Trudeau renews the mandate of Canada’s Chief Science Officer

The mandate of Canada’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Mona Nemer, has been renewed for a period of two years.

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According to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Dr. Nemer will “continue to showcase science and its benefits to Canadians and provide unbiased scientific advice to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and the Council of Ministers ”, was indicated Thursday evening, by press release.

The renewal has been effective since September 25.

Dr. Nemer, who has been in office since September 2017, has advised the Canadian government in recent months in the context of the coronavirus disease pandemic.

“I am delighted and honored to renew my mandate as Canada’s Chief Science Officer,” said Dr. Nemer.

“My team and I look forward to continuing our collaboration with Canada’s diverse, dedicated and exceptional scientific community to advise our decision-makers as we continue to fight the pandemic and build a better future for all,” a- she continued.

In May, Dr. Moner indicated that the number of tests carried out in Quebec was insufficient, which had reacted the national director of public health, Dr. Horacio Arruda.

“We see that they are increasing testing among residents of CHSLDs, but they are not increasing screening among workers to a sufficient level. [de la santé]», Declared Ms. Nemer in an interview with LCN on May 8.

“They will test them once every week or every two weeks, but that’s not enough,” she added.

Since then, the number of tests carried out in Quebec has increased considerably. On September 29, for example, more than 33,000 samples were taken.

Nonetheless, Dr. Nemer had in another interview, on May 7, criticized the lack of information from Quebec regarding the screening strategy promised by the Legault government, which had earned her a harsh response from Dr. Horacio Arruda, whose mandate has also since been renewed by the Legault government.

“I will not answer Madame given that I believe that I am not accountable to her, but to the people of Quebec, yes, then to my authorities”, said Dr. Arruda.

Dr. Mona Nemer is a medical researcher in molecular cardiology. For more than 10 years, she was vice-president of research at the University of Ottawa and, within the same institution, director of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Cardiac Regeneration. She has published over 200 scientific papers.