About the Network

The Pan-Canadian Public Health Network: An Overview

The (Pan-Canadian) Public Health Network was established by Canada’s Federal, Provincial and Territorial (F/P/T) Health Ministers in 2005, creating a new way for different levels of government and experts to work together to improve public health in Canada. The Public Health Network takes a collaborative approach to public health that is not only critical during public health emergencies – but also to assisting Canada in gaining a stronghold on serious public health issues, such as obesity and chronic disease.

The mandate of the Network is multi-faceted, ranging from facilitating the sharing of information among all jurisdictions in Canada, to working with and providing policy and technical advice to F/P/T Deputy Ministers of Health on public health matters, to supporting the public health challenges jurisdictions may face during emergencies and/or crises. The Network’s linkage to government decision-makers and other key players in the public health arena helps to ensure a broad synthesis of public health policy issues, horizontally linking public health policy issues in a strong and integrated fashion.

A key to the Network’s effectiveness lies in its connectedness (PDF). The Network is led by a 17 member Council: Dr. André Corriveau (Chief Medical Officer of Alberta) was appointed in 2010 as the Provincial/Territorial Co-chair; and Dr. David Butler Jones (Chief Public Health Officer for Canada) serves as Federal Co-chair. In 2008, a new Provincial/Territorial Deputy Minister Liaison position was created, with Mr. Duff Montgomerie, Deputy Minister of Health Promotion and Protection (Nova Scotia) selected to serve in this role. Representatives from each province and territory – as well as the federal government – form the remainder of Council membership. Council reports, on behalf of the Network, to F/P/T Deputy Ministers of Health, and then on to the Council of Ministers. The Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health (CCMOH) has been integrated into the Network’s structure: CCMOH now reports through the Public Health Network Council to F/P/T Deputy Ministers of Health, retaining its scientific and advisory role. Network Council also receives policy advice on specific public health policy issues from four Liaison Committees: the Committee on Health and the Environment, the F/P/T Committee on Problematic Substance Use, the Tobacco Control Liaison Committee and the F/P/T Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS. Further, various Task Groups provide assistance – as needed – by studying and developing recommendations on specific issues of interest to the Network.

The Network itself is comprised of men and women from across Canada – academics, scientists, public servants and members of non-governmental organizations – who, together, form six Expert Groups in the areas of: communicable disease control, emergency preparedness and response, Canadian public health laboratories, surveillance and information, chronic disease and injury prevention and control, and health promotion. These Expert Groups advise and guide on concrete work that needs to be done, and are supported, as needed, by Issue Groups.

A key role of the Network is the preparation, implementation and maintenance of intergovernmental arrangements on public health. Such arrangements aim to encourage the efficient use of resources – particularly in times of emergency – while also respecting the authority and limitations of individual jurisdictions and their right to manage their own public health functions and operations. Through such arrangements, all jurisdictions will be provided access to additional public health resources – to draw upon as needed and as requested. To date, the Network has successfully completed the development of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) related to mutual aid during an emergency and the sharing of information during a public health emergency. Further, the Network has reached agreement on a National Antivirals Stockpile.

The development of collaborative public health strategies is another important area of focus for the Network. These “frameworks” will outline how the different levels of government – federal and provincial/territorial – each approach a public health issue, and will clearly map out how they will work together on the issue. The development of a Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan for the Health Sector, a Pan-Canadian Pandemic Vaccine Strategy as well as recommendations concerning the use of Antivirals for Prophylaxis are just a few examples of the Public Health Network’s achievements in this area.

The Pan-Canadian Public Health Network is a forum for public health experts from across Canada to come together, to raise issues and lay plans – and to make connections – for the benefit of all Canadians.