Transcript
Transcript: CSPS Virtual Café Series: Lessons in Leadership and Foresight with Dr. Theresa Tam
[00:00:00 The CSPS logo appears onscreen.]
[00:00:04 The screen fades to John Medcof.]
John Medcof (Lead Faculty, Canada School of Public Service): Hello and welcome everyone. My name is John Medcof, I'm the lead faculty here at the Canada School of Public Service. I'm going to be your host today and thank you for being with us.
Virtual events allow us to come together from different locations across the country. I'm joining you from the National Capital Region, Ottawa, on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people. I encourage you all to take a moment and think about the traditional territories you are on.
[00:00:47 Dr. Theresa Tam is shown sitting in a chair next to John Medcof.]
Today we are honoured to welcome Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, for what I am sure will be a deeply insightful and rich conversation. Over the last several years, Dr. Tam has played a pivotal role in guiding Canada's public health response during times of uncertainty, including one of the most defining global events of recent history, obviously the COVID-19 pandemic. In this conversation, we'll explore the vital importance of intersectional action – so, how collaborating across health, education, housing, the environment and other sectors is really essential for advancing the population's overall health and well-being. As public servants, we all know that no single organization or no single discipline holds all the tools, and it's really only by all working together that we can truly deliver better outcomes for Canadians.
We will also hear Dr. Tam's thoughts on one of the most pressing challenges of our time: disinformation and misinformation. We all know that in the age of information overload, the ability to separate fact from fiction and build trust in evidence and institutions is fundamental to effective governance. Dr. Tam will discuss strategies for addressing this changing landscape and what it means for our collective work as public servants.
Another important element in the conversation today is Dr. Tam's body of work in the Chief Public Health Officer's Report Series. This is a collection of evidence-based, forward-looking reports that span the... that chart a path toward a more equitable, sustainable and healthy Canada. These reports illustrate how strategic foresight and data-driven analysis can guide long-term thinking and system-wide improvement. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we will hear Dr. Tam's personal advice to leaders and aspiring public servants—how to stay grounded in purpose, how to navigate complexity, and how to lead with empathy and vision.
So I invite you to sit back, listen carefully, and consider how these lessons shared today can inform your own work, wherever you find yourself in public service.
So now, please join me in warming welcomely Dr. Theresa Tam.
Dr. Theresa Tam (Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada): Thank you so much.
Thank you very much, Jean, for your warm welcome, and I am very happy to be here today. First, I would like to talk a little about my professional background; it's a fairly common question. So, my professional career has been marked by unexpected twists and turns, several challenges, and constant, continuous learning. So, I'm an immigrant. I moved to Canada in early 1990 after completing medical school in England. Then I was matched with a pediatric residency at the University of Alberta. After that, I took a course, specializing in infectious diseases. After that, I changed direction in my career, toward public health, the field of public health.
Through a program at Health Canada, I obtained a position as a field epidemiologist. I was doing fieldwork, so it was a very interesting time. Of course, at that time, I never thought I would become Canada's Chief Public Health Officer! In fact, the position did not yet exist. So, it was hard to say goodbye to my clinical practice, but ultimately, I don't regret anything. I have had a very interesting career. It's an honour. It is an honour to be the Chief Public Health Officer at the Public Health Agency. And as an immigrant woman, I hope I can inspire, especially young employees, students, to become leaders, public health leaders.
John Medcof: Thank you very much.
We know... we've all seen you on TV many times, but this is the first time I've really heard of your professional background and your journey to becoming the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada. So, great to get to know you a little better in that context and maybe to set up some of the conversation that we'll have this afternoon. Maybe we can start just talking a little bit about the role you've now been in, the role of the Chief Public Health Officer for eight years, if I am correct, and would love to just, you know, learn a little bit more. I think we see a very public side of your role, but there's a lot more to it than that. Can you sort of talk to us a bit about what the role means?
Dr. Theresa Tam: Yeah, I'll talk a little bit about that.
