Senator Seidman: Of course, the reason that I am asking is because the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the inequities that exist in Canada’s health data system. The absence of national standards for the collection and sharing of health data hindered Canada’s ability to successfully measure the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, track the emergence of new variants and assess long-term complications from COVID-19.

In a Globe and Mail article published on June 4, 2022, health experts warned that the lack of data collection could hinder our ability to understand and find therapeutic options for long COVID.

Senator Gold, the need for a robust national health data system is evident. What steps will the federal government take to address the barriers that impact Canada’s ability to collect, share and analyze health data?

Senator Simons: You make a really compelling argument, and many of the things you’re saying are deeply disturbing. I guess my concern is, given the backlog we have in our courts, if there is another outbreak of a new COVID variant in the fall — you said there is an emergency provision. How easy is it to use that emergency provision? As very legitimate as the concerns you are raising seem to be, I am also concerned that if there is another bad outbreak, people’s trials could be postponed to an extent that is also very deleterious.