Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank you, Mr. Clement, and all your officials for being here and for appearing before our committee today.
I want to commend you, Minister, on your heart health plan, your recently announced plan for autism, and the monumental announcement you made regarding prenatal care on reserve. Certainly you have shown leadership. I think it's fair to say that you inherited a lot of the problems in your department, and they can't be solved overnight, but you're tackling them.
I want to talk to you about juvenile diabetes. It's a topic that's very close to my heart. A good constituent of mine, 11-year-old Chloe Rudichuk, from Regina, appeared before this committee, along with Mitchell Burke, a constituent of Mr. Fletcher's. They were among 45 children with juvenile diabetes. I know you attended that luncheon, sir. You heard the case they made on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I know you listened to them intently.
What the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is suggesting is that they're looking for $25 million a year from the federal government for five years. That will then be matched by the JDRF. In essence, it will be a partnership.
Canada has been a research leader in diabetes and certainly in the search for a cure for type 1 diabetes. The vast majority of research money, Minister, is directed towards type 2 diabetes. There are certainly more people with type 2 diabetes, but would you agree that there's a need for more money to be invested towards juvenile diabetes research, and will you and your officials take a good look at the JDRF partnership proposal?