MONTRÉAL, Quebec, July 14, 2005 — Massimo Pacetti, Member of Parliament for Saint-Léonard-Saint-Michel, on behalf of the Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry, today announced $19.7 million in funding for 23 Canada Research Chairs in Quebec. Funding for university researchers in Quebec from the Canada Research Chairs Program represents $16.9 million, while an additional $2.8 million has been invested by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to support research infrastructure.
This funding is part of a $62.9 million investment to support 79 Canada Research Chairs at 31 universities across Canada, which was announced on June 27, 2005, at the University of Prince Edward Island.
"The Government of Canada is continuing to build a world-class research environment in Canada by investing in new ideas and innovation, and the people who produce them," said Minister Emerson. "Today's funding will support research that is crucial to improving our environment, advancing our health care, protecting our natural resources, and making Canadians more productive and competitive, now and in future generations."
Of the 79 Canada Research Chairs, 32 are either expatriates returning to Canada or researchers coming to Canada from abroad. So far, the Canada Research Chairs Program has attracted 474 researchers from other countries. The program was designed to attract and retain the best and brightest minds from around the world.
"Quebec's universities are already among the best in the world, with top-notch faculty and modern equipment," said Mr. Pacetti. "These awards will help our institutions continue to recruit and retain innovative researchers, and strengthen Quebec's contribution to important scientific and medical advances."
One of Quebec's newest chairholders is Dr. Jody Heymann of McGill University. Appointed Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy, Dr. Heymann will look at how labour patterns and families are being transformed as societies become more urbanized. By using national surveys and large-scale ethnographic studies, she will examine how social transformations, such as the increase of women in the paid work force and the increased employment of men in industrial and post-industrial jobs, influence the health and well-being of children and families.
Today's investment also includes $8.1 million from the CFI to fund essential research infrastructure, ranging from computer equipment for information databases to housing for laboratory facilities. For a complete listing of CFI contributions, please visit the Foundation's website at http://www.innovation.ca.
Since the Canada Research Chairs Program was launched in 2000, it has created 1509 research positions at 73 Canadian universities. The Program helps universities attract and retain the best researchers and achieve research excellence in natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, and social sciences and humanities.
For more information on this announcement, including the list of recipients, please visit our website at http://www.chairs.gc.ca.
Media contacts:
Nadine May
Canada Research Chairs Program
Tel.: (613) 996-9320
Alastair Sinclair
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Tel.: (613) 996-3160
Christiane Fox
Office of the Honourable David L. Emerson
Minister of Industry
Tel.: (613) 995-9001
