Thank you, Madam Chair.
Members of the committee, as president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research it's a privilege for me to offer you a report card on the supplementary estimates (B) and use this opportunity to discuss how CIHR has employed its budgetary allocation to ensure fulfilling our mandate to improve through research the health of Canadians and the health care system.
As you know, an additional, recurrent amount of $16 million has been allocated to the CIHR budget for 2010-2011 so that we can continue our cutting edge research dedicated to improving the health of Canadians.
Four million of these dollars have been targeted to CIHR's open operating grant program. As its title implies, this program is an open call for research proposals, with no restrictions on areas of research or maximum level of requested funds. All proposals are subjected to the highest international standards of peer review to ensure excellence.
This increase in funding brings total plan spending in this program to more than $400 million.
Though CIHR currently supports more than 4,000 multiyear research projects under the program, the demand continues to increase and we are able to fund only a small portion of the proposals that have cleared the bar that our criteria of excellence have set very high and that have been recommended for funding by our committees of experts.
Six million dollars has been allocated to advance the strategy on patient-oriented research. This strategy is a nation-wide coalition aimed at improving health outcomes and service delivery by enhancing the clinical application and economic impact of health innovations and by providing health care professionals and policy-makers with information on how to deliver high-quality care and services in a cost-effective manner.
In collaboration with the provinces, we aim to improve the clinical research environment and infrastructure, set up mechanisms to better train and mentor health professionals engaged in clinical research, and strengthen organizational, regulatory, and financial support for clinical studies.
Five million dollars are dedicated to international research collaboration on Alzheimer's disease and other age-related dementias. As members know from recent debates in the House, like many other nations, Canada's aging population is facing an upcoming tide in the numbers of persons who will be afflicted by Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
The good news is that Canada is already investing in this field and has built an excellent track record and a reputation for high-impact, collaborative health research.
These new funds have allowed us to build on our leadership in the area of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias by establishing an international network for cooperation that will allow us to increase our research capacity and to expand our horizons in the area. Already, cooperative projects have begun with France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.
Working closely with the Alzheimer Society of Canada, we have launched funding opportunities focused on the early diagnosis and early treatment of the disease. The long-term objective is to delay by five years the onset of symptoms.
Finally, of the $16 million, $1 million has been allocated to operating requirements to address the significant increase in applications for open operating grants and to address the new patient-oriented research and Alzheimer's strategies.
The supplementary estimates (B) also include CIHR's access to $10 billion in funding over two years from the isotope supply initiative to support research to develop and demonstrate new technologies, to optimize the use of medical isotopes and alternative medical imaging technologies, and to establish a clinical trial network to test new isotopic and non-isotopic tools.
It also includes funding for the Canada Excellence Research Chairs, a program that supports the development of a world-class workforce, which is crucial to the innovation process. It positions Canada as a magnet for the world's top researchers and graduate students and promotes the development and application of leading-edge knowledge. Six Canada Excellence Research Chairs were awarded in health and related life sciences and technologies. Total funding for CIHR for the eight years amounts to $60 million.
The supplementary estimates (B) also reflect CIHR's funding for the Banting post-doctoral fellowships program to offer new, prestigious fellowships at an internationally competitive level of funding to attract and retain top-tier post-doctoral talent from Canada and abroad.
Total funding for CIHR is $1.5 million in 2010-11 and $3.4 million in 2011-12 and ongoing.
I will certainly be pleased to answer any questions.
Merci beaucoup, madame la présidente.
