Industry Committee on Dec. 7th, 2017

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

We'll find the time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

We are going to move to Mr. Sheehan. Oh, wait. You have....

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Matthew.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

In your comments on page 4, you mentioned that what you're hearing is that they are looking to Canada for leadership on several fronts. The first one you mention is Arctic research, Ms. Nemer. There has been some controversy lately with the pending closure of PEARL up north. Then there was miraculous funding in the eleventh hour to keep that open.

I'm curious as to your role in that. Has the minister asked for your advice on perhaps a next step, for CCAR funding?

[Dr. Mona Nemer]

I think PEARL is an example of what I would call a major research facility in the country, a unique facility that many scientists from different places in the country can use. We need to get our heads together and really have a strategy for major science infrastructure in the country. Actually, it's one of the recommendations of the fundamental science review, and that's one that I am certainly very eager to get on with. As a scientist and vice-president of research, I know how important this is, and we'll be looking into that.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Did the minister ask you if this bridge of funding for 18 months was a good idea or not?

[Dr. Mona Nemer]

I don't really get involved in funding decisions. The question as to whether we should maintain major science facilities in strategic areas of the country, I think, is a pretty evident one.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

The transition from the Martin government to the Harper government was a fantastic time.

That's all I wanted to say.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Sorry, we're going to move on to the next one. We're very tight on time.

Mr. Sheehan, you have five minutes.

[Terry Sheehan, Liberal, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Thank you very much for your presentation.

It truly was an honour to be there at Centre Block when your appointment was announced. There was a group of scientists there from coast to coast to coast, and there was a buzz. They were elated to see that this commitment from the platform had happened, and that we were appointing a chief science adviser.

In your role—noting that day and listening to your speech—some of the things you're supposed to do include helping to unmuzzle the scientists and make the scientific data available to the public, which is something we've been studying.

Can you share any insights on how you might proceed in doing that and advising the government?

[Dr. Mona Nemer]

Thank you. This is a very important question.

Thank you for reminding me of day one. It was a great day in my life, and I'm really humbled by the appointment and the responsibility, and the expectations of the country.

My approach is that by default scientific data should be available to the public. That being said, just making it available to the public is not the end of the story. We talked about science literacy, and the public needs to be able to access it in a user-friendly manner and make sense of it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is it's easier said than done, but we will get to it. Already there is a lot of accessible data, but again it's a matter of really making sure that.... Data storage and access is a very complicated thing.

As I mentioned, I have already asked the various departments about their practices to try to see if we can develop some shared best practices and other issues. Data storage, again, was huge for me at the University of Ottawa. It's huge for all universities. That's something I'm looking forward to working on with the entire community.

[Terry Sheehan, Liberal, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

That's absolutely excellent. You've done a lot in a very short period of time. That announcement was recent, so I commend you on that.

Also, in noting that the government has asked you to promote diversity in science and research, right now, as we speak, in my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Dr. Roberta Bondar is being put into the Walk of Fame. She was Canada's first woman in space 25 years ago and Canada's first neurologist in space. She's a friend. She always talks about how, when she was growing up, the educational system pushed her away from the sciences. She really had to push herself into the sciences.

As the committee also knows, I have a young daughter who has just begun studying science. What advice do you have for Canada to promote, in particular, young girls and women in STEM?

[Dr. Mona Nemer]

This is a question that, of course, is very dear to my heart. Throughout my career, I have gone to schools, colleges, and universities and encouraged girls to enter science and engineering and to stay in those fields, because we have a problem of attraction and retention, as well.

I think we have many organizations doing a great job in Canada, and we need to empower them even more.

I think we need to have more role models. Role models matter. They matter for minorities. They matter for women. I can see it every time I'm somewhere in public and the young girls come to me and say how important it is that they see a woman scientist in this position.

As I mentioned to your colleague here, the same thing happens with immigrants and visible minorities. I think that encouraging diversity in visible positions is already a good first step, but it's not the end. We need to maintain the outreach, facilitate all the programs, and be vigilant as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Thank you very much.

For the final two minutes, we'll have Mr. Masse.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I hope we can find some time on December 12 to talk about Mr. Bernier's motion on the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. I'll be particularly interested in some of the NDP motions related to bankruptcy protection for workers' pensions and their rights in this current legislation that were defeated by the Conservatives. I'll be eager to revisit some of those lost battles that should have been won.

I will use my remaining time to say that the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods in testing in Canada is being developed by the University of Windsor. In general, becoming educated about the subject and finding so much in relation to lost investment, so to speak, from animal testing to treatment for individuals for drugs, and so forth, and the 95% decline in terms of the value when we use animal testing versus biometrics for citizens....

Do you have any thoughts in terms of the value of this, what it could achieve, and where Canada stands in the world? What is your general perception as to what's taking place out there?

[Dr. Mona Nemer]

Before you can get a treatment for a human being, there are regulatory processes in place that need to be respected to make sure we're administering a safe substance or a safe device. These are the regulatory processes of Health Canada. They involve different stages of testing in vitro, in vivo in lower species than humans, and then other testing in humans. I don't have particular thoughts other than that we need to respect the regulations.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

I'm not saying we don't respect it, but I guess other countries are moving towards looking away from animal testing in human clinical trials. I'm just wondering where you see Canada's role in that.

[Dr. Mona Nemer]

One of the great things about tissue engineering, for example, and stem cells is precisely the ability to develop human cells that resemble a human so that you don't need to do these other stages of testing, necessarily. I think this is actually a great avenue and possibility for the future.

As we move more in that direction, I think that as science and technology evolve, our regulatory processes and legislation will also need to evolve, and anything we can do to speed the development and use of new treatments for diseases will certainly be welcomed by me.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Thank you very much. That was fantastic. Thank you for taking the time. It's been an honour to have you here today.

On that note, we are going to suspend for two minutes while we go in camera.

[Proceedings continue in camera]