National Funding Announcement for the Canada Foundation for Innovation Leaders Opportunity Fund

Speaking Points

The Honourable Tony Clement, PC, MP
Minister of Industry

Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
April 23, 2010

Check Against Delivery

Thank you, Kimberly, for the kind introduction.

It is a great pleasure to be here with you today at Carleton University.

Across Canada, research plays a critical role in mobilizing Canada’s science and technology advantage. This work is improving Canadians’ standard of living and quality of life, realizing the full potential of our natural resources; ensuring a cleaner, safer environment; and creating thousands of new, high-quality jobs in the science and technology sector. Ultimately, this country’s research enterprise is helping to build a stronger economy and a stronger Canada for future generations.

Our government continues to demonstrate an unprecedented commitment to research initiatives and to making Canada a world leader in science, technology and innovation.

Guided by our government’s Science and Technology (S&T) Strategy, our investments in S&T will help place Canada in a position of strength in the global, knowledge-based economy.

Even as we continue to face challenging economic times, our government recognizes that Canada’s future depends on our capacity to innovate and compete.

That is why I am pleased to announce today that we are investing $27.8 million in research infrastructure in support of 118 projects at 32 research institutions all across the country as part of the Canada Foundation for Innovation Leaders Opportunities Fund. Right here at Carleton University, this will mean over $112 000 to support new, cutting-edge research in optical engineering at the micro and nanophotonics lab.

We are celebrating other investments today, including:

• in the area of health — support for the creation of a muscle physiology laboratory at the University of Toronto that will investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying obesity and type 2 diabetes in young adults, which will ultimately substantially increase life expectancy and quality of life;
• in the area of environmental science — help to establish a state-of-the-art facility at the University of British Columbia to study the effect of climate variability and climate change on coastal ecosystems, which will enhance Canada’s ability to contribute to international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
• in the area of information technology — funding to develop a physical human-robot interaction laboratory at the University of Western Ontario that will foster a unique research program for the development of the next generation of industrial robots, capable of safely interacting with humans.

As we move into the second and final year of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada is investing close to $1.4 billion in initiatives to promote S&T. Add to this the nearly $5 billion invested in research in year one of the plan, and our commitment is clear.

Budget 2010 continues to demonstrate this commitment to creating a knowledge advantage for Canada.

• We announced an increase of $32 million per year to the federal granting councils’ combined annual budgets and an additional $8 million per year to support the indirect costs of research.
• We also announced another $45 million in funding to the granting councils to establish a flagship Canada post-doctoral fellowship program that will attract global research talent and leaders to Canada.

Given the important role that colleges play in enhancing innovation in Canada, we have doubled the annual budget of the college and community innovation program by providing an additional $15 million per year to support additional research collaborations between businesses and colleges.

Budget 2010 also reaffirms our government’s ongoing support for the role that the Canada Foundation for Innovation — or CFI — plays in building Canada’s innovation system. In spite of the challenging fiscal and economic circumstances, our government is committed to ensuring that our world-class research and development facilities maintain their capacity to support leading-edge research so they can attract and retain the best and brightest minds from around the world.

Investment in state-of-the-art labs and equipment also serves to enhance the broader Canadian society and to strengthen Canada’s economy in vital areas ranging from the environment to health, to information and communications technology, natural resources, and energy.

Investments we make through CFI foster partnerships among the academic, private, public and not-for-profit sectors on a range of projects and research areas. These partnerships address the increasingly complex and interconnected environmental, economic and social challenges facing Canada and the world.

And so, I would like once again to congratulate Carleton University and all of the successful recipients in this latest competition of the CFI’s Leaders Opportunity Fund. Working together, we are supporting the next generation of research and innovation leaders and building a brighter, bolder future for Canada.

Thank you.