Health committee  I think I could take that one on. I think the ideal surveillance system is a system that captures injuries close to their real times so we could react quite quickly if we saw something happening. The ideal surveillance system would include the demographic information we would like to have to help us plan injury prevention programs such as those in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and across the country.

Health committee  Yes, of course.

Health committee  I will also answer.

Health committee  I will answer in English, if that is convenient. If we're speaking specifically about the first nations and Inuit population, there have been some strides made. On the question of the statistics for them, the health statistics are not as comprehensive as they are generally for the mainstream population, but the Assembly of First Nations launched the aboriginal longitudinal regional health survey, the second round of which has just been finished, and as researchers we are working actively with them to get some accurate statistics on all types of injury in first nations communities.

Health committee  Okay. I would partner very actively with the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami to address injuries in those very vulnerable populations and help them to have a strategy for injury prevention that works in first nations and Inuit communities. It's a huge problem there.

Health committee  The first thing would be a national strategy to get people on board and working together. I would definitely increase research funding. I am the co-principal investigator of one of the CIHR teams on child and youth injury prevention. Our approach to research is very integrated. We work with non-profit organizations--the four national NGOs--to move forward.

Health committee  Thank you very much. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the ThinkFirst Foundation of Canada. Injury affects all of us. It affects the injured person; it affects the person's family; it affects our health care system profoundly. Injury is a huge public health issue in this country.