Health Committee on Dec. 9th, 2025

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Thank you.

For our last testimony, we have Mr. Moore from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for five minutes.

[Jeff Moore, Acting Executive Vice-President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research]

Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.

My name is Jeff Moore, and I'm the acting executive vice-president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, or CIHR.

I'm pleased to be here today to present an overview of CIHR's proposed spending under the 2025‑26 supplementary estimates (B).

I am joined today by Jimmy Fecteau, our chief financial officer at the agency.

In the supplementary estimates, CIHR is requesting an overall increase of $3.4 million—

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Excuse me. I'm sorry, but translation is way off in the distance, as if you don't have a microphone.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

It seems to be working. Can we start again? The interpretation had stopped.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Thank you.

Proceed.

[Jeff Moore]

In these supplementary estimates, CIHR is requesting an overall increase of $3.4 million, bringing its proposed authorities to date to nearly $1.4 billion. This increase reflects several transfers from other departments and agencies to strengthen research that directly improves the lives of Canadians. This includes $1.3 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to build innovation capacity through the college and community innovation program. Another $1 million from Employment and Social Development Canada will support research on the health and well-being impacts of school food programs across the country. From Indigenous Services Canada, $500,000 will support the work of the indigenous youth services network, part of a new Canada-wide learning health system in integrated youth services. There are two transfers from the Department of Canadian Heritage, including $400,000 to mobilize research regarding the health of female athletes and $250,000 to support health research for francophone communities across Canada.

Mr. Chair, the investments outlined in the supplementary estimates reflect CIHR's commitment to impactful research that contributes to better health for all Canadians and to thriving communities from coast to coast to coast.

They also reflect our agency's renewed emphasis on collaboration for impact, and our role as a leader, partner and convenor across Canada's health research and life sciences ecosystem.

CIHR would welcome the opportunity to further support the committee in its ongoing work and to discuss potential avenues to contributing to a healthier and more prosperous Canada.

Once again, thank you for the invitation to appear before you. I'd be pleased to take your questions.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Thank you.

That ends our round of presentations, so we'll start off with some questions. Being in the chair, I will kick off the first round of questions for six minutes.

My first question is for Ms. Weber.

On October 2, you testified at this committee that no funding from Health Canada was being used to purchase crack pipes. Do you still stand by this answer today?

[Kendal Weber, Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Department of Health]

I really appreciate the opportunity to clarify the funding that goes from Health Canada to harm reduction projects.

While Health Canada does not directly purchase harm reduction supplies, Health Canada does provide funding to community organizations that do invest in prevention, harm reduction and treatment projects. That funding can be used for harm reduction supplies to minimize the transition—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Ms. Weber, it's a pretty direct question. Is any of the funding from Health Canada being used to purchase crack pipes? It's just a yes-or-no answer.

[Kendal Weber]

I appreciate the question.

Yes, we do provide funding to community organizations for harm reduction tools, including pipes.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Health Canada stated that it does not track individual expenditures and is unable to provide a breakdown of how recipients spend funding under the substance use and addictions program and the emergency treatment fund.

If you do not track individual expenditures, how do you know that no federal funds were used to purchase crack pipes?

[Kendal Weber]

I did say that funds do go to community organizations, and I did say that they are used by those organizations to purchase harm reduction products, such as pipes.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

You mean like crack pipes.

[Kendal Weber]

That's right, and we provided examples of that in our written response. We do not track individual expenses down to the minute level, but we do, in fact, track categories of expenditures, and those do include harm reduction equipment. We did report that back in the written answer in detail.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

According to Health Canada, funding under the substance use and addictions program and the emergency treatment fund can be used to purchase smoking kits. Is that correct?

[Kendal Weber]

That is correct. It's similar to the pipes. Harm reduction tools can be purchased with the funding for harm reduction.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

What substances do you think addicts smoke out of smoking kits that Health Canada is funding?

[Kendal Weber]

There are a variety of different substances.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

What kind?

[Kendal Weber]

I wouldn't want to assume that.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

You wouldn't want to assume that. You're in charge of funding these sites. You must know one type of drug. Would fentanyl be one in your experience?

[Kendal Weber]

In one of the programs we did provide an answer to the written question, and it was for meth. There was a program in the pilot—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Dan Mazier]

Meth. According to your own department, actually 48% of the usage is fentanyl.

[Kendal Weber]

It can be fentanyl, but I don't want to speak—