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Archived - Creating the Economy of Tomorrow
Highlights
- 100 per cent of the $2-billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program, which supports research and advanced education by funding deferred maintenance, repair and construction projects at colleges and universities across Canada, has been committed. Nine projects have been completed and work has begun on 372.
- All 18 Arctic Research Infrastructure Fund projects for 2009–10 have begun (10 are at the planning stage and 8 have initiated construction). The feasibility study for the High Arctic Research Station has also begun.
- Over 90 per cent of the 2009–10 funding set aside to address deferred maintenance for about 70 projects at federal laboratories and scientific facilities across Canada has been committed. Initiatives that are well advanced include projects at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Environment Canada.
Canada's Economic Action Plan includes about $4 billion over two years for post-secondary education and research and other investments to promote science and technology and protect the environment. These measures will strengthen Canada's capacity for excellence in research by creating world-leading facilities for research and advanced training, and better prepare young Canadians for the jobs of tomorrow. Other investments will modernize the federal laboratories that deliver critical services to Canadians in a wide range of areas including health and the environment. The Economic Action Plan also includes measures to create business opportunities and provide support for small and medium-sized companies as they develop new products and services for the marketplace, discover new technologies that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create business opportunities in robotics, improve Canadians' access to broadband Internet, and create jobs.
| 2009–10 | 2010–11 | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (millions of dollars) | ||||
| Action to Invest in Post-Secondary Education and Research |
||||
| Improving infrastructure at colleges and universities |
1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | |
| Other | 90 | 154 | 244 | |
| Subtotal—Action to Invest in Post-Secondary Education and Research |
1,090 | 1,154 | 2,244 | |
| Investing in Science and Technology | ||||
| Renewing federal laboratories | 100 | 150 | 250 | |
| Clean energy and the environment1 | 366 | 336 | 702 | |
| Other | 120 | 660 | 780 | |
| Subtotal—Investing in Science and Technology | 586 | 1,146 | 1,732 | |
| Total—Creating the Economy of Tomorrow | 1,676 | 2,300 | 3,976 | |
| Total stimulus value | 1,736 | 2,299 | 4,035 | |
| With provincial contributions | 2,736 | 3,466 | 6,202 | |
| Notes: Totals may not add due to rounding. The stimulus value reflects projected cash expenditures. The budgetary impact may be somewhat smaller because some of these expenditures relate to construction and renovation costs of federal assets (for which only depreciation is recorded on a budgetary basis) and loans to third parties (where there is a budgetary impact only in the event that there is a risk of loss). 1 It is proposed that $205 million in 2009–10 and 2010–11 funding be allocated to support up to 120,000 additional home energy retrofits under the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program. |
||||
The Government is helping to build a strong innovative economy through science, technology and research excellence. Investments in science, technology and research also help to train new generations of highly skilled individuals. Canada needs this new wave of highly qualified workers to prosper in a global economy that depends more and more on knowledge and innovation. Canadians are committed to learning how to do things in new and innovative ways that make us more competitive.
Prior to the Economic Action Plan, the Government had invested over $2.2 billion in new science and technology measures since 2006. Canada's investments in higher education research and development as a proportion of the economy are now the highest in the G7 (Chart 2.11).
The Government is committed to maintaining Canada's global leadership position in post-secondary research. Funding has been provided to support research excellence at Canadian post-secondary institutions, help Canadian scientists focus on areas where we can be world leaders, and link our research strengths to the opportunities and challenges facing the private sector. These investments are consistent with the principles and objectives articulated in Advantage Canada: Building a Strong Economy for Canadians, the Government's plan to ensure Canada's long-term economic prosperity.
The Government has provided significant additional resources to the three federal research granting councils, increasing their combined annual budgets by about $400 million since 2006. This has included new funding for research competitions to identify the best ideas, support advanced training, and accelerate the translation and application of new knowledge. Overall, total planned spending of the granting councils will rise to about $2.7 billion in 2009–10. This represents an average annual increase in funding of about 5 per cent since 2005–06.
Working for Canadians
Supporting Advanced Research, Training and Commercialization
Through the Economic Action Plan, the Government has put in place multi-year investments totalling about $5 billion in a range of science and technology initiatives. These investments build on previous measures in support of post-secondary education, research, innovation and commercialization, including:
- Increasing the combined budgets of the granting councils from $2.2 billion in 2005–06 to $2.7 billion in 2009–10, representing an average annual increase in funding of about 5 per cent.
- Providing $80.5 million to create 2,500 new Master's and doctoral scholarships for promising students in all disciplines. This includes the creation of the new prestigious Georges P. Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program, which will support up to 166 world-class doctoral students this year.
Further, the Government has invested significant new resources to strengthen Canada's position in knowledge leadership and establish centres of excellence in key priority areas such as health, energy, the environment, and information and communication technologies. These investments are not only supporting jobs now, they will make us more competitive in the future. The Government is also ensuring that our investments in science are more responsive to the needs of the private sector, for example through practical research internships for graduate students in companies, support for college innovation, and the creation of business-led Networks of Centres of Excellence. In particular, the Government has launched Automotive Partnership Canada, which will support major collaborative research projects that will lead to innovation and greater competitiveness in the Canadian automotive sector.
