Dr. Brad Wouters, the Executive Vice-President of Science and Research at University Health Network and a long-standing member of HealthCareCAN’s Vice Presidents of Research Committee was featured this week in an important piece (subscription required) in the Hill Times highlighting the dire funding situation that Canada’s health research community is facing.
Dr. Wouters highlighted the fact that the 2022 Federal Budget, released on April 7th, did not provide increased funding for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a particularly disappointing development considering how the pandemic has very clearly demonstrated the benefits of investing in health research and innovation.
HealthCareCAN has continued to stress the importance of health research investment in our recommendations to the federal government, which also contain key actions to strengthen health research and innovation in Canada so that we can all emerge stronger from the pandemic.
While the federal government may point to the instances of one-time funding provided throughout the pandemic as proof of its ongoing support for the health research sector, what Canada – and its health research sector – actually needs is a fundamental shift in how governments view and support health research.
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HealthCareCAN eagerly awaited concrete outcomes on health system improvement from yesterday’s Council of the Federation Health Summit. While we are heartened that climate change and infrastructure – important challenges facing both people and health systems across Canada – were discussed, the lack of forward movement to address the many urgent and complex challenges that patients,