Do it in French. As the top public health professional in the federal government, my main task is to advise the Minister of Health and the President of the Public Health Agency. I'm responsible for providing advice based on science—this is very important: based on science—and evidence. I also have a leadership role in helping Canada prepare for and respond to health emergencies.
Of course, I communicate with the general public through interviews with journalists and press conferences, but also through social media. Finally, online publications, such as annual reports. I have to say, public health is really a team effort. I work closely with my counterparts, for example, other provincial and territorial chief medical officers, international colleagues, and also Indigenous leadership, communities affected by public health issues, and general health issues.
John Medcof: You mentioned reports, and if I'm not mistaken, you've published 10 reports during your term.
What did you learn from that experience of drafting these reports and thinking about the future of public health?
Dr. Theresa Tam: Well, it's been quite a journey, as you can imagine, eight reports-… well, ten reports in eight years, and I will be delivering another one this year. My final report, actually. What I found was, of course, each report is focused on a challenge that is really important for the health of the population at the time, but what I learned was it's the process, actually, that is almost more important than the final report, the final results. And the reason I say that is I find that I was able to take some action while developing the report. When the report was being published, I can leverage that to start conversations, to catalyze collaborations after the publication. And I think what I learned was that if I – and this changed all the time actually –if I made the process more participatory, more engaging with experts from all different areas of public health and other scientific disciplines, but also with First Nations, Inuit and Métis, experts and people with lived experience, then it gives the report more life and sustainability over time because people do see themselves being part of that journey. So, I found that really quite interesting.
And one thing I talked about, really, the concept of co-creating with Indigenous public health experts, for example, was one of the most important lessons that I learned during the last eight years. I don't think I really quite know how to go about it at the beginning, in the first report, but then I think I learned a lesson over time. And I hope people can take a look at those reports and see how, not just the content, but how that report development processes change. And I think that evolved also because during this whole time, the federal government for example, had the United Nations' Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act to guide us, we had the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, and really had to learn a lot about my role in upholding Indigenous rights and supporting self-determination.
So, I think throughout the journey, I'm most touched by the fact that I built trusted relationships with Indigenous leaders and elders, learned a lot about Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous science. I think that kind of trusted foundation is really important for us to move forwards to tackle some of the complex challenges together. My own report sounded like a bit of homework that I had to deliver to Parliament, but it was-… actually, what I found was it was actually a really powerful platform, and I can give space on that platform to others with different voices as well. So, I commissioned different reports, including an Indigenous-led vision for the future of First Nations and Inuit and Métis populations in public health. So, that was really impactful, I felt, for myself, for my team, but hopefully for everyone who might actually read this report, these reports and use them.
Another interesting sort of approach that I took was, of course, I centered all of my work around health equity. And I did that because I knew that you can't take a one-size-fits-all approach to what we do, and that we need to serve people experiencing most inequities due to colonization, due to discrimination, due to system and structural, what we call a structural and social and economic determinants of how these factors affect people's health outcomes; and those are the people that we need to really partner with and serve. So, that theme goes throughout the report. But the reason why I went into public health wasn't… was really because I think our health system needs to shift its focus from treatments, which is very important, into prevention and promoting healthy lives.
And so-… and I'm saying that because my first report was actually one on health promotion. It was focused on-… the title was 'Designing Healthy Living,' and it was to really illustrate and document how our built environment, how we build our cities, our communities, green and blue spaces, actually impacts our mental and physical health, access to food, access to services. And that if we talk of health and emotion approach, recognize inequities, serve the populations that need these supports and structures, we can attain population health. And so, I used that report to knock on many doors and made many collaborations with other sectors, like city planners at the municipal level. I reached over to ISDC – Innovation and Economic Development Canada – IEDC –… I'm going to get this wrong! ISED, right? ISED.
John Medcof: Yes.
Dr. Theresa Tam: Yeah, to see if I could help them with their Smart City Initiative, for example, which they were launching at the time. So, just to illustrate how these reports can help transcend boundaries and sectors and help us work together. And then my latest and last report, on well-being, it's the same kind of concept. How do we all work together to work on things that impact people's quality of life and what matters to them? And that will, I hope, stimulate even more intersectoral work.
