Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his excellent speech and for his good work on the health committee.
I was wondering if he could give us his opinion in the area of research. CIHR has been funding a great deal of research on MS and to date it has funded $45 million in research on MS specifically. This new CCSVI is promising. I worked as a chiropractor for two decades and my patients who had this devastating disease were constantly looking for new hope and new treatments.
Could the hon. member comment on how the system works? In order to receive CIHR funds, researchers must apply and have their research rated excellent by a panel of peer reviewers. However, CIHR has not yet received applications in this area. The money is on the table but it has not received any applications as yet.
Could the hon. member comment on the procedure and how it should go forward, and whether he agrees with what we are doing at this time?