Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I heard at a meeting that there is only one brain bank in Canada.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  At the meeting I was at recently—and I apologize if I had the wrong information--they were talking about Alzheimer brain banks. Maybe that's the distinction. One of the comments I heard from a number of the researchers who were in the room—and these were all Alzheimer's researchers—was that some things are not worth building a huge infrastructure around when there are so many collaborations available around the world, particularly the number of brain banks across North America that Canadian scientists have been able to take advantage of.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  If I could just comment, at the Alzheimer Society of Canada we fund two streams of research. Of our research, 50% of our funding goes toward biomedical, so that's cause and cure, but 50% of our research funds also go to quality of life research. So how do we help people who are living with the disease—and their caregivers?

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  In terms of the other G-8 countries, Canada is behind the pack in terms of having any kind of a strategy to tackle the problems associated with Alzheimer's disease. We know that the majority of G-8 countries, excluding the U.S. but including countries like South Korea, which has a very robust dementia strategy recently profiled in an amazing article in the The New York Times, if you had an opportunity to read that....

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Alzheimer's Disease International, which is the international organizing body for associations and societies around the world, released a world Alzheimer report in September. I believe there is information in that report about that, and I could forward that on to you.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  A well-known researcher, Dr. Mary Mittelman, out of New York, has done a study on caregivers and providing support to them. Her study found that even with a moderate, six-week caregiver intervention support program, where caregivers learn about how to better provide care and deal with their own stress, transfers to a care facility could be delayed by nearly two years.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  The Alzheimer Society is working quite closely with Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Institute of Aging in particular, on the ICRSAD, which is the international collaborative research strategy for Alzheimer's disease. I think that's the one you're speaking about. It is just in its fledgling days, and I know there have not been significant dollars put against it.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  One of the things that's important is some kind of income security. As you said, many people who are caring for their loved one with dementia are out of the workforce. They may have already retired and tax credits don't really help them. EI benefits don't help them either, and they're short term anyway.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Thank you. Good morning. I'm really pleased to be here, Madam Chair. I want to thank all the members of the committee very much for giving the Alzheimer Society of Canada an opportunity to speak before you today. Before I begin, I just want to comment that over the last several weeks I've had the distinct pleasure of being here in Ottawa to meet with many members of the House of Commons, including visits I've made recently, along with my colleagues at the Health Charities Coalition of Canada.