Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses for being here this morning with us.
Firstly, Ms. MacNaughton, I can't begin to tell you how your story—yours and your husband's—really touched my heart. My mom went through breast cancer and I was the primary caregiver at the time, through her surgery, her radiation and her chemotherapy. Unfortunately, we lost her just a little over a year ago—strangely enough, not from breast cancer—but I can't even begin to imagine what a family goes through having to also worry about finances. Thank you for feeling safe enough to share your story here with us. I think I can speak for all of us in saying we understand and we're going to keep working hard to make sure that people who need the help through EI sick benefits will get the help.
My questions will be for Mr. Casey.
Mr. Casey, in BIOTECanada's response to budget 2021, you said that biotechnology innovation is “one of the identified key sectors set to drive the economic recovery for Canada.” Would you be able to expand a little and explain to this committee why you believe this to be the case?