The values identified in our ethical framework were based initially on previous research findings on ethics and SARS at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB). This work was funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant in 2004 through 2006 and has led to several key publications on the ethical dimensions of SARS [14, [36] [37] [38] [39] . In particular, Singer et. al., in their seminal British Medical Journal article begin to identify key ethical values that were of relevance during the SARS epidemic in Toronto. These values were then further articulated by our working group and adapted for the pandemic influenza planning context. Through a discursive process of stakeholder consultation with public health specialists, ministry officials, S & W's pandemic influenza committee, and the Clinical Ethics Group at the JCB, we augmented the values to include two new values (stewardship and trust [40, 41] ) and refined the definitions of each value in light of the anticipated demands of a pandemic influenza crisis compared to a hospital-based epidemic such as SARS. The substantive values identified and articulated in the framework are not intended to be an exhaustive set, and they may underdetermine how best to achieve the overall goals of pandemic planning, which generally include the minimization of morbidity, mortality, and societal disruption. Nevertheless, this is not to say that that a procedural engagement about the overall goals of a pandemic response would not benefit from using the ethical framework to guide and shape debate. A description of the values that should guide decision-making can be found in Table 2 .