2004-26 May 17, 2004 For Immediate Release WINNIPEG - Minister of State for Public Health Dr. Carolyn Bennett announced today details of the new Public Health Agency of Canada. The Agency will have two main pillars, Winnipeg and Ottawa, and will work with a network of specialized centres across the country. Minister Bennett also announced the appointment of Dr. Frank Plummer as the Acting Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) until a permanent CPHO is found. In this capacity, Dr. Plummer will act as a special advisor to Minister Bennett. As well, Dr. Plummer will retain his responsibilities as the scientific director of the National Microbiology Laboratory and Director General of Health Canada's Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control. The CPHO will be primarily located in Winnipeg, with offices in Ottawa, and will have responsibilities for the three key functions of the Agency: infectious diseases, emergency preparedness and chronic diseases. "This national and coordinated approach will help improve the health of Canadians by dealing with the epidemics of chronic disease as well as ensuring we are ready in the event another serious infectious disease hits our shores," said Minister Bennett. "The health of Canadians is the top priority of this government. The shock of SARS demonstrated vividly our vulnerability to infectious diseases and the rising trends of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer that threaten the health of Canadians and the long-term viability of our health care system," said the Honourable Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Health. The Agency's Winnipeg pillar, home of Canada's only Level 4 microbiology lab for human health, will be coordinating the Agency's infectious disease functions, including epidemiology, and will have a critical function, nationally and internationally, in the event of an infectious disease outbreak. The Agency's Ottawa offices will be responsible for working closely with other departments, including Public Security and Emergency Preparedness Canada, on emergency planning, preparedness and response to national public health emergencies. Ottawa will also coordinate efforts to reduce chronic diseases and injuries. In addition, Minister Bennett announced today the creation of six National Collaborating Centres for Public Health to enhance Canada's response to infectious and chronic diseases. The Government of Canada is making an initial investment of $15 million dollars over two years to establish the six National Collaborating Centres. These centres will be established in various parts of the country, each having a very specific public health focus: Atlantic Canada - Determinants of Health: to study how social factors affect health Quebec - Public Policy and Risk Assessment: to study the impact of public policy on Canadians' health and well-being Ontario - Infrastructure, Info-Structure and New Tools Development: to study how public health information can best be gathered and utilized to minimize health risks Prairies - Infectious Diseases: to study the present and future risks of emerging and re-emerging diseases British Columbia - Environmental Health: to study the effects of the environment on human health Given the significant and persistent health disparities that exist for Canada's Aboriginal Peoples, a National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health is being established to study the health factors affecting the health status of Aboriginal Canadians in urban, rural and remote communities. Partners in the establishment of this centre will include the British Columbia government; Aboriginal organizations and communities; academic institutions such as the Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre (a collaboration between First Nations University of Canada and the universities of Regina and Saskatchewan) and the Northern Ontario Medical School; and other provinces and territories. These collaborating centres will act as catalysts, fostering linkages among governments, researchers, the public health community and other stakeholders to build on existing strengths across the country. In addition, Winnipeg will become the home of the International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID) and is expected to be a world leader in research, training, commercialization and innovation in addressing the threat and impacts of infectious diseases. A contribution of $3 million for this international centre was announced today by Western Economic Diversification Minister Rey Pagtakhan. The ICID will take advantage of the cluster of infectious disease resources in Winnipeg and also respond to recommendations in the joint Canada-Manitoba task force report Fighting Disease - Fostering Innovation. The centre will be a collaborative mechanism to allow university and government scientists to work together more closely and to facilitate the commercialization of their discoveries. The search for the country's first CPHO is also being launched today, and a search committee will manage the process. The search committee is composed of Mr. Ian C. Green, Deputy Minister, Health Canada; Dr. David Naylor, Dean, University of Toronto School of Medicine and author of the report Learning from SARS: Renewal of Public Health in Canada; Mme. Monique Bégin, former federal Minister of Health; Dr. Perry Kendall, Chief Medical Officer of Health, British Columbia; and Dr. Brian Postl, Chief Executive Officer, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. It is expected that the successful candidate will be in place by mid- to late summer 2004. Today's announcement builds on the Government of Canada's Budget 2004 commitment to strengthen the country's public health system. The Budget contributed a $665 million initial investment to this effort, including $100 million for increased front-line public health capacity, $300 million to support new vaccine programs and $100 million for improved surveillance systems. It also provided $165 million in new funding for other federal activities in public health, such as strengthening preparedness against infectious diseases, creating emergency response teams, replenishing the national emergency stockpile system, and investing in federal laboratories and surveillance systems, bursaries, scholarships, fellowships, and First Nation and Inuit Health. -30- Media Inquiries: Heather Plett-Laurendeau Health Canada (204) 789-5046 Aggie Adamczyk Health Canada (613) 941-8189 Suzanne Cowan Office of the Minister of State (Public Health) (613) 941-8081 Public Inquiries: (613) 957-2991
