Message from the Minister of Health:  Brain Awareness Week – March 13-19, 2017

In a high-tech busy world, we can sometimes forget about our own personal super computer: the brain. The brain is a complex and fascinating organ, and it plays an undeniably critical role in our overall health and well-being.

From March 13 to 19, I invite you to think about your own brain as we celebrate annual Brain Awareness Week, a global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research.

Neurological conditions affect an estimated 3.6 million Canadians. As Minister of Health, I recognize the impact of brain-related illnesses on people in this country, and I applaud the work of the scientists who have made Canada a world leader in neuroscience research.

In February, our Government announced $42 million in funding over five years to Baycrest Health Sciences. This funding will support the Canadian Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation in the development, testing and scale-up of products and services that support brain health and aging, with a focus on dementia. Additionally, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, we have invested $640 million in funding over the past six years toward brain research.

Our partnerships with the Canadian Cancer Society, the Alzheimer Society of Canada, and the ALS Society of Canada are vital, as these organizations supported more than 130 research projects in 2016 alone. We also continue to support the research of brain scientists through the Canada Brain Research Fund, which matches federal funding with private sector funding.

I look forward to further advancing research on brain health, and to an increase in our collective understanding of its importance.

The Honourable Jane Philpott, P.C., M.P.