Federal Funding Agencies to Launch New Panel on Ethics in Research Involving Humans

OTTAWA (November 9, 2001) – The Presidents of Canada's three federal research funding agencies, Dr. Alan Bernstein of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Dr. Tom Brzustowski of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and Dr. Marc Renaud of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), today officially launched the Panel and Secretariat on Research Ethics, a pan-Canadian initiative. The Panel and Secretariat are charged with promoting high ethical standards in Canadian research involving humans to ensure the protection of human participants.

"Today's announcement builds on the foundation of research ethics that was put in place when our three organizations published the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans," noted Drs. Bernstein, Brzustowski and Renaud. "The Panel is the culmination of thorough planning and hard work, an excellent demonstration of inter-agency cooperation, and most importantly, a clear step forward in assuring that research in all fields involving human subjects is ethically sound."

In 1998, the three federal research funding agencies issued the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) to guide the Canadian research community and to establish standards with which research institutions would have to comply as a condition of their funding. With rapidly evolving advances in knowledge, research and technology, new and challenging ethical issues continue to arise. To ensure that these and future issues are dealt with in a fair and timely fashion and to contribute to an appropriate evolution of Canadian research ethics policies and practices, the three agencies are pleased to introduce the Panel and Secretariat on Research Ethics as the cornerstone of a new governance structure for the TCPS.

"I am delighted to be part of the Panel and eager to help establish an effective and responsive process for stewardship of the TCPS. Given the importance and rapid evolution of research ethics, it is not surprising that there are many contentious issues that are already on our table for consideration and resolution," said Dr. Howard Brunt, Chair of the newly formed Panel and Associate Vice-President of Research at the University of Victoria. "I look forward to working with the Panel, the Secretariat, and the broader community as we apply ourselves to attaining the highest ethical principles for the conduct of research involving humans."

The mandate of the Panel, supported by the Secretariat, is to manage the development, interpretation, the promotion and implementation of the TCPS. The Panel begins its work immediately, with the aim of building bridges between, and forging collaborative relationships among, the three federal funding agencies, research institutions, research ethics boards, researchers, government and other organizations, and the public, in the pursuit of high ethical principles for research involving humans in Canada.

The Panel is comprised of 11 members from across the country and represents a wide spectrum of expertise and experience in research involving humans, ethics, ethics review, research administration, participation in research, and law, as well as a lay perspective. Working in collaboration with and drawing support from expert groups, the Panel will add to the substantial base of ethics knowledge and ability that already exists in Canada.

The members of the Panel are:

Dr. Howard Brunt, Chair – University of Victoria, BC
Dr. Bruce Clayman – Simon Fraser University, BC
Mr. Pierre Deschamps – McGill University, QC
Dr. Hubert Doucet – Université de Montréal, QC
Dr. Norman Frohlich – University of Manitoba, MB
Mr. Paul Johnston – Precarn Incorporated, ON
Dr. Carol Sawka – Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, ON
Ms. Maureen Smith – Ottawa, ON
Dr. Susan Sykes – University of Waterloo, ON
Dr. Will van den Hoonaard – University of New Brunswick, NB
Dr. Peter Venner – Cross Cancer Institute and University of Alberta, AB

The creation of the Panel and Secretariat will result in better protection of the human participant in research, thereby enhancing public trust in Canadian research, nationally and internationally.

Biographical information and details about the Panel and Secretariat are provided in the Terms of Reference available at www.pre.ethics.gc.ca.

CIHR is Canada's premier agency for health research. Its objective is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened health care system.

NSERC invests in people, discovery and innovation, and is the national instrument for making strategic investments in Canada's capability in science and technology.

SSHRC is an independent federal government agency that funds university-based research and graduate training in the social sciences and humanities. SSHRC-funded research helps Canadians innovate and compete, maintain their quality of life and understand a rapidly changing world.

Doré Dunne
Media and Public Relations Officer, SSHRC
Telephone: (613) 992-7302
E-mail: dore.dunne@sshrc.ca