SUMMARY - Public Health Agency of Canada
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) exists because of a pandemic. SARS hit Canada in 2003, exposed gaps in public health capacity and coordination, and prompted creation of a federal agency focused specifically on protecting and promoting population health. Two decades later, COVID-19 tested PHAC more severely than SARS ever did—and raised questions about whether the lessons of SARS had been adequately learned or sustainably implemented.