For the Record (The Territories’ Equivalent of a Cabi- Universities and Prosperity Net) and Became the Minister of Finance and House Leader

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For the record (the Territories’ equivalent of a cabi- Universities and prosperity net) and became the minister of finance and house leader. Aglukkaq became niversities perform a third of the Rookie appointed federal Nunavut’s minister of health and social research and development con- health minister services in June 2005 and resigned Uducted in Canada, thereby con- from territorial politics earlier this year. tributing an estimated $60 billion to the t’s already safe to call newly minted Aglukkaq was embroiled in several national economy, according to a report Member of Parliament Leona controversies over the course of her released by the Ottawa-based Association I Aglukkaq (Nunavut) a history- tenure as territorial health minister, in- of Universities and Colleges of Canada. maker. She’s the first Inuk to be ap- cluding the loss of accreditation by the The report, Momentum: The 2008 pointed to senior cabinet post, having Baffin Regional Hospital. She also report on university research and been named federal Minister of Health came under fire when nurses who had knowledge mobilization, released Oct. during Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s been hired from abroad failed their reg- 21, states that $29 billion was spent on Oct. 30 postelection portfolio shuffle. istered nursing exams, and took consid- Canadian research in 2007. The private The Conservative rookie shocked erable political heat when her deputy sector contributed the most ($13.8 bil- political observers by being elevated to minister, Bernie Blais, resigned in a lion), followed by the federal govern- such a senior portfolio — with respon- dispute over whether some patients ment ($5.4 billion), universities ($4.8 sibility for oversight of about $4.73 bil- should be airlifted to Winnipeg for billion), foreign sources ($2.6 billion), lion in federal spending — where she is treatment, a move Aglukkaq opposed. provincial governments ($1.5 billion) expected to provide a major boost to The Baffin Regional Hospital lost its and nonprofits ($850 million). the profile of Aboriginal health issues. accreditation from Accreditation The commercialization of university Aglukkaq’s office indicated she is Canada (formerly the Canadian Coun- intellectual property generated $54 mil- unavailable for comment on her priori- cil on Health Services Accreditation) lion in 2006, a 131% increase from the ties as health minister until after she on Dec. 31, 2005, after it was found to $23.4 million generated in 1999. Com- has completed briefing sessions with have too few nurses and maintenance mercialization generates additional her department. staff, while being run with outdated ad- wealth for Canada, the report claims, Aglukkaq served 6 years as a hamlet ministrative systems. Among findings through job creation, increased export councillor for Cambridge Bay before was that the hospital lacked an infection- sales and local socio-economic devel- moving into the territorial civil service, control plan and a human resources opment. It is estimated that firms asso- where her duties included a stint as plan. In response, the territorial govern- ciated with universities employed deputy clerk of the legislative assembly ment pumped in $2.3 million to fund 35 000 people in 2006 and generated and another as deputy minister for cul- 26 new positions at the hospital. As $7.1 billion in sales. ture, language, elders and youth. health minister, Aglukkaq subsequently The report claims that university re- She was elected to the 19-member oversaw the opening of the Qikiqtani search is a “critical driver of prosperity territorial government of Nunavut and General Hospital (after 11 years of de- and quality of life in Canada.” The the Northwest Territories in the riding velopment) in Iqaluit as a replacement overall impact of university research on of Nattilik in 2004. She was subse- for the Baffin. — Wayne Kondro, Canada's gross domestic product is esti- quently elected to the executive council CMAJ mated at $60 billion, using an academic model that considers such factors as the commercialization of intellectual property, the higher incomes earned by university graduates and the contribution of academic research to enhanced lev- els of productivity. There are 5 “drivers of change” that will impact university research in the future, added the report: heightened recognition of the links between university research and national prosperity, the global race for research talent, the growing costs of research, the increased emphasis on measuring out- comes, and the trend of partnering across institutions, sectors and geo-

The Canadian Press / Paul Chiasson graphic borders. — Roger Collier, CMAJ Prime Minister Stephen Harper and federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq stroll in Iqaluit, Nunavut . DOI:10.1503/cmaj.081759