Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm joining you all from Vancouver, where I live and work on the traditional and ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.
I'm a diabetes researcher at the BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, and I'm grateful for government support of my research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and through national networks such as the Stem Cell Network.
I'd like to talk to you today about diabetes in children, its huge health burden and impact, the importance of research, and the opportunities we have in Canada as world leaders in diabetes research and care.
Diabetes is currently an incurable disease and a tremendous burden on children and families. Children who develop diabetes have it for the rest of their lives. They face a lifetime of checking blood sugar and administering insulin every day, all the while living with fear, in danger of low blood sugars. It's a life-changing disease.
There are two main forms of diabetes, type 1, in which the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas are destroyed by the immune system, and type 2, a metabolic disease associated with obesity and aging.
While one can develop diabetes at any age, children are particularly impacted by type 1 diabetes, as it is most commonly diagnosed in children and youth. Canada has one of the highest incidences of type 1 diabetes in the world, and it is increasing in prevalence each year. Type 2 diabetes impacts more than three million Canadians and is normally seen in adults but is disturbingly being found increasingly in youth, associated with the rising prevalence of obesity. This form of the disease disproportionately affects children of certain ethnic groups, including those of South Asian descent and, in particular, indigenous youth.
Because children live with diabetes for many years, they are at a high risk for complications later in life, including kidney failure and blindness. Children with diabetes are also at an increased risk for mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. The burden to children, families and our health care system is immense.
I have two main messages for you today about addressing the burden of diabetes in children and the important role government can play. The first relates to the implementation and funding for the national framework for diabetes, and the second is regarding continued support of diabetes research in Canada.
First, speaking to Canada's national diabetes framework, which was tabled just a few months ago, this is a huge milestone for all people living with diabetes in Canada, including children. I want to acknowledge the vision and effort of those who brought this to reality, including the health minister; MP Sonia Sidhu, chair of the all-party diabetes caucus; and many stakeholders who've contributed.
The diabetes framework provides a strategy for government to improve health outcomes for people with diabetes, including children, through several mechanisms. These include ensuring Canadians have access to resources for disease management, increasing awareness of diabetes for all Canadians, and funding and promoting innovative and impactful research.
The national framework for diabetes has the potential to have a tremendous impact on the lives of thousands of Canadian children living with diabetes and their families. I urge the government to ensure the resources are provided to fund and implement this framework, beginning in 2023.
Second, I'd like to talk briefly about the importance and promise of diabetes research to children's health. Canada has a truly remarkable research history in diabetes, and Canadian diabetes research has never been stronger. In 2021 we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best, a miraculous Canadian medical research discovery that allowed children with type 1 diabetes to live long lives. However, even Sir Frederick Banting said that insulin is not a cure for type 1 diabetes. More research is still needed.
Since the discovery of insulin, Canadian diabetes researchers have made pioneering contributions, including the development of drugs in common use today for type 2 diabetes and weight loss, and pancreatic islet cell transplantation in type 1 diabetes and, more recently, in stem cell-based therapies for type 1 diabetes. It's important to point out that the development of these therapies builds upon foundational research and took many years to move from discovery in the lab to the clinic. Tri-council funding, particularly from the CIHR, ensures that the best diabetes research is funded across the country, that the diabetes research capacity in Canada remains strong and that new discoveries will find their way into new therapies.
In 2021 the Canadian government invested in diabetes research through the CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, in partnership with other funders, including the JDRF, the Stem Cell Network and Diabetes Canada. This investment has had a transformative impact on diabetes research in Canada, including the creation of national teams and networks working together to understand the cause of diabetes and find new treatment. I feel it's important that the momentum built by these national diabetes research teams not be lost. I urge government to continue to support diabetes research through these special initiatives and innovative partnerships, while maintaining and increasing tri-council funding for foundational research.
To conclude, diabetes is a life-changing disease and a tremendous health burden, affecting thousands of Canadian children. I encourage the government, through implementation and funding of the national diabetes framework and increased research funding, to continue to address this significant child health issue.
Thank you for allowing me to speak to you this morning. I'm happy to answer any questions.