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The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) would be the third largest beneficiary under a proposed new federal surtax on health care. If approved by Parliament, the agency’s share of the surtax would boost its budget by $440 million annually.

Technology development and innovation are being touted as a major component of Canada’s strategy for meeting its commitments under the Kyoto climate change protocol. The first widely publicized indications of how the federal government plans to use science and technology (S&T) in the battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is contained in Achieving Our Commitments Together, Ottawa’s draft plan for its national implementation strategy released October 25.

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) has issued a wake up call to the federal government, warning that its much vaunted innovation targets are unattainable unless university research spending triples over the next nine years.

Ontario’s largest university continues to occupy the number one spot for sponsored research income while Quebec’s two biggest post-secondary institutions are the most research intensive, according to new data released this week.

Ingenuity Fund

The Alberta Ingenuity Fund (AIF) has launched its flagship Research Centres program with the funding of two centres at the Univ of Alberta (U of A). It marks the beginning of AIF’s objective of creating up to 15 centres focusing on areas of research considered strategic to the province’s future economic growth and well being.

Key infrastructure investment

Montreal is set to benefit from the largest biotechnology investment in Canadian history with an imminent decision by DSM Biologics to green light a $450-million expansion to its bio-manufacturing facility.

The decision by DSM Biologics to double its bio-manufacturing capacity in Montreal has given the tri-government initiative to increase life sciences activity in the region an early and significant victory.

National research strategy proposed

The Alberta government has unveiled an ambitious proposal for a new approach to energy research in Canada, one that includes new multi-year funding commitments from government and industry and the creation of a new network linking provincial, national and global researchers.