A Status Report - The Science Advisory Board - Health Canada - February 1998-March 1999
Table of Contents
Letter from the Chair
In 1997, the Minister of Health, Allan Rock, established the Science
Advisory Board (SAB) for Health Canada. The SAB joined other similar advisory
bodies which have been set up following the federal government's 1996
science and technology review and recommendations.
In October 1997, I was asked to be the Chair of the SAB and was delighted
to accept. My colleagues (a list is attached) are all highly distinguished
scientists, health professionals and consumer advocates dedicated to the
health sciences and to the Canadians these resources serve. It is a great
honor to have worked with them over these last eighteen months, and together
we have taken significant steps toward meeting our mandate.
The Board's mandate is a broad one: it is to provide independent advice
to the Minister on how to achieve and assure the best science at the Health
Protection Branch; and on how the Health Protection Branch can gain and
keep the confidence of Canadians in its work.
As a Board, we are convinced of the essential role HPB plays in promoting
and advancing all Canadians' health, and in preventing and managing any
hazards to our health as individuals and as part of the wider community
in Canada and globally.
Through its "Transition initiative", the Branch is working toward a broad-based
sustainable renewal in all areas. The Board has full trust in the Branch
and its staff, and we encourage all of them to continue in this visionary
task.
For our part, we have met with the Minister twice since the Board was
established, and with staff on a number of occasions. We have had eight
Board meetings to date and this first status report reflects the major
issues we addressed, our progress and our plans for 1999-2000.
On behalf of the Board, I trust you will find this report useful and
informative. The Health Protection Branch has initiated and is actively
involved in initiatives which will help Canadians to meet the many health
challenges of the new millennium. The Science Advisory Board will continue
to advise and recommend on ways to meet those challenges.
Roberta Bondar, OC, O.Ont., MD, PhD, FRCP(C)
Report: September 1997 - March 1999
Background
This document outlines briefly the work of the Science Advisory Board,
Health Protection Branch, Health Canada, since its establishment in December
1997.
The Science Advisory Board provides independent advice to the Minister
of Health on how best to position the scientific, technical and policy
aspects of HPB programs now and in the future. The Board has no decision-making
authority over programs or regulatory functions, nor is it responsible
for the implementation of its advice. The Board performs special assignments
as requested by the Minister, and it has endorsed its terms of reference
(attached). The Board operates as an arm's length advisory body to the
Minister of Health Canada. Meeting reports reflect the Board's discussions
and record its major recommendations and conclusions. The reports give
a broad overview of the nature and depth of discussions and issues raised.
Achievements
At its first meeting in February 1998, the Board developed its procedures
and agreed on a workplan to meet its terms of reference and its mandate.
During its March 1998 meeting, the Board was briefed in depth about the
Branch and its programs. Members visited HPB laboratories in the National
Capital Region and took the opportunity to hear directly from a number
of scientific staff in the laboratory setting, in a panel presentation,
and through written submissions. Over the Spring months and early Summer
of 1998, Members also participated in consultation sessions with staff
and with external stakeholders.
Many issues which the Board addressed are currently key challenges facing
the Branch and have been the subject of significant public debate. The
Board has, in its deliberations, addressed both the Branch's approach
to these challenges and the fundamental roles of its programs. A major
example is the "Transition" initiative which aims to strengthen Health
Protection Branch and its partners so they can better manage risks to
the health of Canadians. Transition and renewal are key themes in our
work to date, recognition of the need for legislative modernization and
of the dramatic and world-wide shifts in health science.
The board has been briefed in depth on the Transition initiative, which
will take HPB into the next century and will provide the architecture
for its work. The five elements of Transition, which touch on all aspects
of HPB`s work, are as follows:
- program development -- the development of integrated and coordinated
health programs, for example, the Safe and Nutritious Food Program;
- surveillance -- to develop with partners a nationally integrated surveillance
framework;
- risk management -- to develop a framework that clearly outlines how
the Branch will manage risks for the health protection of Canadians;
- science platform -- strengthening the quality and management of science,
including systematic peer review, priority setting and resource allocation,
and innovative collaboration with peers and colleagues at home and abroad;
- legislative renewal -- updating and integrating federal health protection
legislation.
The Board has followed closely the developments in each of these areas,
and has advised and seen action in a number of them to date. For example,
systematic peer review of HPB scientists' work was recommended and is
being put in place. Consultation with interested parties in HPB's drug
review process was initiated, as was internal consultation with HPB scientists.
A new office of consumer affairs and public information was proposed in
part as a result of the SAB`s insistence on more and better communication
and dissemination of HPB information to all stakeholders. The Board also
recommended on the appointment of a Chief Scientist.
During 1998, the Board forwarded two letters of recommendation to the
Minister, in addition to its six reports. One addressed the fate of the
non-human primate laboratory and the second, the development of HPB's
Safe and Nutritious Food Program. The content of these letters is included
in the meeting reports of May and November 1998 respectively.
The Board has had the opportunity to visit the new Laboratory Centre
for Disease Control in Winnipeg, the first of only a few such state-of-the
art labs in the world to address human and animal health. The Board identified
the facility as an opportunity to conduct leading edge collaborative science
and as a prototype for the way science is conducted in the HPB of the
future.
The Board also followed closely the review of the regulatory framework
for natural health products and has provided advice on proposed directions.
The quality of HPB science - which must aim for the highest standard
- was also part of SAB's review, closely integrated with its discussions
of other "science platform" issues like peer review and the
role of a Chief Scientist. The Board recognized that adequate and sufficient
resources were essential to assuring the best quality of work and people,
and the February 1999 budget which emphasized health care has added significant
funds to HPB`s budget. The Board welcomes this recognition of HPB's frontline
work in protecting the health of Canadians, and was briefed at its March
1999 meeting on the allocation of the new monies. The Board will continue
to follow the Branch's developments at future meetings in 1999.
Plans for 1999
At its January 1999 meeting, the Board discussed its priorities for the
year and strategies to achieve them. Members concluded that two broad
themes should have priority and be the focus of their deliberations for
1999:
- The integrity, quality, comprehensiveness and leadership of science
at the Health Protection Branch;
- The commitment of Health Canada to its mandate of health protection,
in particular, to provide analysis, critique and support for the on-going
Transition efforts of the Health Protection Branch in five core areas
of legislative renewal, program development, risk management framework,
surveillance and science platform.
Members advised that Health Canada must demonstrate clearly and consistently
its commitment to the health protection of Canadians, through communications
with Canadians demonstrating its commitment, integrity and transparency;
information on how risks are analyzed and managed; and information on
how potential conflict of interest is balanced with the primary responsibility
to health protection. As Members continue to follow closely the Transition
project, they will advise on its key milestones.
Conclusion
Since the first meeting in February 1998, the Board has been impressed
by the complexity of the task of the renewal and Transition undertaken
by HPB, and by the determination of the Minister and the Department to
assure the successful completion of this multifaceted exercise.
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