Intelligence Expert Says COVID-19 a Failure for Canada’s Early Warning Efforts

Security intelligence expert Wesley Wark poses at the University of Ottawa's Social Sciences Building in Ottawa, Canada, on May 14, 2013. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

It was last on a list of eight threat scenarios, but the danger of a global pandemic made the cut when the Liberal government issued a national security policy in 2004.

With the then-recent SARS outbreak in mind, the government said it would integrate its approach to public health emergencies with its national security agenda, including when drafting threat assessments.