Article Type: Generic

Just four months to complete work

A four-member expert panel assembled to examine the issue of transferring federal, non-regulatory laboratories to the academic and private sectors has until December to report back to Treasury Board with its recommendations.

Government science was the focus of a unique symposium held earlier this month with many speakers and participants calling for a greater government commitment to strengthen Canada’s federal laboratories.

An Alberta task force has submitted an interconnected slate of proposals to accelerate the commercialization and development of the province’s technology-based sectors. The centerpiece recommendation is a $300-million fund of funds to encourage the capital markets to increase investment in promising start-ups and early-stage firms.

“National Priorities and Regional Advantages:
Opportunities for Atlantic Canada in Canada’s Science and Technology Strategy”

November 21, 2007
World Trade Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Partners: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency &
Nova Scotia Economic Development
FMI: www.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) will require more than $400 million by 2010 to provide sufficient operational support for a host of high-impact research infrastructure projects now coming on stream.

Latin American powerhouse

Canada is aiming to formally sign an S&T agreement with Brazil later this year or in early 2008 as the government seeks to make up for lost time in boosting bilateral interaction with the emerging Latin American superpower.

R&D-to-sales ratio slips to 8.1%

R&D spending by Canada’s patent-holding pharmaceutical firms declined by 1.9% to $1.2 billion in 2006 with the largest decrease experienced by members of the industry lobby group advocating strengthened patent laws.

Canada has entered into a Trilateral Agreement for Cooperation in Energy Science and Technology with the US and Mexico, establishing a high-level framework for future collaborative R&D projects in the areas of traditional and renewable energy sources as well as demonstration and deployment projects.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) is placing its bedrock Discovery Grants Program (DGP) under the microscope with a pair of reviews to determine whether it’s designed to meet the needs of the research community and the country over the next 10 years.