OTTAWA - In response to the federal government's national consultation focusing on short-term economic stimulus options that could be contained in Budget 2009, 7 National Health Organizations - which represent the full continuum of the health discovery process, from discovery research, to health system innovations and commercialization - have released a Brief entitled "A Stimulus for Science & Technology".

Given the diversity of National Health Organizations, the development of a common Brief is unprecedented and identifies a series of recommendations in four strategic areas for the knowledge-based economy (tax policy, infrastructure, people, and discovery research) that are designed to not only provide a short-term boost to the economy, but to position Canada for sustained economic prosperity over the medium- and longer-term.

The Brief also builds on the federal government's science & technology strategy released in 2007 by ensuring that Canada continues to have the tools to compete in an increasingly competitive and interdependent global economy that prizes the creation and ownership of new knowledge.

In short, this Brief and its recommendations reinforce the strong linkages between good public policy and the health and wealth of all Canadians.
The authors of the Brief are:

- Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations
(ACAHO) - www.Acaho.org
- Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) - www.Afmc.ca
- BIOTECanada - www.Biotech.ca
- Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) - www.Canadapharma.org
- Health Charities Coalition of Canada (HCCC) - www.HealthCharities.ca
- MEDEC - Canada's Medical Technology Companies - www.Medec.org
- Research Canada: An Alliance for Health Discovery - www.rc-rc.ca