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Canadian for Health Research

Logo of CHR
Abbreviation	CHR
Type	Registered Charitable Organization
Registration no.	1144223147
Legal status	dissolved
Purpose	CHR is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to engaging Canadian adults and youth in understanding health research issues, scientific processes and their impact, through education and advocacy.
Headquarters	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Official language	EN/FR

Canadian for Health Research (CHR; French: Les Canadiens pour la recherche médicale, CRM) is a registered national not-for-profit organisation founded in 1976 and dedicated to engaging Canadian adults and youth in understanding health research issues, scientific processes and their impact, through education and advocacy.

Since 1976, CHR has contributed to the public understanding of progress achieved by members of Canada’s medical and scientific communities. Under the leadership of Patricia Guyda, supported by the efforts of a dedicated volunteer board of directors, the organisation has served as Canada’s premier grass roots science advocacy and outreach organisation.

CHR has developed a strong portfolio of programs and services that communicate the importance of health research to Canadian youth and adults. Amongst many accomplishments, CHR was instrumental in campaigning for the creation of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

On Saturday, November 11, 2017, the Annual General Meeting unanimously approved the dissolution of Canadians for Health Research (CHR/CRM) effective December 31, 2017.

Mission and Vision

Through education and advocacy, CHR addresses Canadian adults and youth to promote an appreciation of health research issues, scientific processes and their impact. By engaging the public, the scientific community, and government, CHR is also committed to improving the stability and quality of Canadian health research.

The work of the organisation embraces three core principles:

• The primacy of human health.
• A respect for animals: encouraging the development and use of reliable non-animal methods while advocating for the humane and responsible use of laboratory animals where no viable alternative exists.
• A commitment to effective dialogue among all stakeholders in the health research enterprise.

The main goals of the organisation are:

• To develop, support and deliver timely and effective education and communication programs.
• To be a leading agency of reliable public information on matters related to health research.
• To be recognised as an effective advocate for informed discussion about issues relating to health research.
• To obtain adequate resources to ensure that CHR can fulfil its mission.

The main activities of the organisation are:

• Profile Canadian scientists and identifies their contributions to improving our health.
• Report on public expenditures for health research projects.
• Create a forum where mutual problems, concerns and interests can be discussed by the public, the voluntary health agencies, the scientific/medical community and government.
• Provide information about science policy in Canada.
• Emphasise the impact of basic, clinical and community health research on Canadian health care.
• Encourage adequate, long-term funding for research in general and health research in particular in our country.

History

In 1976, the federal government froze the budget of the Medical Research Council of Canada (MRC) for that fiscal year. The response in Montreal was to organize a series of meetings to study the continuing problems of health research in Canada and to discover and discuss alternatives which could help rectify that immediate funding crisis. With the active participation of voluntary agencies, concerned citizens and members of the scientific community, a new voluntary organization was conceived. In February 1976, Canadians for Health Research (CHR) was founded.

Programs and Services

• Future Health (1979-2017): a unique, 24-page quarterly magazine, devoted to highlighting Canadian health research: features include latest discoveries and milestones, researcher achievements and introspective articles translating how research innovations may change our everyday lives.

• Youth Health Awareness Award (1985-2005): A national essay competition to stimulate student interest in health research and related research.

• The Diary (1987- 2017): A twelve-page quarterly newsletter that monitors animal related issues nationally and internationally with a particular emphasis on the activities of the animal “rights” movement as they relate to the care and use of experimental animals.

• A True Story (1989 – revised 2010): All the facts you need to know about animals and biomedical research. A four-colour illustrated monograph that provides a matter-of-fact presentation on animals and medical research

• Road to Discovery (1994): Published in 1994 with the Medical Research Council of Canada (which became the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in 2000) to promote student awareness of research in health-care delivery and stimulate their interest in science as a career choice. Copies are no longer available.

• Organized seven conference/workshops including Security and Legal Issues: Protecting your Interests (1994) and Research Ethics Boards: Today and Tomorrow (1997)

• Sanofi Pasteur Medal of Excellence in Heath Research Journalism (1995 – 2017): Highlight the pivotal role that journalist play in raising public awareness of Canadian health research. The medal is presented at an appropriate venue and later announced at the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame induction banquet.

