Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to be here this morning and to participate in your annual meeting.
Earlier this month Claire Morris wrote a compelling piece in the Globe and Mail. She remarked that:
“Success today — and tomorrow — in the global knowledge economy depends on Canada's ability to mobilize a highly educated work force armed with research skills, expertise, and innovative ideas.”
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Canada is a country with extraordinary potential to be a positive force in the world.
But in order to realize this potential, we need to be dedicated and committed to setting priorities, making wise investments and pursing excellence.
Today I want to share with you some of my thoughts about the government's vision for science and technology. I am sure that everyone in this room knows that on May 17th the Prime Minister released a science and technology (S&T) strategy to strengthen Canada's economy.
The S&T Strategy is a bold plan. It is a multi-year framework that will guide our decisions about federal support for science and technology and innovation. It has been designed to build a national sustainable competitive advantage through science and technology.
Underlying our approach to science and technology are four important principles:
First, our policies and programs will inspire and assist Canadians to perform at world-class levels of scientific and technological excellence. World-class research excellence is Canada's standard.
Second, we will strategically target funding in areas of national strength and opportunity. As mentioned in last week's Speech from the Throne, “Our government will support Canadian researchers and innovators in developing new ideas and bringing them to the marketplace through Canada's Science and Technology Strategy.”
Let me be clear: That does not mean abandoning our commitment to basic research across a broad spectrum of disciplines. We understand the importance of supporting the very best ideas wherever they arise.
But at the same time, we must be practical. Canada is a small country and we must target more of our basic and applied research in areas where we are well positioned to make a difference in the world.
Third, the Government of Canada will foster partnerships. Through partnerships, the unique capabilities, interests, and resources of various stakeholders can be brought together to deliver better outcomes.
Enhancing accountability is our fourth principle. We have been clear: those who are supported by public funds will be held accountable for demonstrating to taxpayers that results are being achieved.
Guided by these principles, our S&T Strategy seeks to create three distinct Canadian advantages: an Entrepreneurial Advantage that encourages firms to be innovators, a Knowledge Advantage that keeps Canadians at the forefront of research and discovery, and a People Advantage that helps Canadians acquire the skills they need to participate in the knowledge-based economy.
To create an Entrepreneurial Advantage, we need effective federal policies and laws that encourage companies to compete on the basis of innovation and invest in research and development (R&D) and innovation.
We have struck a blue-chip panel to review Canada's competition and investment policies. The panel's core mandate is to review two key pieces of Canadian legislation, the Competition Act and the Investment Canada Act. It will also examine Canada's sectoral restrictions on foreign direct investment. I look forward to its recommendations about the best way to encourage even greater foreign investment and to create more and better jobs for Canadians.
We have improved the business investment environment through our ongoing reductions in corporate taxes, and changes to capital cost allowance to encourage investment in machinery, equipment and information and communications technologies.
My colleagues, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, and the Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Minister of National Revenue, recently launched a consultation exercise to review the Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program in order to make it even more effective in encouraging private sector innovation. Our R&D tax incentive program is Canada's most important R&D program, providing more than $3 billion in tax credits annually. This review will assess opportunities to make it even more effective in encouraging private sector innovation.
We are helping companies partner with universities and colleges to access the research networks, facilities and young research talent they need to succeed. Budget 2007 provided funding for four new partnership programs, including the new Centres of Excellence in Commercialization and Research program. This initiative will soon help companies and universities co-locate research teams in dedicated facilities to advance their shared research agendas. These facilities will improve Canada's ability to turn innovative ideas into innovative products that make a difference to the lives of Canadians and strengthen our economy.
As well, last week Minister Flaherty and I were in Toronto to reconfirm our government's investment of $105 million in seven centres of excellence focused on priority areas of research and commercialization announced in the budget. The research performed at these centres will turn ideas into innovations that provide solutions to our environmental, health and other important social challenges and improve our economic competitiveness. The end result of this new and more strategic government focus on science and technology is a better life for Canadians, our families and our communities.
The second pillar of our S&T Strategy is the Knowledge Advantage. To create a Knowledge Advantage we need to make sure our universities and colleges have the resources they need to achieve international excellence. Canada ranks number one in the G7 based on the share of our economic resources dedicated to higher education R&D, and we have pledged publicly that we will maintain our G7 leadership in public R&D performance.
For instance, on top of the $2.7 billion the Government of Canada already funds in university R&D, we are investing an additional $85 million a year in the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to achieve world-class excellence in four priority research areas:
- natural resources and energy research;
- environmental sciences and technologies;
- health and life sciences; and
- information and communications technology.
By setting research priorities, the government will focus funding, build partnerships, and lever Canada's public research base to address social and economic challenges and maximize our competitive advantage.
We will ensure Canadian researchers can compete for support for the best research equipment and facilities available, through the $510 million we provided to the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.
We are also exploring how closer federal partnerships with universities and companies can improve the ways the government meets its science, technology and research needs.
The third advantage the S&T Strategy encourages is a People Advantage.
Access to talented, skilled and creative people lies at the heart of our vision of building a sustainable national competitive advantage based on science and technology.
We will make sure that Canada has the highly skilled people it needs to thrive in the modern global economy.
We have created new scholarships and industrial internships to support promising young Canadians who are studying hard to develop the skills that our businesses need.
In total, the Government of Canada invests more than $9 billion every year to support S&T. On top of that there are tax incentives valued at $3 billion a year available to Canadian businesses that invest in research and development.
In order to make the best decisions about science and technology, we need to make sure that we have access to the wisdom of those outside government.
The Science, Technology and Innovation Council, chaired by Dr. Howard Alper, will bring the ideas and experience of business, university and college and research leaders directly to bear on government policy challenges. This council will have a strong voice and will be a great asset to the government as we consider the best way to move our S&T agenda forward.
Last week I was pleased to announce the members of the new council. I believe some of the new members are in this room with us today, including Peter MacKinnon, Heather Munroe-Blum, and Harvey Weingarten. I am very much looking forward to hearing your perspectives and views.
We have also established a private sector advisory board to advise the granting councils. It will ensure that our range of new business-university collaborative research programs meet the needs of business, and are supporting our four national research priorities.
Our S&T Strategy articulates a comprehensive vision of how the government will use the work of its departments, its expenditures and its policies to create a more productive and competitive economy.
Our S&T Strategy is aimed at getting the conditions right so that we can, as a country, get better at transforming discoveries into products that make a difference in people's lives, and turning knowledge into wealth. As I see it, the challenge that we now face is to ensure that the work of researchers in our universities is translated into tangible benefits for Canadians.
Canada's universities and colleges have a significant role to play in this respect. And your leadership is essential. We need you to mobilize professors and students to pursue research excellence at nothing less than world standards, partner when appropriate to ensure that leading-edge knowledge is used to improve the standard of living and quality of life of Canadians, focus in areas of opportunity for Canada, and demonstrate to Canadians that they are getting value from the public investment in your sector.
I have articulated some of the challenges that we face with respect to science and technology. We have a plan to address them and I am confident that together we can make great progress.
I am looking forward to continuing to work with this community.
Thank you.