Dr. David Butler-Jones measures the sea change in attitude toward public health by the number of politicians at the news conference announcing his appointment as Canada's first Chief Public Health Officer.
Figure. Dr. Butler-Jones: the media have crowned him doctor to a nation Photo by: PHAC
Prime Minister Paul Martin, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, Treasury Board President Reg Alcock and Dr. Carolyn Bennett, the minister of state for public health, all flanked Butler-Jones in Winnipeg on Sept. 24 for the announcement.
“Two years ago,” says Butler-Jones, who now heads the new Public Health Agency of Canada, “you might have had the deputy minister there.”
That was before SARS killed 44 people in the Toronto area, almost 800 worldwide and took a bite out of Ontario's economy.
“SARS was tragic ... but if there is a silver lining, it is that it underlined that public health is absolutely crucial, that it is the foundation for everything we do,” says Butler-Jones.
The SARS outbreak followed the emergence of West Nile virus, the Walkerton water tragedy and the Cryptosporidium outbreak in North Battleford, Sask., over which Butler-Jones presided as the province's chief medical officer of health. All underscored the importance of a well-prepared and co-ordinated response to public health emergencies, he says.
“There is a new sense of purpose and optimism about our ability to pull things together.”
Most recently, Butler-Jones was the medical health officer for Sun Country Health Region and consulting medical officer for the Saskatoon Health Region.
The Winnipeg agency will hire new staff. Personnel at Health Canada's population and public health branch will remain in Ottawa and in satellite offices. Ottawa has committed $165 million over 2 years for 6 national collaborating centres for public health. — Joe Sornberger, Ottawa
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