Federal officials were told Canada was the world's best-prepared country to confront a pandemic 15 years before COVID-19 exposed weaknesses in the federal government's emergency response, according to newly declassified cabinet records.Confidential minutes from a February 10, 2005 cabinet meeting said the World Health Organization considered Canada the leading country for pandemic preparedness at the time.“The Minister of State for Public Health indicated the World Health Organization had said Canada was the best prepared among countries for a pandemic risk,” said the minutes.Blacklock's Reporter said cabinet held numerous meetings that year concerning what records called a “pandemic influence preparedness strategy.”Parliament created the Public Health Agency of Canada in 2004 following the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which killed 44 Canadians.Cabinet records outlined five components of Ottawa's pandemic strategy, including developing and testing a mock pandemic vaccine, establishing a national antiviral stockpile with provinces and territories, improving research, strengthening emergency preparedness and developing risk communications.“The Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Dr. David Butler-Jones, informed cabinet of improvements in global health information surveillance,” said the minutes.Butler-Jones told cabinet information surrounding the initial SARS outbreak in China had been poor but international surveillance had improved.“He noted that initial information related to the SARS outbreak in China had not been good, but that the situation was improved and it was recognized that hiding this type of information was not beneficial,” said the records.Cabinet returned to pandemic planning at a September 29, 2005 meeting, where ministers discussed the importance of assuring Canadians that emergency protocols were ready.“Ministers stressed the importance of federal leadership and training and the need for exercises to identify shortcomings in the current system,” said the minutes..The potential consequences of pandemic lockdowns were discussed during an October 27, 2005 cabinet meeting.Ministers sought clarification about how government departments and private businesses could continue operating if large numbers of workers became unavailable.“They reiterated the importance of interdepartmental coordination including the importance for departments to develop business continuity plans in the case of a large number of employees being affected by a pandemic,” said the minutes. “It was noted that business continuity was also an issue for the private sector.”Butler-Jones also briefed ministers on differences between avian influenza, seasonal human influenza and a potential pandemic influenza.Cabinet records said he cautioned the 1918 influenza pandemic was an exception that occurred before antibiotics and national medical care were available.“He also explained Canada had a stockpile of antivirals as well as a domestic manufacturer for a vaccine and that preparedness work across governments was advancing,” said the minutes.The Public Health Agency later acknowledged shortcomings in its preparedness following the COVID-19 pandemic.“The Public Health Agency was not as prepared as it could have been to meet the demands of the provinces and territories for routine medical countermeasures,” said a 2024 agency report, The National Emergency Strategic Stockpile’s Comprehensive Management Plan.The report blamed “unaddressed problems with the systems and practices in place.”.A 2023 Department of Health memo, Ministerial Briefing Volume I, also identified more than 21 internal Public Health Agency audits, evaluations and reports that it said “revealed critical weaknesses and gaps.”Those reports have not been voluntarily made public.Liberal MPs on the House of Commons health committee in 2023 rejected calls for a public inquiry into the federal government's handling of the pandemic.Cabinet instead supported a closed-door review conducted by advisers to the health minister.
