To echo the theme of the Thomas Friedman bestseller, the world is getting flat; creating significant challenges and tremendous new opportunities for countries around the globe.
Unique amongst the OECD nations, Canada is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, buying us time and money to deal with these challenges including global warming, the emergence of entirely new infectious pathogens, and the growing gaps between rich and poor in access to 21st century health care. Canada is also blessed with a democratic and stable society, a strong higher education sector, a world-class university research enterprise, and arguably, the best health care system on the planet.
How should we seize this convergence of strengths, both for our own benefit and to help our flat world deal with the challenges outlined above? As inaugural President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Dr. Alan Bernstein believes that strong science and good health are essential starting points. He also believes that Canada is exceptionally well positioned to emerge as a health and science superpower in this flat world, if we are prepared to take the necessary steps to realize this vision. He will explain how we can do this when he joins us on Monday, March 26th.
