Ottawa, Canada - Canadian Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel is receiving praise from medical experts after declaring that Ottawa "cannot trust" the US as a reliable source on vaccines and health data.

Speaking with the Canadian Press, Michel said in December that while the US "can be reliable" on some issues, when it comes to vaccines and the sharing of certain health data, Canada "cannot trust them as a reliable partner."

Michel also expressed fear that Canadians may be influenced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly used his position to tout anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.

"It's a big worry for me," Michel told CBC of RFK Jr.'s anti-vax influence. "It's absolutely crucial to work with provinces and territories to be all on the same page, for example, on vaccination."

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In the weeks since, Michel has been widely praised by health experts, some of whom hoped that Canada would further separate itself from the US when it comes to public health.

"Thank goodness she's finally said it," Canadian Public Health Association executive director Ian Culbert told The Hill Times. "It's long overdue."

McMaster University immunologist and professor Dawn Bowdish expressed a similar sentiment when speaking with the Guardian, warning that Canadian officials should no longer depend on the US for accurate information.

"I can't imagine a world in which this misinformation doesn't creep into Canadians' consciousness," Bowdish said of anti-vaccine information published by RFK Jr.'s HHS.

Michael Garner, who formerly worked as an epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Canadian authorities already took health data coming out of the US with a grain of salt.

"We always looked at the American data with caution," Garner told the Hill Times. "You examine it, you understand it, you bring it into a Canadian context, and you have it influence your decision."