Speaking Points

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

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

Kingston, Ontario
December 16, 2009

Check Against Delivery

Thank you, Dr. Rowe, for the kind introduction.

It is a great pleasure to be here with you today at Queen’s University.

In the global economy, knowledge, research and innovation are at the heart of economic growth and success. That is why our government is investing in science and technology (S&T) — it creates the jobs of tomorrow, today; strengthens the economy; and improves the quality of life of Canadians.

Guided by our S&T Strategy, announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007, the Government of Canada is investing in people, knowledge and entrepreneurship.

Our government understands that research excellence generates extensive social and economic benefits for Canadians and the world. We are therefore committed to further expanding Canada’s international reputation for research excellence and to building a larger base of scientific expertise.

In fact, our government is now investing more in S&T than ever before — the total is expected to reach $10.7 billion in 2009–10.

Through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and its various programs, our government is creating leading-edge facilities to attract world-class researchers and to enable them to be at the forefront of breakthroughs in their fields, generating social and economic benefits for Canadians and the world.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan announced about $5 billion in new investments in S&T initiatives. This included a commitment to invest in new and upgraded world-class research facilities at our universities and colleges through the $2‑billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program and an additional $750 million for the CFI to provide researchers with leading-edge facilities and equipment.

The Leaders Opportunity Fund puts into action the vision and priorities of our S&T Strategy.

That is why I am pleased to announce that our government will invest $873 000 to support seven new research projects here at Queen’s University. Across Canada, we are investing over $59 million in research infrastructure in support of 263 projects at 40 research institutions.

Why invest in research infrastructure? Because world-class research facilities provide researchers with the tools they need to succeed. Research creates jobs, improves the quality of life of Canadians and strengthens our economy.

Investment in state-of-the-art labs and equipment enhances Canada’s position in key areas of research, ranging from the environment to health, information and communications technology, natural resources, and energy.

The CFI investments also 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.

Support from the CFI and the federal research granting councils enables post-secondary institutions to focus on areas of importance to Canada. This allows researchers to compete with the best from around the world and positions Canada in the global, knowledge-based economy.

The investments being celebrated today show examples of how the Government of Canada is strengthening our research capacity in areas of strategic priority to the country. Examples where infrastructure support is being celebrated today include:

• in the area of health — for the establishment of a research laboratory that will investigate the impact of nutrition on the metabolism and development of newborn infants;
• in the area of environmental science and technologies — to strengthen innovation in renewable energy applications, which will have very significant environmental and economic benefits on Canada; and
• in the area of information technology — for developing virtual classrooms that improve self-directed and group-based learning. Educational institutions across Canada will benefit from this innovative learning tool.

Canada’s universities are building their reputations as global leaders in research, and our government is committed to seeing that continue.

Thank you again to Queen’s University, and my congratulations to all of successful recipients in this latest competition of the CFI’s Leaders Opportunity Fund.