Hon. Gary Goodyear on Budget 2010

As the Minister of State for Science and Technology, I am proud to outline new investments made in the recent budget that underscore our government’s ongoing commitment to Canada’s economy of tomorrow. Even as we continue to face challenging economic times, the federal government recognizes that our country’s future prosperity depends on our collective capacity to innovate and compete.

This government has a longstanding commitment to science and technology and innovation. In 2007, we released our Science and Technology Strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage.

In every federal budget since then, we have announced new funding to support that strategy. In fact, since it took office the government has pledged more than $2.2 billion - in budgets 2006, 2007 and 2008, and some $5 billion last year as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. 

This budget, really Year 2 of the EAP, builds on our S&T strategy and previous investments. We continue our commitment to highly qualified people, scientific knowledge and an entrepreneurial culture through support for the best educated and most skilled workforce as part of Canada’s knowledge-based economy.

Our government seeks to maintain Canada’s leadership in the G-7 in higher education research and development performed as a percentage of our economy. This budget will increase the federal granting councils’ combined annual budgets by $32 million per year.

We will add $8 million per year to the Indirect Costs of Research Program to help Canada’s universities, colleges and research hospitals pay for the new activities that result from increases to the granting councils’ budgets.

Year 2 of Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides $45 million to the granting councils to establish a flagship Postdoctoral Fellowships Program that will retain and attract global research leaders to Canada. When fully implemented, the program will annually fund 140 new two-year postdoctoral fellowships valued at $70,000 each per year, which is internationally competitive by all accounts.

This program builds on our support for the Canada Graduate Scholarships and the Vanier Graduate Scholarships to cover the full spectrum for the development of high-quality research talent.

In a recent editorial, the G-13 university presidents welcomed the budget for having made science and technology a priority, particularly during these difficult times. They said the budget gives universities important support for their core missions, along with valuable new tools, and expressed gratitude for the vote of confidence in higher education and advanced research.

The latest budget also offers increased support to institutions focused on specific areas of advanced science and technology, including:

• $222 million in funding over five years to support TRIUMF, Canada’s premier laboratory for nuclear and particle physics;
• $75 million to Genome Canada for genomics research; and,
• $48 million over two years for R&D relating to medical isotopes.

The government has also taken steps to further encourage an entrepreneurial culture in Canada with the goal of greater private-sector performance in research and development. Our private sector must drive innovation if we are to compete and win in the global economy.

Given the important role that our colleges play in this pursuit, we will double the annual budget of the College and Community Innovation Program by providing an additional $15 million per year to support research collaborations between businesses and colleges.

Moreover, the government will provide $40 million over two years for a small and medium-sized enterprise innovation commercialization program. This is a pilot initiative through which federal departments and agencies will demonstrate the use of prototype products and technologies developed by businesses.

Year 2 of Canada’s EAP will renew the $49 million in annual funding for the regional development agencies to support innovation across Canada, and provide $135 million over two years to regional innovation networks through the National Research Council’s Technology Clusters program.

It provides $397 million in new money over five years to the Canadian Space Agency to develop the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, the next generation of advanced radar remote sensing satellites. This investment would be further complemented by an additional $100 million to be secured through the Agency’s existing budget. With this critical investment, Canada will remain at the forefront of advanced technology in space and support government priorities in the Arctic.

To promote collaborative R&D activities with international partners such as India, China and Brazil, we will commit $8 million over two years to extend the International Science & Technology Partnerships Program.

Finally, the government announced in the budget that it would review all federal support for R&D to determine how best to achieve results in partnership with businesses across all sectors and the provinces.

Through this comprehensive approach to supporting science and technology, the federal government is setting the conditions for Canadians to succeed at home and abroad.

I look forward to working with all of these talented men and women to create the economy of tomorrow, in which Canada realizes its potential as a world leader in science, technology and innovation.