A closer look at the budget's impact on science

Notwithstanding my previous comment about the funding for quantum computing research being positive, there are a lot of other aspects of the budget that don't seem so positive for science:

The only agency that regularly finances large-scale science in Canada was shut out of Tuesday's federal budget, putting at risk thousands of jobs and some of the most promising medical research, and forcing the country to pull out of key international projects.

For the first time in nine years, Genome Canada, a non-profit non-governmental funding organization, was not mentioned in the federal budget and saw its annual cash injection from Ottawa - $140-million last year - disappear.

"We got nothing, nothing, and we don't know why," said a stunned Martin Godbout, Genome Canada president and CEO. "We're devastated."

The news spread like a virus through the research community yesterday as the country's top scientists wondered whether the oversight was a mistake. Genome Canada supports 33 major research projects in areas such as genomics, agriculture and cancer stem cells with operating grants of $10-million a year. The projects employ more than 2,000 people. By comparison, medical research grants from the federally funded Canadian Institutes of Health Research run in the $100,000-a-year range.

It also remains unclear how the budget will affect the funding abilities of Ottawa's three government research-granting agencies, including the CIHR.

Government spokespeople said the three agencies had "identified savings to be made" of $87.2-million over the next three years in overlaps of grants and programs. But they said the details were still being worked out.

Gary Toft, communications director for the Minister of Science and Technology, part of Industry Canada, insisted "researchers will not get less money."

While research leaders have applauded the Conservatives' plan to spend billions on construction and fixing old buildings on university campuses, they are mystified that the money to operate these facilities seems to be shrinking - particularly when U.S. President Barack Obama plans to double research funds in the U.S. over the next decade.

"When President Obama comes to Canada, we can show him some nice labs with no one in them," said Dr. Godbout, who compared the situation to supplying planes but no pilots or ground crews.

From the Globe and Mail.