Public Health Agency of Canada

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Organization

Branches - Directorates - Laboratories

Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch
The following list outlines the Branches of PHAC: Infectious Diseases and Emergency Preparedness Branch, Strategic Policy, Communications and Corporate Services Branch, Public Health Practice and Regional Operations Branch.

The components of each Branch are described below.

Infectious Disease and Emergency Preparedness Branch (IDEP)
The Infectious Disease and Emergency Preparedness Branch is responsible for ongoing domestic surveillance, research, technical assistance, investigation, and response to infectious disease outbreaks and global disease events; maintaining a state of readiness to respond to public health emergencies; and policy and program development around the promotion, prevention and protection of public health. IDEP leads PHAC’s work around planning and coordinating pandemic influenza preparedness, and is responsible for the Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan. The Plan maps out how Canada will prepare for, and respond to, an influenza pandemic, and has been developed through a collaborative process between federal, provincial, territorial, local and regional governments and non-government stakeholders.

Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response (CEPR)
The Centre is Canada’s central coordinating point for public health security issues. Its many responsibilities include developing and maintaining national emergency response plans for PHAC; monitoring outbreaks and global disease events; assessing public health risks during emergencies; contributing to keeping Canada’s health and emergency policies in line with threats to public health security and general security for Canadians in collaboration with other federal and international health and security agencies; being responsible for the important federal public health rules governing laboratory safety and security, quarantine and similar issues; and being the health authority in the Government of Canada on bioterrorism, emergency health services and emergency response.

Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (CIDPC)
The Centre promotes improvement in the health status of Canadians in the area of infectious diseases through public health action. These actions include surveillance and epidemiology, risk analysis and risk management activities, health prevention and promotion, public health policy development, and outbreak response. CIDPC’s objectives are to prevent and decrease the transmission of infectious diseases and to improve the health status of those infected. The Centre’s program areas focus on key priority issues including: tuberculosis and other respiratory infections; HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections; hepatitis B and hepatitis C; foodborne and waterborne infections; pandemic influenza; health-care acquired infections; and emerging zoonoses. The Centre works in close partnership with Canada’s provinces and territories, NGOs, healthcare workers and with international agencies to accomplish its mandate.

National Microbiology Laboratory (NML)
Located in the Canadian Science for Human and Animal Health (CSCHAH) in Winnipeg, NML is Canada’s main public health laboratory with responsibility for the identification, investigation, control and prevention of disease. NML comprises of four programs: Bacteriology and Enterics, focusing on bacterial diseases such as tuberculosis and meningitis, along with food and waterborne pathogens such as E-Coli and salmonella and infections affecting the human nervous and/or motor system; Host Genetics and Prion Disease, dealing with transmissible spongiform encephalophthies such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; Viral Diagnostics addressing a range of viral diseases including hepatitis and other blood-borne diseases, respiratory viruses, and viral exanthemata such as measles; and Zoonotic Disease end Special Pathogens dealing with viral, bacterial and rickettsial zoonoses (diseases transmitted to humans from other species) such as West Nile virus, along with Biosafety Level 4 agents such as Ebola. These Laboratories provide expert microbiological reference testing, surveillance, and outbreak investigation support to the public health network in Canada.

Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses (LFZ)
The Laboratory provides policy makers and other stakeholders with scientific information and advice on minimizing the risks of human illnesses arising from the interface between humans, animals and the environment, with special emphasis on infections due to enteric pathogens (intestinal disease-causing agents). Located in Guelph, Ontario, with satellite units in Lethbridge, Alberta, and St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, these locations provide opportunities for collaborative projects with universities, government agencies (federal and provincial), and public health and industry partners in delivery of the program objectives.

Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (HPCDP)
Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (HPCDP) is responsible for developing policies and programs that enhance and strengthen PHAC’s strategic objectives of health promotion and chronic disease prevention.

Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control (CCDPC)
The Centre is the national focal point for chronic disease prevention and control. Program activities are centered around three key strategic priorities: knowledge generation and dissemination; program development; and surveillance. Activities focus on building and disseminating the evidence based on best practices and lessons learned to support policies and programs for chronic disease prevention and control; facilitating the development of prevention, screening and early detection programs for chronic diseases by provinces/territories; providing project funding to community and support groups; contributing to the development and implementation of pan-Canadian integrated and disease-specific strategies; maintaining and enhancing an integrated surveillance system to assist in developing chronic disease policy; and providing a stimulus for international links in the area on chronic disease prevention and control.

Centre for Health Promotion (CHP)
Using a life stages approach, CHP is responsible for implementing policies and programs that enhance the conditions within which healthy development takes place. Through action founded on the principles of population and public health, CHP seeks to address the determinants of health and facilitate successful movement through the life stages. The Centre acts through programs addressing healthy child and adolescent development, healthy communities, families, including family violence, aging, physical health and injury prevention, work with the voluntary sector, and public information and education.

