Moving Forward with Public Health in Canada

Abstract

In recent years, SARS, BSE, and other communicable disease outbreaks have highlighted Canada’s neglect of public health. The 2003 federal SARS report chaired by Dr. David Naylor noted that experts have advised governments for years of public health’s problems but their warnings were disregarded. As a result, Dr. Naylor wrote, “there is much to learn from the outbreak of SARS in Canada – in large part because too many earlier lessons were ignored.” In this issue of the CJPH, Dr. Kumanan Wilson of the University of Toronto raises important questions about the governance of public health in Canada. Since Dr. Wilson submitted his article, the government of Canada has established the Public Health Agency of Canada and appointed its first chief public health officer. This commentary reviews the events of the past six months and discusses what we need to move forward.