Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I wish to thank the committee for inviting me to this meeting. I am a research professor at the Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnolgie of the INRS, or National Institute of Scientific Research, Laval. I also hold the Jeanne and J.‑Louis Lévesque chair in immunology. For more than 30 years, I have researched immune antiviral responses and the development of vaccines and immunotherapy to fight cancer and infections. I would like to speak to you today about the importance of adequate funding for health research, particularly for the development of new vaccines, and for maintaining children's immunization status.
Various stakeholders who have appeared at previous committee meetings have highlighted the negative impact that the COVID‑19 pandemic has had and continues to have on a number of health determinants and on the education of children in Canada, particularly among indigenous peoples, racialized populations and those living in poverty. Among the negative effects of the pandemic, we expect children's immunization status to suffer in the future. That decline could have serious effects on public health and expose certain children to serious infectious diseases that can be prevented by immunization.
There are various possible explanations for the decline in immunization, but one merits closer attention, in my opinion. I am referring to the increase in disinformation related to the COVID‑19 vaccination campaign which has caused some fear in parents when it comes to having their children vaccinated. It is therefore essential to better understand the key sources of vaccine hesitancy among the public in order to better equip parents through reliable information about immunization so they can make informed decisions about vaccinating their children.
I would now like to take a few minutes to discuss the importance of significantly increasing research funding in Canada, including research on pediatric diseases. There are still a number of gaps in our ability to prevent and treat various childhood infectious diseases. Those include respiratory syncytial virus, which caused serious respiratory distress among children last fall and for which there is still no vaccine.
I have been a professor at the INRS for more than 20 years and have observed a significant drop in research grants in Canada in that time. Funding for biomedical research in Canada comes primarily from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, or CIHR.
According to a recent analysis by the Canadian Association for Neuroscience based on CIHR data, the success rate of funding applications in CIHR open competitions has dropped steadily since 2005, falling from 31% to below 15% in 2018. Moreover, the budget for approved funding applications has dropped by more than 25% overall, further highlighting the glaring lack of funding.
In addition to the lack of funding for research labs in Canada, there has been no significant increase in the amounts awarded to graduate students by the three federal councils, in most cases, for more than 20 years. As a result, some graduate students are now below the poverty line and are in precarious financial situations. This discourages a number of such students from pursuing a research career.
According to data from the OECD, the Organization for Co‑operation and Economic Development, Canada is the only G7 country where whole gross domestic expenditures on research and development have been in decline since 2001. It is now second from the bottom among G7 countries in this regard, with only Italy spending less. The United States, for instance, invests three times more per capita in research than Canada does. This clearly illustrates the considerable effort that Canada will have to make to become one of the world leaders in this regard.
To contribute to the examination of these strategic issues, I would like to suggest three measures that the Government of Canada could consider to maximize the benefits of its investments in biomedical research.
First, Canada's federal investments in research must be increased by 25% immediately, and by 10% per year for the next 10 years so Canada can catch up to other G7 countries in this regard.
Secondly, federal investments in cutting-edge research facilities and in their long-term operating and maintenance costs must be maintained and increased, through the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.
Third, the amounts of student research grants have to be reviewed and indexed to inflation so that young people do not lose buying power and therefore also lose interest in a career in research.
In conclusion, the COVID‑19 pandemic highlighted the need for a rich and diverse research ecosystem in order to be better prepared for future health crises.
If Canada wants to once again be a world leader in research and development, over the next decade it will have to make a significantly greater effort and make massive investments in research grants, particularly for children's health.
Thank you for your attention. I am available to answer your questions.