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Three high tech firms and the federal government have entered a collaborative funding agreement to develop, deploy and operate a cutting-edge multimedia payload for the new ANIK F2 satellite which is slated for launch in 2002.

Two major reports on skills shortage released

Two reports warning of the danger of brain drain have been released by the CD Howe Institute and the Conference Board of Canada (CBoC). What To Do When the Well Runs Dry: Managing Scarce Skills, was prepared by the CBoC and calls for collective action by industry, labour, education and government to avert a serious shortage of highly skilled technical staff and middle managers.

A major new report on the role of the federal government in performing science and technology (S&T) is breathing new life into the push for increased funding for in-house research capacity. The Council of Science and Technology Advisors (CSTA) has weighed in with an eye opening assessment on the state of federal S&T, calling for urgent action on a number of fronts to avoid what it views as a rapid deterioration in the government’s ability to fulfill its S&T mandate to support the health, safety and economic well-being of Canadians.

In contrast to previous years, the recent Quebec Budget was a touch light on S&T initiatives, but that’s not surprising given the intense focus the Parti Quebecois administration has placed on all facets of the knowledge-based economy.

The Ontario’s Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology (MEST) is working quickly to craft a new, two-pronged program designed to help bridge the gap between university-based discoveries and the marketplace.

The federal Budget’s package of environmental S&T initiatives provides the clearest signal yet that Ottawa is beginning to regard the environmental challenges facing Canada as an economic opportunity that will receive even greater financial resources over the next two years.

The materials science and engineering community fears it will lose its next generation of researchers following the failure of the federal government to fund a dual-use neutron research reactor. The absence of the Canadian Neutron Facility (CNF) from the federal Budget for the second year running means Canada could be without a crucial research reactor, once the existing 43-year-old NRU reactor in Chalk River ON is decommissioned in 2005.

The National Research Council (NRC) has ruled out closure of any existing institutes, branches or programs in the wake of its failure to obtain significant new funding in the February 28 federal Budget.

The emerging on-line learning sector is about to receive critical assistance in technology transfer, commercialization and mentoring with the creation of two new firms being spun out of the TeleLeaning Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE).

The Communication Research Centre (CRC) is the headquarters for a new National Capital Institute of Telecommunications (NCIT), which has received $36 million in cash and other commitments over a five-year period.