SARS was the pandemic du jour in 2003. While it wasn't as devastating as what we've all lived through with COVID-19 these past 15 months, it was nonetheless devastating in its own right. So much so, that Ontario appointed Justice Archie Campbell as an independent investigator under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to lead a Commission of Inquiry into the introduction and spread of the disease. In his report, it was noted that one of the dangers that follows new diseases is underreaction. It is to be guarded against in times of emergency, and the commission made the point that when the public is faced with the acute dangers associated with a pandemic, the absence of scientific certainty ought not to be used as a reason for postponing decisions or action where there is a risk of serious or irreversible harm.
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