The Council
A strong life sciences sector is critical to the resilience of our health care system, in addition to being a powerful driver of economic growth. Other nations with similar health systems are making generational investments in the life sciences — Canada must not be left behind. To that end, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its members on the Life Sciences Strategy Council are committed to making recommendations on a life sciences policy that, if implemented, will boost domestic economic development, foster better medical outcomes for Canadian patients, and make us more secure in the face of health threats.
Launched in 2022, the Council is made up of public and private sector leaders aligned in the pursuit of a globally competitive, integrated life sciences sector that spans the entire spectrum of activities from research to manufacturing to the commercialization of innovations.
Building a resilient health and life sciences system can be achieved through public-private partnerships, and a committed strategy that is inspired by a bold vision and shared purpose among all levels of government, industry and universities. The ingredients to implement such a strategy are known — Canada must strengthen pandemic preparedness and health system resilience, promote improved health outcomes for Canadian patients, and foster a world-class life sciences ecosystem as a driver of jobs and growth.
Policy Priorities
Government must:
- Continue the efforts of the Health Emergency Readiness Canada (HERC) to build a world-class life sciences ecosystem as the sine qua non to ensure health emergency preparedness and resilience.
- Create a mechanism for industry input on the execution of the HERC’s mandate to ensure that it is optimally working to address the needs of our life sciences sector and improve health emergency readiness.
- Leverage public-private collaboration to implement the recommendations of the pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy and Interoperability roadmap and implement legislation to prevent data blocking by ensuring the interoperability of health information technologies.
Government must:
- Work with provinces and territories to identify and deploy supports needed to reduce barriers to hiring highly skilled foreign talent.
- Enhance the system for foreign credential recognition and further enhance domestic skills development programs.
- Reskilling and upskilling life sciences talent, building on successful programs like the adMare Academy Executive Institute and Bio Innovation Scientist program, the Canadian Alliance for Skills Training in Life Sciences (CASTL), and universities/colleges’ initiatives.
Government must:
- Work more closely with the United States and other nations to reduce trade barriers.
- Work with the sector to identify and pursue opportunities to better integrate Canadian companies into global supply chains.
- Ensure long-term supply chain resiliency by pursuing a stronger and diversified Canadian manufacturing footprint, a wide supplier base, flexible production and logistics capacity, and mitigation plans for distribution network transparency.
Government must:
- Build on Canada’s progress in streamlining regulatory approval and relevant review processes to attract more clinical trials.
- Help Canada distinguish itself as having highly competitive timelines for approving and conducting clinical trials and the dissemination of data.
Co-Chairs
Isabelle Caron
Biologics Manufacturing Centre
Gordon McCauley
adMare BioInnovations
For more information on the Life Sciences Strategy, please contact Kathy Megyery, Senior Vice-President, General Manager, Quebec.
Updates
Blog: Life Sciences Summit: Accelerating Canada’s Health Data Ecosystem. Read more.
Blog: #PatientsAreWaiting For a Canadian Health Data Ecosystem. Read more.
Submission: To the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology on Bill C-27. Read more.
Video: What the Health and Life Sciences Ecosystem Needs Today. Watch video.
OP-ED: Preparing our medical system for the next pandemic, The Hill Times. Read more.
Members
Other Councils
Innovative Infrastructure Council
Energy Security Council
