Mr. Speaker, the broad topic was science and technology. As a former university professor, I will say, without investment in researchers and their work, there will be a brain drain.
MS affects between 55,000 and 75,000 Canadians. An experimental treatment offered at an Israeli clinic may alleviate symptoms, even in patients with an untreatable form of the disease. Researchers pioneered a procedure whereby they remove a patient's own stem cells, grow them into large quantities in a laboratory and inject them back into the patient.
The government must invest in stem cell research, explore results of clinical trials and experimental technologies, which are yielding positive results here in Canada and internationally, and investigate the possibility of bringing successful stem cell therapies for MS and other diseases to Canada.
Why is there no long-term strategy for stem cells? Why did the government cut funding to Genome Canada?