Announcement of Collaborative Health Research Projects Program

Speaking Points

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, PC, MP
Minister of State (Science and Technology)

June 9, 2011
Toronto, Ontario

Check Against Delivery

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Mark.

It is a great pleasure for me to be here at the University of Toronto today. Thank you for joining me on this special occasion.

Our government recognizes how critical science is to improving the quality of life of Canadians and to building a stronger economy.

It's why the Prime Minister launched the federal science and technology strategy four years ago. Our commitment is to attract, develop and retain the world's best scientific minds to conduct excellent research here in Canada and to help translate that research into benefits for Canadians.

Our government has made significant new investments in science and research in successive federal budgets, and support for research has been a vital component of Canada's Economic Action Plan.

I am also pleased to say that Canada leads the G7 in higher education research and development as a percentage of gross domestic product.

This brings me to our announcement.

The Collaborative Health Research Projects Program brings together leading researchers from different fields to work on solutions that directly benefit Canadians, provide more effective health services and stimulate economic development.

These projects often generate new jobs and opportunities as university research teams develop new tools and move them into the marketplace and into practice here at home and around the world.

The investments made through this program—jointly managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research—will also support training for top-tier researchers, which will have long-term benefits for this country.

I'm pleased to announce that our government will invest $15 million at 17 universities across Canada to support new cutting-edge research in areas such as breast cancer, respiratory disease, brain function and diagnostics.

Here at the University of Toronto, seven researchers will share over $3.2 million in funding. Among these projects, three researchers will explore ways for earlier diagnosis and less invasive treatments of lung, breast and ovarian cancers. The long-term goal of these research projects is to improve the health of cancer patients in Canada and around the world.

By the time you and I drive home tonight to be with our families, ovarian cancer will have killed another five women in Canada. This year, 1,750 daughters, sisters, mothers, grandmothers and friends will die from this insidious disease.

Ovarian cancer is called the silent killer because there is no early detection test, and victims often have little warning and little time.

I wanted to come to U of T myself this morning to say thank you to the researchers working on this project. Canadians are proud of your work, and the government is proud to support it. Cancer can be beaten, and we know your research will offer hope and keep us moving in that direction.

All of these projects, at U of T and across Canada, are fine examples of partnerships involving scientists from different areas. Researchers from the fields of health sciences and engineering, and the hospital workers who will be implementing the new technologies, are working together to ensure the best technologies and products are developed.

One of the key objectives of this program is to translate research into results. This way, the health care system directly benefits from advances in technology, from the creation of new knowledge and from new resources designed to improve care.

Overall, funded projects range from fundamental knowledge creation to applied research relevant to industry or public policy. The program promotes collaboration between researchers with complementary expertise to find the best solutions to specific health problems facing Canadians.

As a result, health practitioners will receive new technologies that will allow them to better diagnose and treat serious ailments, and patients will receive a higher standard of care.

Our government is proud to support our world-class researchers working in the natural sciences, health and engineering disciplines.

It is through initiatives like this that our best and brightest researchers discover solutions that allow Canadians to live healthier lives and keep our health research on the leading edge.

I congratulate the University of Toronto and the other 16 universities for their leadership to date and for their commitment to discovery and the well-being of Canadians. I look forward to hearing about your successes in the coming years.

Thank you.