"... Mr. Speaker, I am announcing today that the government of Canada will mandate the Canadian Academies of Science. We seek to create a national alliance of leading scientific and engineering societies, one that will operate at arm’s length from government and receive operational funding of $35-million over the next 10 years. The new Academies of Science will be a source of expert advice on scientific aspects of important domestic and international issues, and will give our country a prestigious voice among the choir of international science groups."

The new Canadian Academies of Science has been renamed the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA). As announced by the Prime Minister, the CCA is an alliance of three organizations:

• The Royal Society of Canada (RSC)
• The Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE)
• The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS)

While the first two of these Member Academies existed prior to 2004, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences only came into being that year. Prior to this, the Canadian Institute of Academic Medicine represented the interests of the health science community and undertook the necessary transition, in association with all health science disciplines, to a truly broad based and representative body, namely the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.