Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the
Canadian Influenza Pandemic Plan
does illustrate the high degree of
governmental preparedness at the federal level. Yet the plan merely 'encourages'
provincial and municipal governments to educate citizens on the influenza crisis. The
federal government thus has shifted the responsibility for education and publicity
to the provincial and local governments. except for the occasional television and
newspapers advertisements on influenza shots, publicity on the influenza pandemic
has remained very weak. Perhaps the provincial and municipal governments wish
to avoid creating any unnecessary public panic. nonetheless, more publicity on the
influenza pandemic would heighten the crisis consciousness of most Canadians, in
addition to educating them on the need to wash their hands frequently to protect
against any influenza virus. It would also deepen the public's understanding of how
it would be mobilised in the event of an epidemic, which is imperative.
the updated
Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan for the Health Sector
has
put forward detailed recommendations to strengthen preparedness, including
surveillance, vaccines, antivirals, health service emergency planning, public health
measures, and communications (PHac 2006). the plan mentions the creation of
the Health emergency communications network to improve federal and provincial
interactions in response to the SarS, and the formation of a communications
sub-committee, but it remains unclear how these bodies coordinate with each
other. From a critical perspective, additional layers of bureaucracy appear to be an
effective remedy; nonetheless, the actual operations of these committees will have
to be reviewed and tested in simulation exercises. otherwise, bureaucratisation in
the form of setting up new agencies may not guarantee a significant improvement
in intergovernmental communications and overall governmental preparedness for
a new epidemic. the example of Hong Kong's chaotic hospital response to SarS
proved that interdepartmental coordination was critical to an effective response.
the plan sets out the national emergency response System, which involves
interactions between the prime minister and the provincial premiers, between the
cabinet committee for Security, Public Health, and emergencies and provincial
ministers, and between federal deputy ministers and their provincial counterparts
(PHac 2006, annex l). However, the vertical chain of command remains long and
complicated. this bureaucratised approach raises two serious questions: whether
the line of accountability will be clear to all actors and whether it will generate
a cumbersome process unintentionally detrimental to a swift crisis response. It is
doubtful whether the updated plan can significantly ameliorate Canada's preparedness
and response to any new epidemic.
Furthermore, while canadian society is far more open or transparent than many
Asian states, Canadian mass media generally have up to now been insufficiently
interested in probing influenza pandemics. Perhaps the mass media at the national,
provincial, and local levels have been preoccupied with other salient issues, such as
politics, canada's involvement in afghanistan, Quebec's status, transport, crime,
education, the environment, and tax issues. Ironically canada is endowed with
highly sophisticated mass media, but they have not yet developed an inquisitiveness
in investigating the many issues surrounding any imminent influenza pandemic,
