Minister Aglukkaq's speech

Thank you, Ms. Alana DeLong for that kind introduction

Minister Jonathan Denis, Dr. Francois Belanger, Dr. Ed McCauley, Dr. Jacques Magnan, Dr. David Johnson, Dr. Braden Manns, and Dr. Tom Stelfox. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

I am honoured to be here today to represent the Government of Canada and to announce this latest round of research funding under CIHR's Partnerships for Health Systems Improvement, or "PHSI" program.

We are funding 25 research teams – with a total of $8 million from the Government of Canada and $2 million from our provincial partners in this program. Three of those teams, I'm happy to say, are based right here at the University of Calgary.

Members of all three research teams are here today, and I offer them both my congratulations and my strong wishes for their success.

CIHR's PHSI program was launched just a couple of years ago, and so far it has disbursed a total of $20 million to 63 teams across Canada. These teams bring together both health researchers and government decision makers.

It's a perfect example of CIHR's emphasis on applied knowledge translation: bringing together the researchers who produce new knowledge with the people who are in a position to use it directly – and solved health systems issues of concern – on the front lines of health care delivery across Canada.

And while I will leave it to Dr. David Johnson to talk more about the specifics of his research, let me take a moment to underscore the kind of applied results that the Alberta PHSI projects seek.

First of all, Dr. Johnson's team is tackling childhood asthma, working with Alberta Health Services, and Alberta Health and Wellness to find the best way to deliver care to children who suffer from this all too common chronic disease.

Then there's Dr. Braden Manns' team. He is studying how to best care for people with another chronic disease: diabetes. And again, Alberta decision makers and care providers are involved in the project from start to finish.

And third, Dr. Tom Stelfox's group is looking at ways to improve trauma care for people who suffer serious injuries – on the worksite, on the highways, or elsewhere. In particular, his team will interview patients and their families in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Kelowna.

All three teams are co-funded by Alberta Innovates Health Solutions – the province's health research agency.

Let me close with a few words, therefore, on the importance of partnership. Partnership is at the heart of the Partnerships for Health Systems Improvement program. All the teams we fund have built their research plans on a foundation of partnership with provincial agencies and service providers.

Health care delivery is a provincial and territorial jurisdiction. Moreover, it demands solutions at the community level. The PHSI program recognizes this through its emphasis on partnership – and this, I believe, will be the key to success for the projects being announced today.

The researchers, decision makers, and service delivery professionals involved in these projects all share the same goal: to make real improvements in health services for the benefit of Canadians, here in Calgary, across Alberta, and throughout the country, from coast, to coast, to coast.

Finally, let me once again congratulate the researchers and wish you the best of luck with your research endeavours.

Thank you.