Canada’s newly appointed chief public health officer says rebuilding trust will be a priority after the COVID-19 pandemic, but declined to identify specific mistakes made by health authorities despite ongoing concerns about public confidence.Testifying before the Commons health committee, Dr. Joss Reimer described the COVID-19 crisis as “a very difficult time for everyone,” acknowledging that trust in institutions was strained but stopping short of outlining where officials may have erred.“Trust in health and institutions has been strained,” said Reimer, who was appointed April 1 to lead the Public Health Agency of Canada. “Earning and strengthening trust is central to my approach.”Reimer previously served as medical lead of Manitoba’s vaccine task force, where she oversaw implementation of vaccine mandates during the pandemic.While she acknowledged Canadians experienced significant hardships — including lost income, isolation and the loss of loved ones — she framed public health decisions as made under difficult and evolving circumstances.“There certainly was some distrust that occurred during the pandemic,” she said. “Whether those were the right or wrong decisions, we know there were many difficult things people went through.”Conservative MP Matt Strauss challenged Reimer to be more direct about potential errors, arguing that acknowledging mistakes is key to restoring public trust..“Surely they weren’t batting a thousand?” Strauss asked, pressing her on whether some decisions were wrong.Reimer conceded public health responses were not perfect but maintained officials acted on the best information available at the time.“I have no doubt that we as public health professionals did not function perfectly,” she said. “However I do believe we made the best decisions we could with the information we had.”Strauss argued that a lack of accountability — particularly around vaccine mandates and messaging — has contributed to ongoing skepticism, citing concerns raised by constituents about coercion and shifting guidance during the pandemic.He suggested that openly admitting mistakes and showing humility would help repair trust in public institutions.Reimer acknowledged the point but did not elaborate on specific policy decisions or missteps.“I think you bring a really valuable point,” she said, before reiterating that the pandemic was broadly challenging for Canadians.“It was a very difficult time for everyone.”
