At this week’s Digital Canadian Chamber of Commerce Convention, the Surrey Board of Trade composed a policy asking the federal government to lead an international initiative to create a global research fund to finance innovative technologies and research for the diagnosis and treatment of emerging pathogens and quick, equitable, and universal deployment of effective treatments to benefit human life and global economy. This policy was approved during the Canadian Chamber policy session as a priority that the federal government must address.
Health Canada and other international health organizations are working with researchers and manufacturers to help expedite the development and availability of vaccines, antibodies, and drugs to prevent and treat COVID-19 and other future viral threats. Once a vaccine has been successfully developed, they must be effective, affordable and accessible to everyone, quickly, to prevent ongoing transmission and to facilitate the return of the domestic and global economy.
The specific ask to the Federal Government:
1. To lead an international initiative to create a global research fund to finance innovative technologies and research for the diagnosis and treatment of emerging pathogens and quick, equitable, and universal deployment of effective treatments to benefit human life and global economy.
a. Establish the process for evaluating successful trials;
b. determine the criteria for selecting vaccines for Canadian market approval; and,
c. an immediate expansion of domestic manufacturing capacity.
“COVID-19 has created extraordinary circumstances and responses worldwide resulting in the complete shutdown of the global economy and increased debt to unthinkable levels, creating high unemployment and poverty not seen since the Great Depression,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “Experts agree that given increasing global population, travel and interconnectedness of economies there is an increasing risk of ongoing pandemics.”
FULL POLICY: https://businessinsurrey.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Global-Research-Fund.pdf
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For further details, please contact:
Anita Huberman, CEO
anita@businessinsurrey.com
D: 604.634.0342
C: 604.340.3899
