This week, 140 employees at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg did not have their contracts renewed. With spring migration approaching, it’s crucial that the public service has the staff and resources needed to address an increase of H5N1-infected birds that could soon begin flying north to Canada.  

Public service cuts threaten the work of scientists, microbiologists and epidemiologists whose research is critical for rapid response against zoonotic diseases. 

The government has a responsibility to protect the public by ensuring that Canada’s public health response is robust and ready to handle threats of outbreaks such as this.  

Now is not the time for cuts to the public service that will weaken our country’s emergency response. 

With the Trump administration pulling the U.S. out of the World Health Organization (WHO) and cutting funding and jobs in the National Institutes of Health, there is an opportunity for Canada to become a leader in public health on the world stage. We can learn from the United States’ mistakes, such as the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency gutting of the federal workforce which resulted in a mass firing of the agriculture department employees working on the bird flu response.  

Canada can do better than reckless cuts that threaten public health.  

Ensuring that the public service is properly funded and staffed is the best way to guarantee a prompt emergency response. Without this, the government is putting our public health at risk.