Taleeb Noormohamed

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow Canadians will welcome His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the 50th hereditary imam of the Ismaili Muslims, to Canada. It is his first visit to Canada since his ascension to the imamate. Canada and the Ismaili imamate have a decades-long history of partnership and co-operation, built on shared values and a commitment to improving the quality of life of people around the [more]

Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Annan, how long have you been with the organization?

Is it fair to say that this government has been consistent in increasing your funding and giving you the support that's been required to do the work you need to do?

Would it concern you if government were directing what you could or could not research?

I guess, then, that the question becomes, how do we ensure in this conversation that when we're talking about governance, when we're talking about making sure that structures are in place, government is not imposing on researchers and on research?

If I were to tell you that the cuts were to appropriate drug cases for hepatitis C patients and other folks who were receiving care, as well as to programs and research supporting farmers and crops and profitability for farmers, would that seem reasonable to you? Would that seem to be the type of cuts the organization would have seen?

Do you have any context on the cuts that you could share with this committee?

Are you aware of the significant cuts your organization underwent in 2014?

Those significant cuts were made by a Conservative government. Can you talk a little bit about how, after 2015, your funding was increased?

I note the questions asked by my friend opposite and his concern for some of the cuts and some of the challenges you now face. If, for example, a government that was not this government, but the party opposite, had taken power, would you have had any concerns about the fact that there were targeted restrictions on research on such things as embryonic research and stem cell research?

If I were to dig in a bit, then, on embryonic research, what would be the risks if Canada were to say that we're no longer going to do embryonic research?