The federal government is contributing more than $10 million toward the creation of a new nuclear medicine facility in B.C.
The Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes will focus on drug development, cancer therapy, medical isotope production and other advancements that will benefit Canadians living with illnesses, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday while announcing the new funding.
"(It) will be a state-of-the-art facility where industry leaders and academics can work together to push the boundaries of research and discover new ways to protect and improve our health," Trudeau said in a statement.
The federal funding adds to the $12 million contributed by the B.C. government and $5 million from TRIUMF, Canada's particle accelerator centre, which is located at the University of British Columbia.
UBC and BC Cancer also contributed $2 million each to the facility.
Medical isotopes are "safe radioactive substances used by health professionals to diagnose and treat health conditions of the heart, circulatory system, and organs," according to a release from the Prime Minister's Office.
Trudeau talks housing, transit with newly elected mayors
During his visit to the city, the prime minister met with Vancouver mayor-elect Kennedy Stewart.
"The federal government has a very ambitious plan for housing in the country and I know that because I was there for a long time and while the prime minister made these promises. I know it’s at the top of his agenda," the former NDP MP said Thursday, "so anything that the prime minster will offer us at this time is essential to our success and I'm really looking forward to talking to him today about these solutions.”
Stewart made it clear throughout his campaign that Vancouver deepening affordable housing crisis is his top priority, adding that any help from Ottawa is welcome.
“There’s a lot the city can do on their own. And in my plan I said the city can build 25,000 not-for-profit affordable rental units on city land and that’s great," he said ahead of the meeting. "But to have federal and provincial money come in and help us is fantastic and that’s what I hope we’ll be talking about today is the federal government’s role in this."
Trudeau also met with Surrey mayor-elect Doug McCallum, who ran on a pledge to abandon already approved plans for light rail in the city in favour of a SkyTrain line.
When asked if Ottawa would be willing to spend more money to accommodate McCallum's change of plans, Trudeau told The Canadian Press "Our approach on infrastructure projects has never been that Ottawa knows best. We always have believed that working with folks on the ground, locally elected representatives who tell us and who know best what the needs of their communities are."
With files from CTV Vancouver's Jon Woodward and The Canadian Press
