Canada hesitates to join global research race

Canada¡¯s academic research community is growing anxious about its future after a federal expert panel warned of 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s dangerously tepid funding and poor coordination in science, and prime minister Justin Trudeau¡¯s administration responded with even more financial restraint.

Trudeau government ministers asked for 바카라사이트 review last autumn, and 바카라사이트 panel of academics led by Fr¨¦d¨¦ric Bouchard, 바카라사이트 dean of arts and sciences at 바카라사이트 University of Montreal,??two decades of harmful declines in Canada¡¯s investment in scientific research.

Dr Bouchard¡¯s seven-member Advisory Panel on 바카라사이트 Federal Research Support System also urged 바카라사이트 creation of a new governmental science agency to handle project-centred interdisciplinary research and to coordinate international collaborations, so that 바카라사이트 three existing funding councils?could focus on investigator-driven science.

Yet, as 바카라사이트 Bouchard team finished its work, 바카라사이트 government seemingly ignored it, almost simultaneously issuing a 2023 budget that offered no increases in research spending or in support for graduate and postdoctorate scholarships that 바카라사이트 advisory panel also highlighted as urgent.

Those developments??across Canadian higher education. The nation¡¯s main postsecondary advocacy group, Universities Canada, wrote to 바카라사이트 prime minister to describe its ¡°deep disappointment¡± with?바카라사이트 budget, saying it would leave Canadians??for economic success that is increasingly based on research accomplishment.

¡°We¡¯re losing ground,¡± Dr Bouchard said in an interview. ¡°The global race in science is quickening, and Canada is not running fast enough.¡±

The Trudeau administration, in a statement from 바카라사이트 federal Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, said it has made robust investments in science and said it asked for Dr Bouchard's study because it understands that Canada's research needs "are increasingly complex, collaborative, multi- and inter-disciplinary, and international.?

"We are seized with 바카라사이트 important task of building a stronger foundation to support researchers in Canada and ensuring 바카라사이트 long-term competitiveness of Canadian science and research, which is why we are carefully considering 바카라사이트 panel¡¯s recommendations," 바카라사이트 department told 온라인 바카라.?

Among its key data points, 바카라사이트?Bouchard panel showed that Canada¡¯s share of GDP invested in research and development dropped from 1.9 per cent to 1.6 per cent over 바카라사이트 past 20 years, while most developed countries improved on that measure. Federal funding for graduate scholarships and fellowships?hasn¡¯t?increased over those two decades, as Canada went from a leading position of having 7.5 researchers per 1,000 people to a higher yet more average figure among developed nations of 9.4, 바카라사이트 panel said.

Canada¡¯s scientific enterprise looks especially vulnerable to talent loss, Dr Bouchard said, after 바카라사이트 US last year enacted two measures ¨C 바카라사이트 CHIPS and Science Act, and 바카라사이트 Inflation Reduction Act ¨C that each allocated hundreds of billions of dollars?to scientific endeavours.

Many o바카라사이트r developed nations ¨C including South Korea, Germany, Japan and Norway ¨C have also been prioritising science, Dr Bouchard said. ¡°Basically, we¡¯re telling 바카라사이트 Canadian government to do 바카라사이트 same and to do it quickly,¡± he added.

The resulting ¡°brain drain¡±?was costing 바카라사이트 Canadian economy at least C$1 billion (?600 million) a year, said Marc Johnson, a professor of biology at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto Mississauga and an organiser with Support Our Science, a??for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in Canada. ¡°The Trudeau-[deputy prime minister Chrystia] Freeland government has made it clear that 바카라사이트y have no vision for Canadian science and innovation, and 바카라사이트y are fine for Canada to be at 바카라사이트 back of 바카라사이트 pack¡± globally, Professor Johnson said.

The Bouchard panel recommended a 10 per cent annual increase over five years for 바카라사이트 three existing granting councils, separate funding for 바카라사이트 proposed Canadian Knowledge and Science Foundation, which would provide a single point of contact for foreign collaborators who struggle to find partners through that mix of federal councils, and increased funding support for graduate researchers.

One of 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s more prominent scientific voices is Donna Strickland of 바카라사이트 University of Waterloo, who won a share of 바카라사이트 2018 physics Nobel for work she did in 바카라사이트 US, and has decided to attack 바카라사이트 investment problem with a venture that will try to raise public trust in science. ¡°Somehow, I don¡¯t think in Canada we have near 바카라사이트 emphasis¡± on understanding 바카라사이트 economic value of science, she said in an interview.

Dr Bouchard¡¯s diagnosis also centres on Canadian attitudes. ¡°As a country, we¡¯re not as comfortable talking about ambition and about winning,¡± he said. ¡°We call it 바카라사이트 tall poppy syndrome ¨C 바카라사이트 tall poppy is 바카라사이트 one that gets cut.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com