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Council Origins

During the revision of its guidelines concerning research using human subjects, the Medical Research Council of Canada (MRC) concluded that an ethics review system based on performance of independent reviews of local research ethics boards (ERB) required ongoing support as well as information exchange. At the request of the MRC, and with grants from Heath Canada as well as the MRC, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada established the National Council on Ethics in Human Research in 1989. The College assumed this responsibility since the majority of clinical trials conducted in Canada are carried out by its certified specialists, and due to its prior experience evaluating programs in the faculties of medicine.

In 1995, the Council’s mandate was broadened in order to encompass the entire field of human research, merging all disciplines. The name of the Council was changed to the National Council on Ethics in Human Research (NCEHR) so as to better reflect the scale of this new mandate. The National Council on Ethics in Human Research is incorporated as a non-profit organization.