Event Summary:
The CPAC taping of the Pandemics panel event may be viewed on their website: 26 November Pandemics Panel Event
Summary by
Victor Platt
Thursday, 26 November, 2009
Hart House Debates Room, Hart House
Moderator:
- Dr Peter Warrian, Managing Director, The Lupina Foundation
Panelists:
- Dr Vivek Goel, President & CEO, Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion
- Prof Roger Keil, Director, The City Institute, York University, Networked Disease: Emerging Infections in the Global City
- Dr Alison McGeer, Infectious Disease Consultant, Mount Sinai Hospital
- Prof Andrew Price-Smith, Colorado College, Contagion & Chaos: Disease, Ecology, & National Security in the Era of Globalization
On 26 November 2009 the University of Toronto Political Science Alumni Association, the Hart House Debates Committee and the CIC – Toronto Branch held an event entitled ‘Pandemics: Threat, Preparedness, and Response.’ The event was recorded for national syndication by CPAC and for radio broadcast by CUIT (University of Toronto radio station). Under the bright lights of television cameras Prof. Peter Warrian, Director of the Lupina Foundation, moderated a panel of four leading public officials and intellectuals in the Debates Room of prestigious Hart House on campus at the University of Toronto.
The panel consisted of: Dr. Vivek Goel, President and CEO Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, Prof. Andrew Price-Smith, Associate Advisor to the US National Intelligence Council, Dr. Allison McGeer, Director Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Research Program Mount Sinai Hospital, and Prof. Roger Kiel, Director of the City Institute at York University.
The speakers were allotted 5-8 minutes each to give an introductory statement as to their particular take on the questions raised by pandemics. During these introductions it became apparent that the panel represented a wide range of expertise. Dr. Vivek Goel focused on the role of the media in shaping public opinion and how this phenomenon can affect government responses. Prof. Price-Smith emphasized the interaction between infectious disease and security, drawing largely from his recent book on the subject. Dr. McGeer provided scientific information on the current H1N1 pandemic virus and lauded the Canadian response. Prof. Kiel elucidated the broad advances that globalization is affording scientists and governments in preparing for and combating global viruses like H1N1.
After the introductory speeches, the floor was opened up to questions from the audience which were expertly chosen and read by moderator Prof. Warrian. A recurrent theme throughout the Q and A period was, not surprisingly, the current pandemic H1N1, a topic to which many of the audience questions were directed. After friendly and informative but none the less competitive discourse the event came to a conclusion. The discourse continued over cocktails and hor d’oeuvres in an adjacent room in Hart House. Overall a huge success!
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