Evidence of meeting #30 for Finance in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was businesses.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
Annie Koutrakis Liberal Vimy, QC
Okay. Great.
My first question is for Mr. Cloutier and/or Mr. Wouters.
On top of over a billion dollars in support for the national medical research strategy in our fight against COVID-19, the federal government recently announced $450 million in funding to support Canada's research community. Can you please comment on the ways that the funding will support your organization, that is to say, how it will be used and allocated?
Dr. Bradly Wouters Executive Vice-President for Science and Research, University Health Network, and Representative, HealthCareCAN
I'm happy to address that. If Paul-Émile wants to add anything else, he can certainly do so.
Our hospital research institute at UHN will be one of the recipients of those funds. The $450 million from the federal government that was announced last Friday is there to support the wages of our staff who have been impacted by COVID-19. Like many businesses across Canada, non-COVID-related research was largely suspended across the world.
At our institution, over 80% of our research was suspended to prepare for COVID-19 and to change the way that we deliver care in the hospital. This led to an immediate loss of revenue for us from all of the external sponsors of our research, the pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies that fund clinical trials. At our institute alone, that clinical trial revenue supported over 700 jobs.
We were very close to having over 1,500 job layoffs in research at UHN. This was largely due to the fact that we were ineligible for the wage subsidy program that was created by the federal government for this purpose, largely due to a technicality. That technicality is that we're part of a public hospital that is ineligible for the funding, despite the fact that none of our funding for research comes from the provincial government or the Ministry of Health. We're not allowed to use any of those funds for research.
We were kind of stuck, and the only options available to us were to lay off staff so that they could collect the emergency response benefit, the funds that were talked about here, but this funding that has come in really at the last moment for us is going to allow us to preserve those jobs, to prepare for the restart of research and also to support the critical COVID-related research that is still occurring and is very active at our institution and at many others like ours across the country.
Liberal
Annie Koutrakis Liberal Vimy, QC
With the recent changes, then, that takes care of that gap. Would you agree?
Executive Vice-President for Science and Research, University Health Network, and Representative, HealthCareCAN
The funds that were announced are there to support the wages of the individuals who are paid from those kinds of external funds. We don't have a lot of details yet on how that will be administered or the rules of eligibility and so on. We're anxiously awaiting those. Our understanding is that it's meant to support retroactively back to the initial time of the suspension, so this will go a long way to helping to preserve those jobs and to ensure that our amazing scientific workforce across Canada can come back and remain at a world-class level.
Liberal
Annie Koutrakis Liberal Vimy, QC
Thank you for that.
Mr. Chair, do I have time for one more question?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
No. You have a little time left, but we'll go to Alexis.
Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe, we'll give you two and a half minutes, and the same for Peter.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank all the witnesses for their statements. They were really interesting.
My first question is for Mr. Crawley.
I listened closely to and appreciated your statement because in my own riding, some people own weekly newspapers. Most of their income comes from advertising. As we know, advertising has dropped by 80% to 90% for most weeklies.
Would it not be quicker and easier to increase the number of ads purchased in weekly newspapers, major dailies and local radio stations?
The federal government should do it quickly because we feel it has failed these people compared to the provincial governments. What do you think?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Your mike is on mute, Mr. Crawley. You just have to push the right button.
On the bottom of your Zoom screen, on the left-hand side, there should be a little mike.
There you go.
Publisher, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto, The Globe and Mail
Yes. I'm sorry.
Was I supposed to get a translation of that? I didn't get it.
Publisher, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto, The Globe and Mail
No.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
It came through in English on mine. It should have come through in English to you.
Do you want to ask that question again, Alexis?
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
With pleasure, Mr. Chair.
Can you hear me now in French? Can you hear me in English? Is it working on your end, Mr. Crawley?
Publisher, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto, The Globe and Mail
I'm not hearing it in English, no.
Conservative
Publisher, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto, The Globe and Mail
Yes, I probably am. I'll go to French.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
No, if you have it in English, it should come through to you.
Alexis, are you on the French channel?
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Yes, Mr. Chair.
In fact, I think that if you heard me and all the other people, it means that I am on the French channel and that everything is normal. It's just on Mr. Crawley's side.
Publisher, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto, The Globe and Mail
I'm supposed to be on the channel, but I'm not. I'm sorry.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Mr. Crawley, you should be on the English channel on your system. It'll come through.
Publisher, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto, The Globe and Mail
Okay.
