The PHAC was formed by Order in Council in 2004 under the Martin government and subsequently by legislation that came into force on December 15, 2006 under the Harper government. It is part of the federal government's Health Portfolio. At the time of its creation in 1998, most of the agency's staff were located in the former Gandalf Technologies building in Nepean, south of Ottawa, and were part of Health Canada's Population and Public Health Branch. In 2009, when the 2009 swine flu pandemic episode occurred, the PHAC had already been chartered for three years. In Canada, roughly 10% of the populace were infected with the virus, with 363 confirmed deaths ; confirmed cases had reached 10,000 when Health Canada stopped counting in July. Canada began its vaccination campaign in October and vaccinated a higher proportion of its citizens than any other country. The pandemic was the subject of a review document, issued in November 2010. In 2015, CPHO Gregory Taylor left vacant a Beijing position, which had until 2015 "stationed a Canadian doctor in the Chinese capital as a direct point of connection to Chinese health officials. In the absence of its own early-warning system, Canada was forced to rely more heavily on the WHO." Adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa and national security critic Wesley Wark laments that vacancy, and said "What we didn't have was the capacity – our own independent capacity – to verify" the state of affairs in China, which was the source of the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak from which was drawn the raison-d'etre of the PHAC. This state of affairs came to light in various media at various times during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizational structure
The President is appointed by the Governor in Council for a term of up to five years. Tina Namiesniowski was appointed President on May 6, 2019. The Chief Public Health Officer is Canada's lead health professional. The CPHO is appointed by the Governor in Council to provide advice to the Minister of Health and to support and provide advice to the President of the Public Health Agency of Canada. Dr. Theresa Tam was named CPO on June 26, 2017. The Public Health Agency of Canada Act empowers the CPHO to communicate with other levels of government, voluntary organizations, the private sector and Canadians on public health issues. Each year, the CPHO is required to submit a report to the Minister of Health on the state of public health in Canada. The PHAC houses several bureaucrats:
Because the portfolio at the PHAC crosses so many boundaries, and especially jurisdictional ones, the civil servants have evolved what are known as Special Advisory Committees, which include Federal/Provincial/Territorial officials such as Deputy Ministers of Health, so as to attempt to ensure a timely response to the needs of Canadians. The Public Health Network Council is an FPT committee that is co-chaired by the Deputy CPHO, Dr Howard Njoo. The PHNC is populated by an array of Directors, Deputies, Chiefs, Experts and Coordinators, from far and wide the public health guardians of Canada. The FPT SAC on Public Health Response Plan for Biological Events has been in place since at least October 2017:
