Dr Marc Garneau

Government does not understand science

By Dr Marc Garneau

If there is one reason more than any other that brought me into politics, it was the importance of science, technology and innovation to Canada's future. They are the foundations of a strong economy with good jobs. Unfortunately, the current government does not understand this, as its recent budget shows. It has failed to grasp the importance of long-term, predictable and globally competitive federal funding for economic growth and well-being.

Clearly, the jobs of tomorrow will differ from the jobs of today. We know that the economic blueprint for Canada in the 20th century no longer applies. The Canada that was able to sell its natural resources and low- or medium-tech products to the rest of the world to support a high quality of life can no longer assume that it will remain prosperous in the 21st century. The world has changed and there is a new paradigm at work.

While resources remain an important component of our economy, it is knowledge and the resulting products and services that will ensure that we secure a prosperous future for our children. That is where the jobs of the future lie.

As a first step, science, research and innovation require a long-term approach, not an ad hoc, one-year-at-a-time approach. Our granting councils, universities and government science agencies need to be able to make plans and commitments for the future, while programs such as the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) need to have similar confidence that they can plan for future growth.

At the same time, governments should not try to micromanage science. Choices between applied and basic research should flow out of the research process itself, recognizing we need both if we are to advance. It is a supreme conceit for a government to assume it can dictate what research should be done.

This does not mean certain strategic areas of research cannot be given an additional impetus. Playing to our strengths or trying to take the lead in a particular field is a smart thing to do, as long as it is not done at the expense of the overall research enterprise.

Government itself needs good scientific advice. Yet another sign that the government does not understand the importance of science is the elimination of the Office of National Science Adviser. The purpose of this position was to offer the Prime Minister high quality scientific advice. Both the United States and Great Britain have respected national science advisers. 

In the meantime, many fields of research are suffering. When comparing federal spending on research in 2008 to that in 2005 and adjusting for inflation, research has decreased in the following ministries: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, Industry Canada, National Defence and the National Research Council.

Likewise, Canada's overall spending on R&D as a share of GDP has also fallen. It rose significantly under the Liberal government to just over 2%. Unfortunately, over the past two years, GERD as a percentage of GDP has declined to below 1.9%

At a time when US president Barack Obama is making massive science and technology investments in fields such as health, renewable energy development, energy efficiency, smart electrical grids, green automobiles and other areas, where is the Conservative government's strategy?

The Obama administration is investing US$65 billion over the next two years in the knowledge-based economy. On a per capita basis, this is six times more than Canada's investment. This is why the US will be a leader in creating future companies and jobs, while Canada risks being left behind.

Innovation starts with a well-educated population and investment in new know-ledge through research and development. I am proud of the fact that my own party made vital decisions in the 1990s and early part of this decade to re-invigorate research in our public research institutions.

This included the creation of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Genome Canada, Canada Research Chairs program and funding the indirect costs of research. Liberal governments more than doubled the budgets of Canada's research granting councils to a total of $1.6 billion in 2004-05. We became a leader in public funding of research. But a federal program for innovation needs more than this. We all know that research can lead to promising ideas but that many challenges must be overcome before the research can be commercialized, leading to a product or service that people want to buy. We must recognize that other elements are essential to innovation.

One critical requirement is access to venture capital to allow companies to develop promising research into a marketable product or service. That can take many years and often it is undertaken by small- and medium-sized companies that have no other source of capital than venture capital.

But venture capital pools have sharply decreased in Canada. This is a cause for concern and is why the government should be in active discussion with the venture capital industry to see how it can help improve the growth of venture capital.

There is also a role for government to help companies directly. IRAP is one example. But we also need measures to help companies undertake R&D commercialization where the risk is high but the potential gain significant. We need a replacement for Technology Partnerships Canada. Governments can also help through strategic use of procurement.

Government also fosters innovation with tax incentives in the form of credits, some of them refundable, to companies that engage in research. Unfortunately, the current scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED) program is cumbersome to use and too restricted in its application. This program needs to be made much more effective.

Finally, effective transfer of promising research to the marketplace requires strong linkages between those who perform the research and those who know how to commercialize that research. But we need better mechanisms to create effective partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Rather than putting the squeeze on science, government should be committing to an even greater role for science in the 21st century. To paraphrase a recent headline, Canadian research lacks adequate funding and the government a coherent vision. We can do better.

Dr Marc Garneau is Liberal MP for Westmount-Ville-Marie and Liberal Party critic for Industry, Science & Technology.