Speaking Notes

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, PC, MP
Minister of State (Science and Technology)

Science and Technology Policy

Crowne Plaza Hotel
Moncton, New Brunswick
July 24, 2009

Check Against Delivery

Thank you for your warm introduction. Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club for the invitation to speak today. It’s an honour to address some of New Brunswick’s most influential businesspeople.

You understand that the face of business is changing. I want to talk to you about the growing importance of Canadian science and technology, or S&T, as it is also known.

S&T plays an influential role in this country’s future. It is becoming an unmistakable part of the fabric of Canadian industry.

I also want to talk about the value of innovation. Some people say the success of the entire Canadian economy is tied to our capacity to innovate. As the Minister of State responsible for S&T in this country, I can tell you that I certainly recognize the importance of innovation. And I want to tell you today about the steps our government is taking to encourage it.

Together, the government and people throughout Canadian industry are trying to improve the calibre of Canadian companies. We want them to succeed, not simply because success could mean more jobs — and better jobs — for workers today but because it will set the stage for a prosperous country in the future.

Besides, there is a Canadian tradition of scientific excellence to uphold.

From Sir Sandford Fleming, the “Father of Standard Time,” to Abraham Gesner, who discovered kerosene and became the primary founder of the modern petroleum industry, Canadians have made discoveries and introduced products that have changed the lives of people around the world.

Through such diverse inventions as the pacemaker, insulin, the BlackBerry and the CanadArm, Canadians have demonstrated again and again that they are among the world’s best.

The Science, Technology and Innovation Council, a body created by the government to link S&T to Canada’s economic and social well-being, released a report in the spring that pointed out some challenges that stand in the way of our success.

The report examined Canada’s performance as an innovator on the basis of more than 50 international and domestic standards of excellence. These standards included research intensity, commercialization rates, quality of research and workforce skills.

The report said we’re doing well. In fact, we’re improving. But other countries are improving faster. And while Canada has an existing foundation of scientific and technological excellence, the Council’s report concluded that Canadian companies could invest more in research and development. It also found room for more collaboration between government, the private sector and universities.

Our government acknowledges such findings, and we are setting the country on course to achieve greater goals than ever.

We must set our ambitions higher and build on our solid reputation. In this spirit we developed Canada’s Science and Technology Strategy two years ago. This is our vision for creating a competitive advantage through innovation, science and technology. We followed up with significant investments in S&T.

In our government’s first three budgets, more than $2.2 billion was invested in new S&T funding. And this year, through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, we made one of the largest investments in S&T in Canada’s history — more than $5.1 billion.

Our government’s commitment to science and research did not begin with our Economic Action Plan, and it will not end there. Budget 2009 builds on strong progress made over the past three years.

Here in New Brunswick, Industry Canada invested more than $30 million through our department’s various portfolios in 2007–08 alone. In the same year, the Business Development Bank of Canada authorized $74 million in loans to New Brunswick recipients.

In Moncton, several businesses were among dozens throughout the province to receive funding through National Research Council Canada last year. Gaming-system maker Spielo Manufacturing received $498 400.

This coming year, three researchers at the University of Moncton will receive almost $32 000 under the Discovery Grant program run by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

This past spring, the government released an S&T progress report, which showed clear and positive results in its ongoing work.

We want to develop even further the entrepreneurial advantage to encourage companies to innovate.

We want to develop a knowledge advantage that would put this country at the world’s forefront of research and discovery.

And we want to develop a people advantage: the best-educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce possible. In two years, we have taken significant steps to seeing those three goals become reality.

To build an entrepreneurial advantage, we modernized Canada’s competition and investment policies to boost competitiveness, stimulate investment and, at the same time, protect consumers.

We improved the competitiveness of Canada’s business tax system. In 2008–09 and the following five fiscal years, business tax relief is expected to total more than $60 billion, according to the S&T progress report.

And we enhanced the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax incentive program. The program is already one of the most advantageous systems in the industrialized world in its support of business-driven R&D. Last year, it provided about $4 billion in tax assistance to Canadian companies.

Two years ago, the government also made substantial new investments in Canada’s world-renowned Networks of Centres of Excellence. For many years, the Networks have brought together the research strengths of government, academia and the private sector. We also created new business-led network centres of excellence through an investment of $46 million over four years to support research relevant to the economic needs of the private sector.

To build a knowledge advantage, Budget 2007 provided $85 million a year to the country’s three research granting councils. A year later, we expanded our support with an additional $80 million a year.

We are also working to strengthen the linkages between colleges and the private sector. The College and Community Innovation Program is working to increase innovation by enabling colleges to increase their capacity to work with local companies. The College and Community Innovation Program supports applied research and collaboration that facilitates commercialization and technology transfer.

Budget 2007 provided the Canadian Foundation for Innovation with $510 million to do its part to strengthen the country’s research capacity. Budget 2009 added $750 million to the Foundation for advanced research infrastructure.

In Canada’s Economic Action Plan, announced this year, the government introduced the new Knowledge Infrastructure Program. It’s a two-year, $2-billion measure to support infrastructure enhancement at post-secondary institutions across Canada. Presidents of colleges and universities told us this was their number-one priority. These investments will create jobs for people now while providing the infrastructure that these institutions will need for years to come.

Through the program, our government is investing more than $49 million to fund 17 projects at post-secondary institutions throughout New Brunswick. Its investment at the University of Moncton alone is about $10 million. An additional $128.8 million is being provided for these projects by the Province of New Brunswick and other partners.

Our investments in universities and colleges are all about developing the next generation of science and technology workers and attracting the best minds from around the world. We are strengthening Canada’s ties to the global supply of talent and ideas.

Our efforts to encourage innovation don’t stop there.

We provided $200 million through the Economic Action Plan to National Research Council Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program, which provides a range of advisory services and financial support to innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. The funding includes $170 million to double the Program’s contributions to firms and $30 million to help hire more than 1000 new post-secondary graduates through its Youth Employment Program.

Some need technical expertise and advice. Some need networking opportunities and ways to build partnerships. And, yes, some need financial assistance for research and development. It is through National Research Council Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program that we are able to support many innovative initiatives.

What we must do — all of us, government, academia, the private sector — is develop the mechanisms that will drive our success as innovators.

We must have a private sector that has science, technology and innovation strategies at its core. We must have institutions of higher learning and research that develop, recruit and retain strong talent pools. We must have researchers who keep us at the forefront of knowledge and workers who see opportunities and act on them to work smarter and more creatively.

There are profound changes coming to the North American and global economies in the coming years. They will reflect changes to the industrial structure and the emergence of new economic realities. The best way for Canada to adapt to these changes and even excel under trying circumstances is to ensure our economy is flexible, efficient and dynamic.

The next discovery won’t come from government. It will come from the drive and dreams of Canadians.

What is your dream, ladies and gentlemen? What legacy will you leave for the next generation?

We have an exciting vision but we need your help. If we work together to allow Canadians to follow their curiosity, we will create new opportunities and challenge the world in ways we can’t even imagine.

Thank you.