Organization: Science Council of Canada

Canada requires a new, effective and inclusive science advisory architecture

Canada needs to reimagine its science advisory apparatus to take a more strategic, ecosystem approach, say Paul Dufour, Senior Fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Institute for Science, Society and Policy, and Jeff Kinder, Executive Director, Science and Innovation, at the Institute on Governance, in an op-ed.

A brief history of science advice and key advisors in Canada

Science advisors play essential players in the discourse around evidence and data to inform decision-making, especially during the pandemic. Here is a sketch of the key Canadian science advisors over the past decades.

Roger Voyer

Roger Voyer, a pioneer in Canadian science policy and co-founder of Nordicity Group, has died at age 79. Voyer was research director of the Science Council of Canada and also served as executive director of the Canadian Institute of Economic Policy and represented Canada on the OECD Committee for Science and Technology Policy. He was…

Canada lacks the institutional structure to invest in the future

Budget 2017 promises $125 million to launch what it calls a Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy by promoting collaboration between centres of excellence in Montreal, Toronto-Waterloo and Edmonton. This, it says, will “position Canada as a world-leading destination for companies seeking to invest in artificial intelligence and innovation.” What’s missing as Canada seeks to position itself for the future, and this is critically important, is any institutional capacity to prepare Canadians more broadly for the future.