ARCHIVED - Financial Statements For the year ended March 31, 2009

Notes to the Financial Statement (unaudited)

1. Authority and Objectives

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) was created as a new agency by orders in council on September 24, 2004 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 Public Health Agency of Canada Act, assented to December 12, 2006, provides a statutory foundation for the new agency.

The agency is mandated to work in collaboration with its partners, to lead federal efforts and to mobilize pan-Canadian action in preventing disease and injury, and to promote and protect national and international public health through the following:

• Anticipating, preparing for, responding to and recovering from threats to public health;
• Carrying out surveillance of, monitoring, researching, investigating and reporting on diseases, injuries, other preventable health risks and their determinants, and the general state of public health in Canada and internationally;
• Using the best available evidence and tools to advise and support public health stakeholders nationally and internationally as they work to enhance the health of their communities;
• Providing public health information, advice and leadership to Canadians and stakeholders; and
• Building and sustaining a public health network with stakeholders.