Statement made on 18 June 2008 by Senator Catherine Callbeck
Hon. Catherine S. Callbeck:
Honourable senators, the report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology makes a number of important recommendations with respect to initiatives in the field of science and technology in Canada. These recommendations relate to the 2007 science and technology strategy report entitled: Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage.
The report sets out a comprehensive, multi-year science and technology agenda. I commend the government for its recognition of the importance of science and technology to Canada's economic progress. Innovations in science and technology enable a Canadian economy to prove its competitiveness and productivity, thereby giving all Canadians a means to achieve a higher standard of living and a better quality of life.
The government has also recognized that this country can and must do more to turn our ideas into innovations that provide new ways to deal with issues such as our environment, health care and reaching our social and economic goals.
Canada has built a strong research base. Canadian researchers are at the forefront of leading scientific developments in many fields of inquiry. They rank first in the G7 when it comes to the number of publications produced on a per capita basis.
The chair of the committee, Senator Eggleton, has already spoken on this report and outlined the committee's recommendations. However, I want to comment on two recommendations that are of special interest to me. The first recommendation of the report says that government should not limit additional funding in science and technology to only four categories mentioned as priorities. Those categories are environmental science and technology, natural resources and energy, health and related life sciences and information communication technology.
I agree with the recommendation that the breadth and scope of research be expanded beyond the four priority areas identified by the government. In my province, the provincial government recently announced a five-year strategy to make the most of new opportunities emerging in the global marketplace. There are some areas where the provincial strategy falls within the four priorities identified by the federal government, such as biotechnology, energy, and information and communication technology.
Other promising areas, however, such as aerospace, do not fall within the federal government strategy. I would like the federal strategy to better reflect opportunities that have been identified in the economic development strategies of other governments across the country. We are a big country with a great deal of diversity. I believe we should work more cooperatively to build on the strengths and opportunities that exist in each province and region.
The other recommendation from the report I want to comment on is recommendation 12. That recommendation says a number of my colleagues were concerned about the low representation of Atlantic Canada and the distribution of Network Centres for Excellence. We are asking that further consideration be given to more balance to Atlantic Canada.
Presently, there are no centres led by an Atlantic Canadian university and few Atlantic Canadian universities are involved in these networks. Budget 2007 announced that one new Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research would be in Atlantic Canada at the Life Sciences Research Institute in Halifax, affiliated with Dalhousie University. However, it is not yet up and running. In the latest report available, 2006-07, Networks of Centres of Excellence in Atlantic Canada receive less than 6 per cent of expenditures.
Honourable senators, a national science and technology strategy must include all regions of this country. Rapid advances in technology are changing the world in which all regions of this country compete. Technology is driving innovations that lead to new products and services, that enhance existing products and services and that approve production processes and technology.
I have a list of 19 Centres of Excellence that have been funded in other parts of Canada. While I applaud the federal government for its funding of these innovative new facilities, I regret that none as yet has been established in the Atlantic region so that businesses in that region have more opportunity to benefit. However, I am hopeful the government will carry through with its Budget 2007 commitment I spoke about earlier.
In closing, honourable senators, I reiterate my support for investments in the science and technology area. We need to invest in the ingenuity of our people, to support and encourage innovation and to make this country a leader in the application of science and technology for the benefit of all Canadians.