John Medcof: Okay. Thank you for sharing that with us, because I think we all see the report that comes out of it, but hearing a little bit about your approach and the thoughtfulness and the intent behind it, and also how your own thinking has evolved over the course of preparing those reports, I think definitely some things we can link back to all of us who work in the public service and the way we think about our work. Look, I think I mentioned early in my remarks how much the COVID-19 pandemic has been something significant that we've all been navigating, so it probably would be interesting to hear some of your thoughts on that.
The COVID-19 pandemic has marked a large part of your tenure in your role, and I would perhaps like to ask you: What struck you about this experience? What parts of this experience perhaps stood out to you the most?
Dr. Theresa Tam: The COVID-19 pandemic has been an exceptional time for everyone, actually. It was the most significant event of the last 100... last 100 years. I remember the first email I received from my team with the disturbing news that there was a serious respiratory illness in Wuhan, China. It was the last day of the year 1919 [sic], New Year's Eve. Then, everything that was done to repatriate Canadians who were in Wuhan, the people who were in Wuhan at that time, in China, and on cruise ships, like the Diamond Princess on the Sea of Japan. It was an incredible example of collaboration between several departments.
So, at that point, we hadn't yet realized the extent of the devastation that would follow. Like people who lived in long-term care facilities, the elderly. People working or living in crowded—crowded or overcrowded—places were more affected. And I will never forget the impacts, the serious repercussions on health workers. Images of nurses, doctors, people who work in intensive care.
A strong positive memory is when the first elderly patient received the vaccine. It was December 14, 2020. It was very emotional because COVID was wreaking havoc in long-term care facilities, and the vaccine, the first vaccine, was going to change everything in that place. We didn't expect to get a vaccine so quickly. It was a huge international collaboration among scientists, the private sector, (inaudible) manufacturers. The vaccine is... governments that were investing heavily in this area. And ultimately, it was a huge success, the largest vaccination campaign in Canadian history. And the vaccination rate for the first two doses was the highest in the G7—in the world, in fact—and the vaccine saved many people's lives.
So, our response within the public service to fighting this pandemic was truly an extraordinary example of teamwork across all of Canada's governments and Canadian society. It's not just a response in the health sector, of course; it's a response in the social sectors, the economic, transportation and agricultural sectors. So, many people were working together, but it was Canadians who were very key players in the success of our response.
So, I think it is absolutely tragic that over 60,000 people lost their lives, but I think that amongst that tragedy we could see, certainly for a good part of the initial response to the pandemic, people wanting to help each other, neighbours supporting each other, communities really coming together. And that's how we really were successful, I think, in addressing the pandemic. So, yeah! I mean, there's so much to say, really.
John Medcof: Can I maybe ask you just to go a little further on that? Because you talked about all those big changes, all those big moments; what are the key lessons we can draw from that experience that you think we should be mindful of as we think about the eventuality of a new public health crisis, of a new pandemic? What are the key things you would want us to take away from that experience?
Dr. Theresa Tam: Yeah, there's obviously, as I say, quite a lot of positive aspects of the response, but there's also some very significant adverse impacts, not just of the virus but of the response itself that we mustn't forget. I think we mustn't forget that it was so focused, for example, in the health sector, at least, on the actual health response; we need the whole-of-society, all the different sectors being capacity to respond and to contribute. We, for example, I think in the time of uncertainty, there's such a massive societal challenge. There is never a black and white answer. I think that's one thing that we have to remember. Most decisions are taken by our elected officials are really difficult ones. You have to weigh, they have to weigh the benefits, but also the trade off, of the negative impacts of every one of those decisions. I think we need to do better at measuring those other impacts…
John Medcof: Okay.
