Research takes a backseat in Canada

The Canadian federal budget for 2009 has been released and it is hardly a surprise that science and research took a backseat. For example, the budget for Canada’s three research councils is slated to be cut by close to $150 million and peak in 2011-2012 at $87.2 million. It could be worse though, Genome Canada (a not-for-profit agency responsible for funding large-scale science and genetics), was not even mentioned in the budget. According to the Minister of State for Science and Technology,

Genome Canada was still receiving funds from the two previous budget announcements, and that these funds amounted to $106 million this year and $108 million next year.

For a government-run funding agency like the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, no mention in a budget would mean a continuation of existing annual budgets

Although this hopefully will be the case, the lack of commitment is worrisome. Genome Canada, and the Canadian research councils provide critical funding to some of the brightest minds in Canada. With the recent promise of an increase in research funding south of the border this may be the beginning of a brain drain exodus. Obama is scheduled to visit Canada on February 19. Perhaps Harper should take this opportunity to learn a few things about the importance of allocating adequate funding to basic research.

Sandwalk has a more thorough analysis of what the budget says (not) about research.

This is from the “Mario’s Entangled Bank” blog ( http://pineda-krch.com ) of Mario Pineda-Krch, a theoretical biologist at the University of Alberta.