Feds Quietly Launched ‘Pandemic Science Advice’ Review in August

Minister of Health Mark Holland speaks to the media during the federal cabinet retreat in Montreal, on Jan. 22, 2024. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

The federal government tasked an expert panel last summer to conduct a review of how it handled aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but details of the review only came to light in late January.

Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall formally asked the government in November 2023 whether it had hired the services of Sir Mark Walport, the UK’s former chief scientific adviser, to review Ottawa’s response to the pandemic. She also asked when he began his work, what his mandate is, when he’ll issue a report, and why the government hadn’t announced his appointment.

Health Minister Mark Holland tabled a response in the House of Commons on Jan. 29 and confirmed that the panel began its work in August with Sir Walport serving as chair.

The government says a public report examining the federal approach to “pandemic science advice and research coordination” is expected to be filed in the first quarter of 2024. Sir Walport is also being provided a payment of $9,800 for his work.

On the same day that Mr. Holland filed the response to an Inquiry of Ministry, Health Canada apparently posted similar information about the review on its website. The webpage says it was modified on Jan. 29, and no previous versions exist in the Internet Archive.

A Health Canada spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times that no information was previously released about the panel. To “promote broader awareness, information about the review was recently posted on the Health Canada website,” said Anna Maddison.

“The purpose of the review is to support Canada’s preparedness for future pandemics and other health emergencies by taking stock of domestic and international learnings and best practices,” says the government document.

The panel is also tasked to make recommendations on how to determine the focus of research investments. Other federal entities involved in the review include the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Pedigree

Sir Walport served as head of the biomedical charity Wellcome Trust until 2013 and then as the UK government’s chief scientific adviser from 2013 to 2017. He then led UK Research and Innovation, a government investment body.

The Friends of Canadian Institutes of Health Research awarded Sir Walport the Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research in 2020.

During the virtual launch of the 2020 Friesen Prize Program in October 2020, Sir Walport decried populism and talked about the planet’s “huge population” causing an “array of demographic challenges.”

“I think it’s fair to say that many researchers are frustrated by what they see in rising populism and political conditions around the world that seem inimical to tackling the health and environmental conditions of people and the planet,” he said.

Other experts on the panel include: Éric Cohen, professor at the faculty of medicine of the Université de Montréal; Bev Holmes, president of Michael Smith Health Research BC, and Thomas Marrie, a retired infectious disease physician.

Also on the panel are Acting Chief Medical Officer at the First Nations Health Authority in B.C. Shannon McDonald; University of Toronto professor Alison McGeer; and Fahad Razak, Canada Research Chair in Health-Care Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto.

The information tabled by Mr. Holland says the expert panel is meeting with stakeholders from across Canada in different fields, such as pandemic-related research networks, advisory bodies, provincial health officials, and experts in relevant areas.

Editor’s note: A response from Health Canada was added to this article.