In what some scientists are calling a balance between U.S. restrictions and British freedoms, Canadian researchers are about to get permission to use embryonic stem cells under certain conditions.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has decided against adopting Washington's ban on funding research that uses stem cells from human embryos.

But the federal agency, which is the biggest source of grants for medical research in the country, will impose some limitations, said its president, Dr. Alan Bernstein.

Dr. Alan Bernstein
Dr. Alan Bernstein

Unlike the United Kingdom, the CIHR will not back stem cell research from cloned embryos.

"I would say our position is kind of a Canadian compromise between the American position, and for example, the U.K. position and other countries in the world," Bernstein told CBC Newsworld's Sunday Scrum.

Canada's restrictions will apply only to publicly funded research. There are no guidelines in place yet for stem cell experiments in the private sector.

Maureen McTeer
Maureen McTeer

"I think our guidelines will allow reasonable people and reasonable companies to move forward in this very, very important area of research," he said.

The new guidelines are expected to allow stem cells to be created from embryos left over from infertility treatments.

Embryonic stem cells are considered the most useful in research because they can become any type of cell, while adult stem cells are more limited.

Scientists hope to use stem cells to grow new skin for burn victims and treat neurological diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's.

The research will provide "hope and inspiration" for up to 100,000 Canadians with Parkinson's, said Mary Jardine of the Parkinson Society of Canada.

"Up until now there have been many breakthroughs, but this clearly is probably the singular most important breakthrough," said Jardine. "And it's just crucially important that we proceed with this."

The research, however, has stirred heated debate on the ethical and legal concerns.

Maureen McTeer, who sat on the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies, says Parliament is where these questions should have been debated.

"Now we have a scientific committee which is introducing public policy tomorrow... when it will in fact tell us that it will allow research on human embryos that will result in their destruction," she said.

McTeer is calling on Health Canada to immediately bring forward its proposed rules on reproduction technologies. The legislation is expected to be tabled in May.