 The Agency will be focussed on emergency preparedness and response, infectious and chronic disease prevention and control, and injury prevention and promoting good health, supported by a collaborative, pan-Canadian network. Health Canada continues to provide national leadership to develop health policy and enforce health regulations and is also responsible for the administration of the Canada Health Act. In the areas of disease prevention and healthy living, Health Canada will work closely with the Public Health Agency to adapt these programs to the needs of First Nations and Inuit communities as part of its responsibility to ensure that health services are available and accessible to them.

Q.4 How will the Agency be structured?

A.4 The Agency will be part of the public service and will be headed by the Chief Public Health Officer who will report to the Minister of Health. Health Canada will also report to the Minister of Health. Although separate, both will be members of the health portfolio and will work together to improve and protect the health of Canadians.

Q.5 What are the advantages of the new Agency?

A.5 The main advantages of the Agency are the focus and prominence it brings to the health issues that are of importance to Canadians and specifically ensuring that Canada has a public health system prepared to anticipate and respond to public health threats. Having a CPHO in place ensures there is clear federal leadership in the event of a public health emergency. Canadians made it clear that this was something they wanted to see following the SARS outbreak. The CPHO will also provide advice on public health issues directly to the Minister of Health and Minister of State for Public Health.

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Q.6 Where will the Agency be headquarted?

A.6 The Public Health Agency will have two pillars, one in Winnipeg and one in Ottawa, along with management, staff and expertise all across Canada.

Q.7 Will the CPHO sit in Ottawa or Winnipeg?

A.7 The CPHO will be headquartered in Winnipeg but will have an office in Ottawa and will also have access to regional offices across the country.

Q.8 How many employees will work for the Agency? Will new staff be hired?

A.8 Initially, the new Agency will incorporate staff and programs of Health Canada's Population and Public Health Branch, including its over 1,500 staff. Enhancements to public health programming in the coming months will require additional human resources but the CPHO will need time to establish where things are at.

Q.9 What will be the first priority for the Agency and the newly appointed Chief Public Health Officer?

A.9 Initially, key priorities will be to build a national presence for the Agency and to work with provinces and territories to design an effective, coordinated public health system that serves Canadians. The Chief Public Health Officer will play a leadership role in this regard. He will meet with provincial and territorial representatives and key public health partners, both nationally and internationally.

Q.10 Will funding be provided for new resources and initiatives to address gaps identified in the public health system?

A.10 In Budget 2004, the Government of Canada committed $665 million in initial funding to strengthen Canada's public health system. This includes $100 million for increased front-line public health capacity, $300 million to support new vaccine programs and $100 million for improved surveillance systems. This year's budget also committed $165 million over the next two years to take immediate steps to address gaps in the public health system and help create the new Agency. These funds will be enhance programs in six areas to:

• upgrade the readiness of the public health system to respond to crises and threats;
• enhance public health surveillance systems to more effectively monitor and respond to diseases and public health risks;
• expand Canada's laboratory capacity, with additional resources for Canada's three federal public health laboratories;
• enhance programming for First Nations and Inuit public health;
• support the creation of the Agency; and
• establish six National Collaborating Centres for Public Health across the country to build on regional expertise in specific areas of public health.

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Q.11 Who has been consulted on the design of this new Agency?

A.11 The creation of the Agency is the result of wide consultation with the provinces, territories, stakeholders and Canadians. The blueprint for building the new Public Health Agency came from the reports issued by the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health, chaired by Dr. David Naylor, and by the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, chaired by Senator Michael Kirby. Both committees based their recommendations on input from public health experts and concerned Canadians.

A working group responsible for developing options for the Agency convened an informal group of independent experts to provide advice. They consulted with senior provincial and territorial health officials. In addition, the Minister of State for Public Health conducted more than 30 consultations on the Agency with federal, provincial and territorial public health officials, parliamentarians and public health stakeholders from across the country, and she established a public website to enable interested Canadians to share their views on the initiative. The working group took account of the results of these deliberations and inputs.

Q.12 How will the new Agency report to the Canadian public on its progress?

A.12 The Minister of Health will publish a report that will be tabled in Parliament.

