Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure today to mark the second anniversary of a national agency which, in the space of just two years, has revolutionized the way in which Canada directs health research.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, created by the government in June 2000, have been given the mandate of excelling in the creation of knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system.
Already, these research institutes have organized nation-wide workshops on subjects as varied as the integrity and safety of food and the water supply, bioterrorism, obesity, and genomics.
I have no doubt that with CIHR leading research programs, Canada can take its place among the world's leading nations in research and development.