Preparing for the next one: New report calls for major bolstering of health security in Canada

OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 26, 2023 /CNW/ - The Public Policy Forum today released a new report on bolstering Canada's health security that makes the case that Canada needs to take advantage of the interregnum between health security emergencies to urgently improve our preparedness.

The report, titled The next one ? Preparing Canada for another health emergency, is the result of discussions between a panel of executives from the life sciences industry and representatives from federal and provincial governments. The Life Sciences Forum panel ? pulled together by the Public Policy Forum, an independent, non-partisan think tank ? is engaged in ongoing discussions to learn lessons from the last pandemic and work on plans for the next health security emergency.

Based on those discussions, PPF's new report proposes recommendations that include:

• Creation of a new institution to oversee health security in Canada;
• Identification of life sciences niches where Canada can develop comparative advantages;
• Implementation of standardized electronic gathering systems to collect real-time data needed for health emergency responses;
• Regular system-readiness testing; and
• Improvement of health emergency risk communications.

"Pandemics are no longer historical events rooted in the distant past, or the domain of science fiction," the report notes. "Just as 100-year floods, fires and other climate disasters are now almost annual events, Canadians will experience a range of health threats in our lifetimes. All require detailed emergency preparedness planning, and medical countermeasures from Canada's life sciences sector."

PPF's Life Sciences Forum will continue to build on the report's recommendations, most notably identifying areas where Canada can develop comparative advantages within the life sciences sector.

"We have titled this report 'The Next One' to help focus industry and government on what will certainly be another public health emergency on the horizon," said Edward Greenspon, PPF President and CEO. "This respite must be treated as an urgent opportunity to build our life sciences capacities not just at home but in areas that will provide 'tradeables' coveted by other nations."

SOURCE Public Policy Forum