Thank you very much, Madam Chair and members of the committee, for the invitation to be here today.
I want to begin by acknowledging that I'm speaking to you today from the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin and Anishinabe people.
My name is Michelle Boudreau. As you already know, I'm the associate assistant deputy minister of the health policy branch at Health Canada, and I work very closely with my colleague at ISED, Nipun Vats, whom you just heard from.
I will not revisit the topics that my colleague has covered in his statement. Instead, I'll take a few minutes to speak about health research and its importance to the health of Canadians.
Health research creates the scientific evidence and knowledge needed to support the health and wellness of people in Canada. It is vital for decision-makers at all levels of government. Health research also helps health professionals, policy-makers, health system administrators and others make informed decisions.
Canada has a strong health research community, with research in universities, colleges and polytechnics, in hospitals, in affiliated research institutes and in government and private sector research facilities as well.
The Canadian Institute of Health Research, CIHR, has also been central to the development of Canada's vibrant health research community.
Health research and innovations are constantly changing to address the complex and emerging issues impacting people's health. Research has needed to become increasingly collaborative in response. This is where the capstone organization will play a vital role.
Moving forward, we anticipate that the capstone's objective of maximizing the impact of research by increasing collaboration and by better supporting research that crosses disciplines and sectors will have great benefits for health for all Canadians.
Bringing together health, social sciences and natural sciences will create opportunities to address the disparities that affect the health and well‑being of Black and racialized people, people with disabilities, 2LGBTQIA+ people and other communities.
We also see an opportunity to advance reconciliation by promoting collaboration and co‑development with indigenous communities, with organizations and with academics in order to address the disparities that affect the health and well‑being of members of first nations, Inuit and Métis communities.
According to the research community, making sure that the capstone organization, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research or CIHR, the Minister of Health and other health partners maintain strong ties will play a vital role in the capstone organization's success. We remain committed to maintaining these ties.
These ties will also play a key role in ensuring that emerging health issues are given prominence; that research evidence informs health policies, programs and regulations; and that health research gets integrated into strategic initiatives.
At Health Canada, in particular, our deep and lasting ties with CIHR, and in turn with the health research community, ensure that we can apply research evidence to our work.
Through our collaboration with CIHR, we can also help the Canadian health research community to better understand the critical questions and issues that we face, resulting in more targeted advice and more effective health research.
I'll end my remarks here. My colleague, Dr. Clifford, CIHR's acting president, will also be appearing later today. She can elaborate on the feedback from the health research community regarding the capstone organization.
Thank you for giving me the floor today. I look forward to answering your questions.