Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  There are key tables that these issues could be raised at, so that the levels of government could be working together to start to address some of these things that perhaps are delivered by a province or a territory but that we want to be universally available across the country.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Do you mean the difficulty in funding research?

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Yes, there is definitely a need for a very solid peer-reviewed research process, so that we know that good work is being funded and the work that's being funded has the feasibility of delivering results. So the scrutiny and the review process is important, but that's not to say that it can't be improved upon.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I go back to the recommendation we've made around the national brain strategy overall, which is that we've come a long way, but a tremendous number of conversations need to be initiated and facilitated. I would suggest that a brain bank conversation is one of those things that's part of a research strategy, part of a national research approach to neuroscience in Canada, and there probably hasn't been the convening of a conversation of neuropathologists and people who can tell us the benefit of having brain banks.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I would like to comment...and the only reason I know this is I spent a lot of time with a neuropathologist one day when we were originally scoping out the national population study. There are actually many brain banks in Canada, several big ones. The problem is, much like what I spoke about in terms of registries, they're not linked.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  It's an exciting target because it gives us all something to move forward to collectively. It's important for the subcommittee to also know that the EU has funded a study very similar to the national population health study that's happening in Canada right now, and it's actually on the same timeline.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I know a little bit about this because we do have a registry component in the national population health study. In Canada, generally, registries have not been pulled together in a coordinated strategic fashion. Generally, you have a particular clinician or investigator or small group that is particularly interested, so registries pop up regionally.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I will not be here in 2030.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  To answer your first question, the study is going well, but it's a large study and there are lots of people involved. We took the time at the onset of the study to engage the community of stakeholders to determine the priority areas of study, and 3,000 Canadians across the country contributed to that understanding.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Although I know we're talking primarily about Alzheimer's disease, I'd like to mention that the issues and the examples illustrated through the Alzheimer's lens are relevant across the spectrum of neurological conditions. This relates particularly to caregiving. There are mothers caring for children with severe neurological and physical disabilities as a result of their neuro-developmental condition.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm delighted to be with you today. I was joking earlier that it's nice to be invited up to the big table, because I've had the pleasure and privilege of observing some of your hearings and have been very moved and compelled by much of what you've heard.