Transfer Payment Services and Accountability Division (TPSAD)
This division provides leadership, advice, coordination, and oversight to PHAC on issues related to performance measurement, evaluation, and grants and contributions management. The division also provides administrative services for the Population Health fund as well as a number of other grants and contribution funding programs. See funding program descriptions in the Information Holdings Program Records section of Info Source.

World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Chronic Disease Policy (WHOCC)
The WHOCC supports chronic disease policy development and implementation activities in Canada and with other WHO Member countries, more specifically in the Americas and Europe. The WHO Collaborating Centre is an internationally recognized centre of expertise in chronic disease policy development and implementation and has links with a variety of international organizations and networks. The WHO Collaborating Centre provides strategic leadership in developing integrated policies for the prevention and control of chronic diseases in Canada, in partnership with provinces and NGOs, and also in advancing the global chronic disease prevention agenda in collaboration with the WHO. The WHO Collaborating Centre supports the WHO Network of Countries (CINDI - Countrywide Integrated Non Communicable Disease Intervention and CARMEN - Conjunto de Acciones para la Reducción Multifactorial de las Enfermedades No-transmissibles) programs in chronic disease policy and program development, analysis, implementation and dissemination.

Strategic Policy, Communications and Corporate Services Branch (SPCCS)
The Strategic Policy, Communications and Corporate Services Branch supports the Agency in its day-to-day operations as well as around long-term planning and policy development.

The Branch provides a senior-level focus on the provision of integrated and coordinated strategic direction and communications advice to realize the Agency’s priorities and commitments and on the effective and efficient delivery of Agency corporate services and sound operational management in both the Winnipeg and Ottawa pillars.

The SPCCS Branch’s responsibilities include: the provision of strategic policy advice and coordination; managing policy partnerships and development with stakeholders including provinces and territories and international organizations; managing the Agency’s communication plans and strategies; delivering comptrollership functions (including planning and reporting) to assure probity, value for money and compliance with applicable federal legislation and policies; providing human resources advice and services, information management and information technology expertise and leadership, and asset management services (including safety and security).

Public Health Practice and Regional Operations Branch (PHPRO)
Public Health Practice and Regional Operations Branch is responsible for providing strategic advice and direction to support cross-jurisdictional human resources capacity, effective dissemination of knowledge and information systems, and a public health law and policy system that evolves in response to changes in public needs and expectations. In addition, the branch is responsible for building the regional capacity of PHAC.

Office of Public Health Practice (OPHP)
The Office of Public Health Practice (OPHP) collaborates with internal and external partners to support effective Public Health Practice on the development, maintenance and use of health surveillance information, tools and skills to increase the capacity of public health professionals and decision makers across Canada, which enables them to protect the health of Canadians through timely and informed decision making. The Office provides coordination and strategic vision for the development of workforce capacity and public health law policies in Canada and develops, maintains and strengthens relationships with local/regional, provincial/territorial and federal governments as well as non-governmental organizations and academia. With its partners, the Office jointly addresses cross-cutting issues in public health practice in Canada and internationally.

Regional Presence
The Public Health Agency of Canada includes a Canada-wide infrastructure of six regional offices and the Northern Secretariat. Agency Regional Offices include Atlantic region, Quebec Region, Ontario and Nunavut Region, Manitoba and Saskatchewan Region, Alberta and Northwest Territories Region and British Columbia and Yukon Territory Region.

The key functions of the Agency Regional Offices (AROs) include delivery of Agency Grants and Contribution Programs, research and knowledge development, policy analysis and input, public health capacity building, public and professional education, knowledge transfer, emergency preparedness and evaluation. The following Grant and Contribution programs support the work of non-profit, community-based organizations in addressing public health issues: Aboriginal Head Start; AIDS Community Action Program; Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program; Community Action Program for Children; Population Health Fund; Hepatitis C Disease Prevention; Canadian Diabetes Strategy.

AROs are strategic focal points to deal with population and public health issues at the regional level. They collaborate closely with provincial/ territorial and municipal governments, Regional Federal Councils, NGOs, regional and local networks, academia, the private sector, and the Canadian public.

Office of the Director General, Regions
Regional Directors report to the Director General, Regions. The position of Director General, Regions (DGR) is unique to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The DGR leads and coordinates activities which advance and enhance the work of AROs and is responsible for ensuring they contribute to the overall success of the Agency. In addition, the DGR develops and implements strategies which promote greater coherence in regional operations and which strengthen relationships between regions and centres in Ottawa.

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