Madam Chair, the question that is more pertinent to the issue I have just raised is what the government is doing to address increasing kidney failures among Canadians. The Government of Canada directly contributes to the prevention of kidney disease through the Canadian diabetes strategy, the aboriginal diabetes initiative and the integrated strategy on healthy living and chronic disease.
Over the past four years, the government, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, has committed close to $23 million to research directly related to kidney disease. The Government of Canada plays a role in the regulation of the safety of organs and tissues used for transplantation through the Safety of Human Cells, Tissues and Organs for Transplantation Regulations.
The federal government has already invested close to $120 million in the past decade in areas of organ and tissue donation and transplantation to help prepare the ground for system transformation. This includes almost $69 million in transplantation research from 2000 to 2010, close to $49 million to CBS and to OTD processors, the Canadian Council for Donation and Transplantation.