I have been mulling over this project for a long time. I simply do not have the funds necessary to carry it out. The Public Health Bureau of Montreal developed an absolutely wonderful tool for researchers and decision-makers. The tool makes interactive health data accessible, when there is data. Therefore, we must have access to census data and administrative data on health. We must also have results on studies carried out on the population and make sure that those particular data are incorporated properly.
You, members of Parliament, may be wondering what is the situation of francophones. With this project, it is possible to obtain administrative health data. For example, in the footsteps of the Public Health Bureau of Montreal, we can understand how people interface with health care services, and how often. This tool is not costly, but money is needed to get it up and running. To obtain additional funding, we have to compete for financing, which is very difficult and competitive. The success rate is not higher than 20 per cent. To obtain funding, researchers must have a very solid reputation.
That is why I am an advocate of a national research institute on sociolinguistic communities living in a minority setting, and research on health. The institute would provide bona fide data on all of these needs and make the useful tools accessible.