Dr. Theresa Tam: … In order to help us adjust the overall response as well. No pandemic is ever the same, so no two pandemics are the same, so I always said if you seen one pandemic, you've seen one pandemic. And so, that's really important to remember because we have to be able to adapt to what the next one looks like. So, when you look at pandemics throughout history, some like this one impact older populations, but many pandemics actually impact young populations. You have, for example, influenza pandemics, many of them impact younger populations, because they haven't seen as many… they haven't had any experience with influenza in their lives. That shifts how you're going to respond as well. The educational impact was very significant because local jurisdictions, many of them closed schools or went hybrid, that has impacts on kids and youth. But if the next pandemic was actually severe in the population, I think, you know, people will actually respond differently, perhaps. We actually may need to.
So, I think, really, the bottom line is to do not just think of the last event when you're responding to the next one; look at different scenarios when you're planning and exercise them. Because you have to tailor your response, but you can practice different trajectories and most importantly, practice not just amongst your own team, but more broadly across government tables and across sectors. I think making decisions in the time of uncertainty and guiding people through a time that's uncertain is something that is going to occur repeatedly. So I think training people, enabling our leaders, our responders and our workforce to know how to do that, how to work through uncertainty and how to make decisions, take decisive action despite imperfect information, because that is absolutely going to be the case.
In the science realm, let's just say in, say, a department like-… an agency like ours, the public health agency is science-based. We were not well set up in our governance and our committees and our processes to enable research and data to flow, to be synthesized, to be mobilized to decision makers, to the public. You know, we went from a data scarcity to one that where we had a deluge of information, like a million publications in that first year. Where we really, in the future, need to set things up so that we know who is going to help synthesize all of that stuff and figure out what's credible science, what's not, what has been peer reviewed, and then pull it all together, analyze it, and then present it and make people understand it. It's actually a big system with different functions and capabilities that we really need to work out. There was a report by the Chief Science Adviser, and Sir Mark Walport from the UK actually did a report for the Deputy Minister of Health Canada, trying to provide some recommendations of how we do that.
But communications, of course, is extremely, extremely important. So, the good (inaudible) risk comms is say what you know, what you don't know, and then keep going back to communicate with people when you have more information, I think is something that we all have to be better at. We need to be informed by behavioural and social science to help us better… the what to say, but also how to frame and how to use participatory approaches. I think there's been a lot of discussions about the fact that there's polycrises, there's not just like one crisis, but multiple ones on top of each other. Climate change, wildfires, heat domes, pandemics, economic crises. A lot of things might sort of just come together, and I believe – and I've written a report on it – that we have to pull our resources together and our thinking together to how to build community-level resilience. Every community is different, and if we don't do that at either geographic levels, but also communities that are linked by their social connections or their common experience, then we will not be in a good spot to address multiple crises.
So, I think the bottom line is we're going to have significant improvements in our technical capabilities. In the agency, we have better laboratories, we now have points of care testing, we have genomics, we're going to have AI-assisted technologies, wastewater surveillance which people sort of-… So, all that and vaccines might be developed even faster if we can harness the sort of technologies as well. But I think the things that are more intangible, the need to build public trust, so… and that you need to build before a crisis happens. It's like a continuous public trust building, and really think through how do we do that. It's relational, it's being credible, it's making our processes more transparent, it is being more inclusive and participatory in how we do things in the public service or in other walks of life. So I think, yeah, build trust over time.
What we can't envisage – because we don't know when the next pandemic is going to happen – is what will be the geopolitical landscape, our economic situation, for example. What would that be like? Well, that you may or may not be able to control, certainly not from where I'm sitting, but I think that building the trust, ensuring people have what they need and build that community-level resilience will stand us in good stead.
John Medcof: Two things; so much of what you said really struck me, but two things I'd maybe propose we could explore a little further. You talked about the challenges of making important decisions when we have incomplete or imperfect information, and you also talked about the importance of building public trust, and the importance of and the value of public trust during these times of crisis.
And in my introductory remarks, I talked a little bit about misinformation and disinformation. Our communications environment has changed significantly since you began your mandate. I wonder if you have any thoughts to share about the challenges related to misinformation and disinformation, especially in the public health sector where the consequences are vital.
