Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen was among 17,000 people to attend a Bio Conference in Boston last week. Goertzen says he was there as part of a Canadian delegation to make a pitch for our country and our province as great places to do medical research.

"There are lots of opportunities for Canada to become a more significant player in that particular industry, particularly in Manitoba, which has great data for clinical trials and for research. I think there's a lot more that we can do in Manitoba in terms of attracting some of that business and some of those trials and some of that research. We are a relatively small province in population with 1.2-1.3 million people, but when you're talking about research or a clinical trial, it's more than enough to get an accurate understanding of whether or not something has efficacy when it comes to research. I think there's great potential there."

Goertzen adds he took an opportunity at the conference to meet with representatives from Valeant Pharmaceuticals. He notes they are thrilled with their Steinbach operation.