• The use of Animals in Product Safety Testing (1995)

• Journey Into Genetics (1996)

• 30 Years of Health Research series (2007-2010): to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Canadians for Health Research, the Board of Directors published a series of monographs that reports on 30 years of progress in scientific research that is vital to the health of Canadians.

• Importance of Animals in Research: A 7-part series on the contribution of various animal models to medical progress reproduced with the permission of the Foundation for Biomedical Research.

• Salute to Excellence (1992): Ask the average Canadian to name a few scientists who have made a major contribution to the advancement of medical science and the never-ending battle against disease. He or she will pause, ponder and then maybe, just maybe confidently replay: “Sir Frederick Banting”. And with rare exception, the list will end there. Most Canadians are simply unaware of the glowing achievements by Canadian medical researchers which, in the 20th century, have helped alleviate suffering by control or cure of diseases. Unfortunately, their accomplishments, which have had a profound impact in improving health and prolonging life both in Canada and internationally, are not to be found in one neat book on a library shelf; you have to search to find them. CHR conducted this search in 1992 with the help of others in the scientific community. It was by no means a definitive glossary of “who did what” in Canada. Rather, it was a modest attempt at providing a thumbnail sketch of some of the achievements of Canadian medical research during this century. It is our “salute to excellence”. We are pleased to share some excerpts from that publication

Board of Directors

Patricia Guyda: President from 1977 to 2017 was instrumental in the creation of the Organisation. Patricia dedicated herself to promoting high quality health care research and received multiple awards during her career: Order of Canada; Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation Distinguished Service Award, Partners in Research Ronald G. Calhoun Science Ambassador Award; Gordon Kaplan Award.

List of Board Members and their years in service

Board Member	Years in Service		Board Member	Years in Service		Board Member	Years in Service		Board Member	Years in Service		Board Member	Years in Service
Michael A. Adams	1989-2000		André Duval	1993-1997		Sidney Katz	1979-1980		Don McKibbin	2002-2004		John H. Spencer	2000-2006
Helen Arpin	1985-1986		Jilly Evans	1992-1997			1985-1996			2014-2017		Arnold H. Steinberg	1977-1978
Leslie Ballentine	2005-2014		Rita Funder	1977-1978		Nancy Kelly	2003-2007		J. McNeil	1992-1995		Samantha Stewart	1977-1979
André Barbeau	1978-1980		Catherine Gallagher	1979-1980		Paul Kelly	1985-1986		Gabrielle Ostro	1988-1995		Anne Marie Taylor	1991-1995
Ileana Barr	1977-1979		Lorella Garofalo	2005-2013		Don Kemp	2000-2003		Andrée Panisett	1988-1989		William G. Tholl	1992-1997
Luis Barreto	2004-2009		Douglas Geekie	1985-1993		Edwin Kroeger	1994-1997		Charles Pitts	2001-2005			1998-2001
Michel Bergeron	1979-1980		Joan Glenn-Willemot	1978-1979		John Kucharczyk	1979-1980		Barry I. Posner	1977-1978		Bill Thomas	1996-1997
Harry Botterell	1979-1980			1985-1996		Frank LaBella	1978-1979		Gillian Rankin	1989-1992		Maggie Torrey	1977-1978
Jean Branchaud	1991-1999		Hy Goldman	1977-1979		Fernand Labrie	1985-1987		Stan Richards	1979-1980		Louise Vaillancourt	1994-1997
Philip E. Branton	1989-1990		Anne Gordon	1985-1988		Marie-André Laniel	1997-2003		Harold Rode	1985-1990		Patrick Vinay	1986-1987
Kathy Butler	1978-1979		Jim Gourdon	2007-2017		Stéphanie Lassonde	2008-2011		David S. Rosenblatt	1996-1997			1996-1997
Peter J. Campbell	1988-1991		Leonard Greenberg	1977-1979		Wayne W. Lautt	1988-1994			1998-200			1999-2000
Gilles Catafard	1977-1978		Jack Greenstein	1977-1979		Fleur-Ange Lefebvre	1997-2003		Claude C. Roy	1990-1996		Michael Walcroft	1995-1996
Carol Clemenhagen	1994-1996		Bill Groom	1979-1980		Herb Lett	1985-1989		Danuta Rylski	1985-1988		Jim Wasilenko	1978-1979
Douglas Cohen	1977-1978		John T. Hamilton	1985-1991		Tim Lougheed	2002-2017		Thomas Sandor	1977-1978		Todd Watkins	2003-2006
Eileen Deutsch	1985-1987		Joanne Harack	1991-2015		Peter Lowry	1978-1979		Gordon Saunders	1978-1979		Joel Weiner	2000-2013
Nancy Dorrance	2010-2011		Patricia Harris	1977-1979		Eileen Macallum	2003-2013		Krista Scaldwell	2009-2012		Ted Wickwire	1978-1979
Harriet Drake	1977-1978		Walter Hendelman	1978-1979		Robert E. MacKenzie	2005-2009		Bonnie Schmidt	1994-2006		Louise Winn	2006-2013
	1979-1980		Robert A. Hickie	1978-1979		Stuart MacLeod	2009-2013		Michael Schunk	1997-2002		James Wong	2001-2009
Wes Drodge	1985-1988		Betty Holmes	1978-1979		Adrian Maris	1977-1978		Lawrence Sereacki	2007-2011		Nancy Simpson	2013-2017
Annette Dukszta	1985-1986		Irene Hughes	1979-1980		Margaret McDonald	1978-1979		Nicholas Sinclair	1978-1979		Fanny Dupuy	2016-2017
Onil Dupuis	1991-2000		Peggy Johnson-Lussenberg	1991-2003		Patrick McGee	1987-1996		Inger Slater	1977-1978		Richard Renlund	2016-2017