So, anything you'd share with us on reflections about how that environment is evolving and how it influences the way we navigate these crises?
Dr. Theresa Tam: That's a really important question, I'm sure every department is grappling with mis- and disinformation. And I think, first of all, it's nothing new, but it's definitely being amplified, accelerated by social media, by artificial intelligence, by what I would call commercial determinants, like the drivers of how these platforms work and the algorithms and how they incentivize, so all of that is like an accelerant to mis- and disinformation. And I'm sure… I think the listeners know the difference, so (inaudible) disinformation is where someone deliberately set about disruption, I would say by sowing the wrong information into our society or our systems; whereas misinformation is often done by people who actually don't, maybe haven't spotted that the information is incorrect or not credible. But they often meant well, they're trying to maybe send something to their family members because they found that maybe it's interesting.
So, I think one thing I would like to stress is that there's actual data to show that mis- and disinformation has an actual real and significant impact on our mental and physical health, so, and on safety and well-being in general. So, I was actually on a panel with the Canadian Medical Association, and they were just releasing their latest research through Abacus, which show that in the past year, people in Canada's exposure to this misinformation has increased, the encounters. Those who use social media are the most vulnerable or susceptible to misinformation, not… You're less so if you follow, say, mainstream media. And what that did was the participants recognized it did have an impact on their health. It delayed or they avoided seeking actual medical attention for some of their illnesses or what they thought might be happening to them. So that is terrible. They reported mental distress, anxiety as a result of reading all of this information. It's caused family discord, lots of varied impacts. But they're real; I think that's important to remember. And so, another point is that these harms often fall most heavily, most impactful on, again, populations experiencing inequities. Less access to credible sources of information, less access maybe to health providers who can give that information, less time to sort through the deluge of stuff that's coming across our telephones.
So, I think tailoring some of the supports for different populations, different age groups, is really important. Some of the strategies that I've been thinking about actually takes what I call a public health approach. One is you have to have the data and do the research, including leveraging AI for social listening on the different channels to see what actually is going on. Do actual research, there's not enough research, I think, on mis- and disinformation, certainly not on the health side. There's lots of publications, but there's gaps in our knowledge of how this all works, and how people react to them and the interventions. So, then we have to detect and respond. So in real time, just like we have to detect outbreaks, the same thing; you detect actual significant bits of mis- and disinformation and you try and address them in real time as fast as possible. But that's a really difficult thing to do, it's this kind of losing battle. Once it's out there, it doesn't go away.
John Medcof: Yeah.
Dr. Theresa Tam: So, I'm on the prevention side of the equation, which is a concept called prebunking, which is vaccinating people against disinformation, misinformation, ahead of exposure. So, we can often predict what might come down the line, given the experience of the types of misinformation that may arise, but one thing is sort of engage the community. Let them know, say there's a vaccine, there will be a vaccine. Let them know about how regulations work, how are clinical trial is done, how safe (inaudible) a vaccine is, and show it before. You look at trials and data before the programs are provided to the population. So, just be very transparent about some of the ways in which science work, in which technology work, in which regulations and safety measures work, I think is really important.
Then there is literacy, so science literacy, media literacy, again, more preventative approaches, learning how algorithms are duping you, or how to not be susceptible to fraud – which is happening all the time – who is behind this viral spread of information. They're often very enlightening. And when people know, they will be more resilient, I think, against it. Of course, I think people expect the government to have some oversight over the social media platforms. They certainly expect the government to address disinformation or actors who might be disruptive to our society. So that, I think, needs more work. It's a bit like, I will say, is when you're driving around, you put a seatbelt on your kids. That's… and it's law. You try driving kids are running around in the… inside the space, there's not enough seatbelts and safety measures and helmets. And so, it's that kind of concept.
