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Governing council approval pending

Science and Engineering Research Canada (NSERC) is finalizing a 10-year strategic plan that — if approved, funded and fully implemented — would see the granting agency’s budget double to $1.

Canada’s largest manufacturers association is calling for less red tape, more public assistance, specialized skills training and lower taxes to assist in its bid to help make Canada the most prosperous country in the Americas by 2020.

Industry minister David Emerson has announced that a major overhaul of the Technology Partnerships Program (TPC) is imminent and indicated that a new program dealing with larger projects in the areas of automotive and aerospace will be created in the near future.

The Liberal government of British Columbia is sticking to its guns and delivering broad-based support for innovation and R&D in the province. Its February 15 Budget contained little in the way of specific program initiatives or new tax mechanisms, opting instead to emphasize a balanced budget, improvements in the overall economy and a $1.

Sixth annual mission to California

The annual mission to California by Alberta Innovation and Sciences (AIS) has yielded key agreements that will see its research institutions collaborate with four of the world’s largest information technology firms.

The Ottawa region continues to be home to the largest single concentration of federal S&T expenditures but its rate of increase between FY96-97 and FY02-03 is lower than all other provincial jurisdictions except Nova Scotia.

Emerson speaks out

Industry minister Dr David Emerson has delivered what may be the most candid and hard-hitting speech of his fledgling political career but you won’t find it on his department’s web site.

A key Ontario think tank says that despite Canada’s enviable social and economic status, a so-called prosperity gap with the US is costing the federal government $90 billion a year in lost revenue. In a report entitled Realizing Canada’s Prosperity Potential, the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity (ICP) calls for measures including changes to the tax system to increase investment, boost productivity and devise “broader and deeper support for innovation and commercialization”.

Brightspark Capital Partners Inc has raised $50 million in new funding to launch a second early-stage fund and seek opportunities in niche areas such as voice-over IP, wireless and eventually radio frequency identification (RFID) chips.

5% target needs effective mechanisms

Optimism is running high that the February 23rd Budget will contain funding for programs to deliver on prime minister Paul Martin’s commitment to devote 5% of Canada’s R&D spending towards issues of the developing world.