Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Oak Ridges.
It seems like a long time ago, our first caucus in Collingwood, where indeed all members of the Liberals caucus were very, very worried about the state of medical research in this country. It was January 1998, and since that time we have come to a day where members of parliament like myself are almost on a daily basis receiving extraordinarily wonderful letters from members of the research community in our country.
I would like to quote Dr. Challis, from the department of physiology, in the faculty of medicine at the University of Toronto:
The mood of the research community at the University of Toronto has never been so positive. The announcement, in the February budget of more funding for health research and the creation of CIHR, the reference to health research in the Speech from the Throne and the Prime Minister's announcement of the 21st Century Chairs for Research Excellence have contributed immensely to our confidence in performing vital research in Canada.
In my view, the legislation is well balanced and enables the Governing Council to make all decisions necessary in terms of funding programs, creation of institutes, appointment of scientific directors and advisory board members.
He continues with his thanks.
It was shortly after that Collingwood caucus that I had the opportunity to go to Winnipeg to meet with Jon Gerrard, who had previously been the minister for science and technology and who, on a napkin in the local deli, described to me his vision, with that of Dr. Henry Friesen, of what the Canadian Institutes of Health Research could look like.
Today we look at all of the concerns that were expressed and what was not happening in the previous model. There are concerns about a pure medical model in health research. We did not have an evidence based practice. The social determinants of health, poverty, violence and the environment were not being adequately dealt with in our present system. There was just not enough money for even the pure biomedical research that would actually get us a cure. These were huge concerns back in the spring of 1998.
From that day until February 1999 when we signed the health accord and the social union contract there have been commitments to move toward accountability, transparency and best practices.
It means that we get to finally move to the whole issue of what we do to keep the country healthy and how we move to be truly accountable in the outcomes of health care delivery. The solution is clear.
With regard to Canadian institutes of health research, Bill C-13 speaks of health research as the way to the future. A national coalition made up of the industry, the volunteer sector, the scientific community, universities and colleges, governments, hospitals, health care centres, venture capital, the research council and consumers, supports the CIHRs.
It is very important to take this opportunity to transform research, to fragment it into a truly integrated system.
The goal of the CIHRs is very clear. Their mission is excellence in accordance with recognized international standards of scientific excellence in the development of new knowledge and in using it to improve the health of Canadians, provide better health products and services, and strengthen the health care system in this country. The challenge is huge.
It is truly important that we move in a system that is integrated in terms of research. There will clearly be cross-cutting research themes, the basic biomedical science that must be peer reviewed and must be appropriately funded, and the applied clinical research that we must have to know whether what we are actually doing enables better outcomes.
The research in health services and health systems delivery is imperative in the fact that we no longer spend money in a way that does not work. We have to move to true accountability and stop the unnecessary surgery, unnecessary prescribing and unnecessary testing that are costing the government a huge amount of money.
There is the whole idea of society, culture and health of the population which can be a part of any integrated system of research. As well, there is the cross-country processes of peer reviews, knowledge management, ethics and partnerships which are so important.
It is clear to all researchers in the country, to all voluntary health sectors, and particularly to consumers that this is indeed a benefit for Canadians. CIHR will indeed help improve the health of Canadians and their families with new health discoveries, treatments and practices, and a much better understanding of the broad determinants of health.
The improvements to our health system and services will mean the ultimate sustainability of our health care system. It is a made in Canada solution for made in Canada research and products and an amazing opportunity for Canadian research excellence to be put forward on a global frontier.