The other thing that research has been telling us is that health care providers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, are still some of the most highly trusted people and by… in Canada. So, capacitating them with the information, the training and that because they will be the people who will be speaking with the general public. And I think finally I'm going to say that sometimes there are communities that just don't trust government and institutions because of past history, trauma, discrimination when they tried to access hospitals. Then it's we're not the messengers, we need to support community leaders who are trusted by the community, religious leaders, Indigenous leaders, elders, to be the messages for their populations. And we tried a number of collaborations during COVID, which we are able to build on, our effort.
John Medcof: Thank you very much. Interesting strategies that have quite important applications in our daily roles as public servants. You spoke about the importance of leadership in the public service, but also with our partners.
That's maybe a good segue just to talk about leadership in times of crisis. You referred to that early on in your comments. I'm wondering if you would have any advice for leaders at all levels in government about how do we lead during these periods of crisis, during complex and uncertain times.
Dr. Theresa Tam: I think that is a superb question because I do think that there's some adaptation in how we provide leadership in the current context. But first of all, I'd like to just stress that leadership can occur at any level and anywhere in the public service, and that leadership can be developed and learned. You know, some people may be … you know the phrase, "They're born leaders." Well yes, there are those, but many people can learn and develop leadership tools and competencies. So, one… and one picture I always have in my mind, particularly when I'm responding to emergencies or crises, is that I see my role, usually as managing the emergency, as the conductor of an orchestra.
And I use that analogy, that sort of picture, because I used to play music instruments, and so-… And I played in orchestras, and I recognize what the conductor does is they, of course, you practice together, practice lots and people practice, the more practice you do, the better you're going to get, but the conductor is there to pull together many different teams. So, the sections of the orchestra, violin, woodwind is like your epidemiologists, your logistics teams, your lab people, your comms teams, your legal, etc. and they are all great at what they're doing. They're experts, they can play the music, they practice lots. What you're trying to do is bring them together.
I have a score, which is my emergency plan, and I use that to conduct the teams. Hopefully we rehearsed it and people know their roles, and it's a matter of trust between the conductor and all the people who are part of the music making. And then you have to have a really good ear, you have to have a… you're a listening kind of leader. You can see if something is out of tune or someone needs to be brought up a bit further in the brass section or something. So but you're also there to interpret and adapt the music. When the conductor's waving their arms about and you don't know what they're doing, they're actually trying to invoke a different feeling to the music; slower, faster, a different mood. You can do that. And a good conductor is able to trust their players, pull them together to produce a fine piece of music, which is a coherent response, and adapt to the context of the day.
Secondly is, I always said, and people have to remember this, that humility is a capability. So, especially in the times of uncertainty, nobody can know everything. Again, I talked about communication. Nobody expects you to know everything is better, it's better if you tell them what you don't know as well as what you do, but keep committing to learning from everyone and communicating.
So, the third thing is that leadership, particularly during crises, is about sharing power. So, it is linked to working in teams. Sharing power means you don't have to… don't feel like you're the deputy minister and this is how it goes and it's top down, no. It is the power is shared amongst many players. I really have… it's the provinces and territories that have the health systems. Public health is local. So, I cannot do my work without collaborating with the chief medical officers across the country. I have to collaborate with other government departments, so really-… and Indigenous leaders and youth. And so this is about how do you share that power? And that will make your life a lot easier if you do, because nobody really can deal with complex situations by themselves. So maybe, I kind of leave it at those, there's lots of-… I just thought that, you know, there's many courses for us to take on leadership, but those are just the way that I've adapted my thinking about leadership based on my own background and experience, really.
John Medcof: No, I love that because I think it links back to something we talked about earlier, that leadership comes from all levels in an organization. Whether you're at the beginning of your career or whether you're at the end of your career, that mindset is one that I think we can all draw some inspiration from.
Dr. Theresa Tam: But one more thing is you have to be extra patient to everybody.
John Medcof: (Inaudible) Tell us about that.
Dr. Theresa Tam: Really, because well, you're stressed yourself and you imagine you're working day and night, but you might be frustrated with stuff, you're sleepless, but that's when you absolutely must be even more patient with your staff, your teamwork. It's just that that's-… Just check, check in, have people who are trusted around you to tell you that by way, you seem a little bit stressed out yourself, so that you can be generous and kind, I think to those around you. I think that's really important.
