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Executive Summary

In September 2004, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) was created as a separate agency within the federal Health Portfolio to deliver on the Government of Canada's commitment to help protect the health and safety of all Canadians and to increase its focus on public health. The Public Health Agency of Canada Act came into force in December 2006, allowing the Agency to continue with its mandate to assist the Minister of Health in fulfilling his public health responsibilities while it builds on its many concrete achievements since its creation in 2004. As part of fulfilling this mandate, PHAC has developed a five-year Strategic Plan to guide plans for delivering on priorities while supporting the Agency's accountabilities to the Minister of Health and to Canadians as a stand-alone government department in the Health Portfolio.

The fundamental theme of PHAC's Strategic Plan is “delivering on policy and programming priorities.” The Plan confirms our vision and mission and sets out objectives and priorities for the next five years. It includes input and comments from internal and external consultations.

The document also provides a description of who we are and what we do, including profiles of PHAC’s employees from across the country, in order to explain our work to our stakeholders and Canadians and to help staff identify how their work fits into the bigger picture.

The Agency has set out three objectives:

• To anticipate and respond to the health needs of Canadians
• To ensure actions are supported by integrated information and knowledge functions; and
• To further develop PHAC’s dedicated, professional workforce by providing it with the tools and leadership it needs and by ensuring a supportive culture.

PHAC will strive to meet these objectives while delivering on its broad mandate: to promote and protect the health of Canadians through leadership, partnership, innovation and action in public health.

 

 

The Strategic Plan will provide the basis for the Agency's annual corporate business planning and its integrated business and human resources plans, and will align with accountability agreements of senior managers. While the document articulates a five-year vision, it will be necessary to balance the importance of respecting this vision with the need to re-evaluate annually and adjust priorities. This will ensure that the Agency continues to be flexible in anticipating and responding to the needs of Canadians as well as to the Minister's and the Government's priorities. The goal is to align integrated information and knowledge functions with actions accordingly, and to support PHAC employees with the tools and leadership they need.

Public health is complex, and success requires a comprehensive approach that brings in partners from across all sectors. PHAC will strive to reach new levels of engagement of its many partners, including Health Canada and the rest of the Health Portfolio, other federal departments, the provinces and territories, stakeholders, and non-governmental organizations. By working collaboratively to deliver on the priorities outlined in this Strategic Plan, the Agency will be well-positioned to make an effective contribution to achieving the unified vision of the Minister of Health and the Government of Canada of healthier Canadians and communities in a healthier world.

Reference Group in Action

From Left to Right (Top Row): Dr. Patricia Huston, Dr. Paul Payette, Lisa Gomes, Doug Prowse, Tricia Geddes, James Gilbert, Mark Hudson
(Bottom Row): Lindsay Noad, Maha Hammoud, Heather Gass
Not Shown: Dr. Amin Kabani, André La Prairie, Andrea Ellis, Elaine McClanaghan, Hank Krueger, Jean-Louis Caya, Judi Fielding, Laura Donetelli, Pierre Labbée, Dr. Susan Read, Wayne McGill, Dr. Yang Mao.

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