Federal, provincial and territorial public health response plan for biological events

Abstract

The Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Public Health Response Plan for Biological Events was developed for the Public Health Network Council (PHNC). This plan outlines how the national response to public health events caused by biological agents will be conducted and coordinated, with a focus on implementation of responses led by senior-level FPT public health decision-makers. The plan was developed by an expert task group and was approved by PHNC in October, 2017. The plan describes roles, responsibilities and authorities of FPT governments for public health and emergency management, a concept of operations outlining four scalable response levels and a governance structure that aims to facilitate an efficient, timely, evidence-informed and consistent approach across jurisdictions. Improving effective engagement amongst public health, health care delivery and health emergency management authorities is a key objective of the plan.