John Medcof: Okay.
Perhaps I'll ask you one last question about leadership. Obviously, you talked about the complexity of our current environment, the challenges ahead; so where can we, as public servants, as leaders, find the vision, where can we find the inspiration, where can we find the hope to meet the challenges that will come to us in our current state, but also in the future?
Dr. Theresa Tam: Yes. So, as we have observed during the pandemic, together we can do difficult things.
Together, we can do really hard things – something that I keep repeating to the general public. Build on our strengths, because in lessons learned, we tend to look at all the things that we don't do well, but there's a lot of strengths, and that positive way of looking at the situation and the challenge is really important. And that's… Indigenous teachings often talk about that too, is strength-based, positive, more positive-based approaches. Otherwise, we're not going to get through all these polycrises and other things together. And I talk about this in my reports as well. I try to persist in them so they are more positive because we can have hope through action.
And I'm going to… I'm answering this in English because there's a quote that I wanted to leave with everybody from Sir Michael Marmot, who is a-… from the UK, who is a global leader in health promotion. So, what I said was I am not an optimist; I'm hopeful. If you're an optimist, you predict that it will turn out well, so you fold your arms and you wait because you know it's going to turn out well. If you're hopeful, though, you really understand that it can turn out well, so you obviously… and you act. So, whether the result will turn out exactly as you wish, being hopeful means you can still act. And the important thing is to do it, to have a go. So don't give up, because anything that we do, certainly in public health, is an endurance sport. So, it's like a marathon.
And if, but if we stood back far enough-… like, in my career, if I thought about what was going on at the beginning of my career to now, I can see progress. I truly, truly can. Women in medicine was not an equitable situation at the time. It is now. Maybe not in certain specialties, but we're getting there. Look at the deputy ministers, there's more equity now. There's a more diverse group of leaders. Mental health, I remember mental health was not talked about at all. We learned about physical health and heart and lung health or something. But now, we talk about mental health, I think possibly because employers realized that mental health is important to their workforce and the productivity and, you know. So, I think we now talk about it, even men talk about mental health.
And what gives me hope is that I believe society has woken up to the past histories of Canada and the negative impact of colonization and residents of schools, so there is momentum in reconciliation with First Nations, Indigenous First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, which I did not see at the beginning of my career. So, that gives me hope.
John Medcof: Okay. We've just got a couple of minutes left, anything you would like to add to that last message of hope as final reflections for our audience here?
Dr. Theresa Tam: Well, I think it is certainly an honour to be in the position that I'm in, I never thought I was going to… this is not how it was planned, but I really found that life is what you make it. The federal public service provided me with a purpose to wake up every day. This is what it's like, what it means to be a public servant, to serve the people in our country. And it's been hard at times, but it's also been an incredible experience, and I would not sort of switch it out for anything else, really.
John Medcof: Thank you very much for this last thought. Sixty minutes goes by pretty quickly!
Dr. Theresa Tam: Oui!
John Medcof: Well, that concludes the event for today.
On behalf of the school, really, I'd like to thank you, Dr. Tam, for sharing your time with us, for sharing your wisdom and experience with us today, your very honest reflections on some of the challenges that you've seen in the course of your mandate. That hopefulness that you bring to it, though, and some things that I think all of us working in public service can really see and connections to the work that each of us does every day; your messages around collaboration across sectors, across organizations…
Dr. Theresa Tam: Stop the silos!
John Medcof: Stop the silos, yes. The importance of communication and being honest, of doing that prevention before we think of the reaction. So many things that, certainly in the jobs I've had in my career, I can see the applicability of all these lessons.
So, thank you very much for sharing these thoughts with us. I would also like to thank everyone who participated in this event across the country.
We look forward to seeing you at future events in the Virtual Cafe series, encourage you to visit our website to keep up to date and register for future learning opportunities. And with that, I'll just say take care, stay connected and please continue the conversation.
Thank you very much.
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