Q.13 How will this new Agency work with the provinces and territories to effectively manage public health in Canada?

A.13 Planning for the establishment of a new Pan-Canadian Public Health Network is currently underway. The Network is expected to serve as a key mechanism for collaboration on public health and to facilitate national approaches to public health policy and planning. The network will bring together public health experts and officials from all jurisdictions to address public health issues. The Agency will also work with a network of six National Collaborating Centres for Public Health to foster linkages among provinces, territories, academia and non-governmental organizations.

Q.14 What is the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network?

A.14 This federal, provincial, and territorial network will serve as a key mechanism for collaboration on public health and will facilitate national approaches to public health policy and planning.

Q.15 What is the mandate / role and responsibilities of the new Chief Public Health Officer?

A.15 The CPHO's responsibilities will be to:

• Provide leadership of the new Public Health Agency.
• Provide advice to Ministers and, as appropriate, work with other federal departments and agencies, provincial/territorial governments, the international community, the public health community and Canadians on public health issues.
• Assume the role of the federal government spokesperson on public health issues, in particular, during public health emergencies.
• Play a leadership/advocacy role in national public health matters and citizen engagement in public health.

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Q.16 In what way do the National Collaborating Centres add value to the public health system in Canada?

A.16 The National Collaborating Centres for Public Health will provide national focal points for key priority areas in public health, building on established regional expertise. They will accelerate the development and implementation in public health practice of new research findings and best practices. Six Centres have been identified:

• National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health
• National Collaborating Centre for Public Policy and Risk Assessment
• National Collaborating Centre for Infrastructure, Info-Structure and New Tools Development
• The National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases
• The National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health
• The National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health

Q.17 What is the status of the National Collaborating Centres?

A.17 Planning for the establishment of the centres is currently underway in close collaboration with provincial and territorial governments and regional representatives.

Q.18 When will the National Collaborating Centres be established?

A.18 Discussions have started with the respective partners for each Centre on how best to structure operations and activities. We want to make sure that we have a structure in place that makes it easy for all partners to work together effectively on public health issues.

Q.19 Does the Agency parallel the design/mandate/roles and responsibilities of the U.S. Centres for Disease Control?

A.19 There are similarities but the Agency will be unique, building on Health Canada's strong track record in the field of health promotion. Like the CDC, the Agency will serve as a clear focal point for leadership and accountability on national public health matters within their respective jurisdictions and address similar public health concerns.

Q.20 What is the accountability of the new position to Parliament/what oversight will Parliament provide to this new Agency?

A.20 The Minister of Health will report to Parliament on the Agency's activities.

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Q.21 What is public health?

A.21 Public health is made up of a range of efforts to keep people healthy and out of the hospital. It includes activities like immunization, healthy eating and physical activity programs, infection control measures in hospitals, along with the detection, lab testing and regulation that supports these activities. By helping keep Canadians healthy, public health can relieve some of the pressure on the health care system.

Q.22 Hasn't Health Canada been focussed on public health? What's different about the strategy now?

A.22 Public health has always been a key component of Health Canada's mandate to maintain and improve the health of Canadians.

The creation of the Public Health Agency of Canada and other key components of a renewed public health system will build on this work to foster greater collaboration and coordination. The main advantages of the Agency are the focus and prominence it brings to health issues that are of importance to Canadians and specifically ensuring that Canada has a public health system prepared to anticipate and respond to public health threats.

Q.23 Won't it take years to realize any benefits from public health interventions? What are you doing for Canadians in the short-term?

A.23 Public health plays an important role in helping Canadians modify their risk of developing or acquiring a disease or sustaining injuries. When activities aimed at preventing diseases and helping people improve their overall health target key risk factors, such as smoking or poor diet, people can see significant changes to their health in the short run (3-5 years). For instance, help with diet and physical activity has been shown to be more effective than medication in preventing people who are showing early signs of diabetes from actually developing the disease. Public health also helps people living with disease or the impact of injury by preventing their conditions from becoming worse. For example, raising awareness of how to manage a disease like hepatitis C can improve one's quality of life immediately.

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Backgrounder

• A New Canada Public Health Agency
• Canada's Chief Public Health Officer - Biography