Introduction
Good morning. I'm happy to be here with you today, albeit virtually.
For two years now, we have been living through a period of history like no other. Successive waves of COVID-19 have claimed the lives and livelihoods of many Canadians. The economic impacts have also been extraordinary.
The Canadian economy has now recovered substantially. Economic activity is above its pre-pandemic level and employment is near its maximum sustainable level. But the economy is still not back to normal.
This has been a time of tremendous uncertainty for both economic policy-makers and those in the fields of health and science. So it seems fitting to begin our discussion with a thought from renowned Canadian physician William Osler, who is often described as the father of modern medicine. Over a century ago, Dr. Osler transformed the way medicine was taught by combining classroom study with bedside experience.