U of S Home to New $2-M Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture
Posted November 05, 2004
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Friday, November 5, 2004 2004-11-13-OTHER
U of S Home to New $2-M Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture
A new $2-million national network devoted to agriculture-related health and
safety research will be headquartered at the University of Saskatchewan.
The Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture (CCHSA) will
receive $2 million in operating and equipment funding over the next six
years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Federal
Finance Minister and Wascana MP Ralph Goodale has announced.
The centre will address health and safety issues for farm families and rural
workers that result from inhalation exposures, food and water contamination,
and adverse working conditions, says Dr. James Dosman, director of the U of
S Institute of Agricultural, Rural and Environmental Health, who will lead
the new centre.
"This centre will address critical issues of health and safety related to
what farm families and workers eat, drink, breathe, as well as how they live
and work," says Dosman.
Operating as a "virtual" centre with 57 researchers in 26 institutions
across Canada, the CCHSA will provide researchers with support to promote
collaborative research relationships between agricultural producers and
health professionals.
The centre is also supported by L'institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé
en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST), a private,
non-profit research organization in Quebec.
"I am pleased that the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture
will be established in the province of Saskatchewan, and will bring
researchers and decision-makers together in an effort to build our knowledge
regarding health and safety in the agriculture industry," says Goodale.
"Our province and research institutions have much to offer in this important
area and I trust that we will be able to support the development of better
policies, programs and practices."
Steven Franklin, U of S Vice-President Research, said the new centre will
strengthen the university's position as a leading centre for a broad range
of life sciences research that benefits both humans and animals.
The new centre is one of seven new health research centres launched this
week across Canada. "The effects of physical and social environments on
human health are not always optimal and sometimes poorly understood," said
CIHR President Dr. Alan Bernstein. "Through the active engagement of policy
makers and community and industry leaders, the seven centres will build
research capacity to better understand and address the impacts of programs
and policies that help to improve the quality of these environments."
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the major federal agency
responsible for funding health research in Canada. For more information,
visit: www.cihr.ca
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For more information, contact:
Dale Worobec
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1474
dale.worobec@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research
Janet Weichel
CIHR Communications
(613) 941-4563
jweichel@cihr.ca
Dr. James Dosman
Chair, Management Committee
Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture (CCHSA)
Director, Institute of Agricultural, Rural and Environmental Health
(I.ARE.H)
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-8286
james.dosman@usask.ca