Notice of closure

“Since 1976, Canadians for Health Research, a national, not-for-profit organization, has contributed to the public understanding of progress achieved by members of Canada’s medical and scientific communities. Under the leadership of Patricia Guyda, supported by the efforts of a dedicated volunteer board of directors, and without any government funding, the organization has served as Canada’s premier grass roots science advocacy and outreach organization. Despite minimal financial resources, numerous publications, programs and services, including intelligence on animal “rights” activism as it impacts health research, have been delivered with credibility and integrity. Amongst many accomplishments, CHR was instrumental in campaigning for the creation of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Over the past year, CHR’s Board of Directors has faced a fundamental decision concerning ongoing viability of the organization. Over the past several years, the board actively explored various organizational, management and funding mechanisms that might serve to sustain CHR going forward. These included out-sourcing administration to a third-party firm that specializes in small, non-profit operations; meeting with academic institutions to explore endowing a university position that could deliver some of CHR’s current research and communication functions; merging with an organization that shares CHR’s goals; and a range of fund raising options that would allow CHR to fill one or more management roles.

Unfortunately, none of these efforts bore fruit. Given the greatly increased competition amongst organizations dedicated to advocating for health research, the plethora of special interests that have evolved over time to address issues related to research funding, and the glut of information (not all of it credible) with which the public is currently bombarded, the Board has concluded that the expenditures required to support CHR’s work exceed potential revenue sources, and that no viable realistic alternatives exist.

In view of the foregoing, and with deep regret, the Board proposes to dissolve Canadians for Health Research while sufficient resources remain to ensure a responsible and comprehensive process of dissolution. We have retained legal counsel to guide us through each step, with particular emphasis on protecting the name “Canadians for Health Research.” The credibility and good will associated with this name, after more than four decades, is a legacy that we must strive to protect from co-option for other purposes.

While dissolution is in no way a satisfying solution to a complex problem, we trust that the many people who have supported CHR over its lifetime will share our conclusion that it is a realistic and practical approach. We owe a debt of gratitude to all of you who have made this work well worthwhile, and assure you that the same professional standards we have upheld since our beginning will be adhered to at our end.

Thank you to the dedicated supporters and readers of Future Health. Your contributions and curiosity about the groundbreaking scientific research in this country in the healthcare field have propelled this organization forward for over 40 years. A special thanks and tribute to Pat Guyda, CM, for her years of steadfast dedication to this worthy cause.”

Tim Lougheed, Chairman