Building on these important measures, Canada's Economic Action Plan invests approximately $5 billion in multi-year science and technology initiatives. This is an unprecedented investment that underlines our continued commitment to research excellence and the objectives of our science and technology strategy. This new funding supports two broad priorities.
The first priority area is post-secondary education and research, the centrepiece of which is a fund to support deferred maintenance, repair and construction at colleges and universities. This $2-billion investment in Canada's future will create the infrastructure needed to keep Canadian research and educational facilities at the forefront of scientific advancement. It is also providing important support for new employment now. Nine projects have been completed and work has begun on 372 projects at post-secondary institutions, creating jobs for engineers and architects and in the construction industries.
Working for Canadians
Examples of Infrastructure Investments at Canada's Colleges and Universities That Will Strengthen the Economy and Support Jobs
- Concordia University in Quebec will build a structural and functional genomics centre to support basic and applied research on crop improvement and sustainable biotechnology in Montréal. This project, to be housed in a new wing of the Richard J. Renaud Science Complex, should help create and maintain up to 290 jobs by March 31, 2011.
- A major renovation and construction project at Holland College in Prince Edward Island will generate work equal to 218 full-time jobs over the project's two-year construction phase. Once complete, the new Centre for Applied Science and Technology is projected to create up to 31 full-time positions.
- A project at Nova Scotia's Université Sainte-Anne is expected to cut energy costs by 50 per cent by replacing existing energy infrastructure with renewable solar, wind and biomass systems. A total of 23 jobs (direct and indirect) will be created or maintained during construction, with an additional 3 or 4 jobs to be created once construction is complete.
- The construction of the state-of-the-art Taylor Family Digital Library at the University of Calgary in Alberta will require the equivalent of 175 full-time workers by the time the project is completed in 2010.
- Revitalizing the University of Regina's teaching/community-space auditorium in Saskatchewan is expected to generate the equivalent of 20 full-time jobs in the Regina area and create an additional 6 jobs in other regions of Canada.
- A total of 328 jobs are expected to be created through upgrades to the College of New Caledonia's Prince George and Quesnel campuses in British Columbia and investments at the University of Northern British Columbia, which include a project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by converting waste forest wood into a fossil fuel alternative.
- Investment in renovations and upgrades to research-supporting infrastructure at the University of Manitoba's Pathology building will generate work equal to 46 full-time jobs by the time the work is completed.
- The construction of a new education centre and the renovation of University Hall at Atlantic Baptist University in New Brunswick are projected to create 90 jobs in the province over the course of the projects.
- The expansion of the Arts and Science building at Memorial University of Newfoundland's Corner Brook campus to increase laboratory space, house a computer lab and provide offices for faculty members, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows is expected to generate 210 jobs over the course of construction.
- The construction of a new health sciences complex for nursing, paramedic, dental and other health programs at St. Clair College in Ontario in 2010–11 is expected to generate over 1,500 jobs in the province and another 280 in the rest of the country.
— David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Manitoba,
Manitoba announcement, July 6, 2009
— Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal and Vice-Chancellor
of McGill University,
McGill University announcement, September 14, 2009
"We are expanding our ability to deliver more programs and courses in our communities, using technologies that until now were not accessible to us. The opportunities created by this investment will revolutionize the way we learn, and teach, in Nunavut."
— Mike Shouldice, Acting President of Nunavut Arctic College,
Nunavut announcement, September 23, 2009
— Greg Lee, President and Vice-Chancellor of Capilano University,
Capilano University press release, August 6, 2009
— John Strasser, President of St. Clair College,
The Windsor Star, May 30, 2009
Other important initiatives in support of advanced education and research include a significant expansion of awards for post-graduate scholarships, funding for quantum research, as well as significant upgrades to arctic science facilities dedicated to research on ways to create a healthier and more sustainable society and economy in Canada's North. All 18 projects supported by the Arctic Research Infrastructure Fund in 2009–10 have already begun. All of these actions are supporting jobs now while contributing to a stronger future.
The second priority area is direct support for science and technology. This includes a series of measures to modernize federal laboratories, improve broadband access, and spur research in clean energy and space technology.
- Federal laboratories doing research in a wide array of fields, from health and food to natural resources, are being upgraded after several years in which maintenance had been delayed or deferred. In total, almost $250 million over two years has been allocated to 13 federal departments and agencies for projects across the country.
- The Economic Action Plan's commitment to extend rural access to broadband services will enable rural households, businesses and community institutions to make use of the Internet at levels similar to many of their urban counterparts. The call for applications under the Broadband Canada initiative closed on October 23, 2009. Project selection will occur in December, with funding expected to begin flowing to projects in early 2010.
- The Economic Action Plan established the Clean Energy Fund to support clean energy research and demonstration projects, including up to $150 million for clean energy research and $850 million for clean energy demonstration projects. The projects to be supported by the Fund are expected to assist in increasing the deployment of renewable and clean technologies. To date, the Government has announced support for three projects under the Fund: $120 million for a Shell Quest carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) demonstration project; $315.8 million for the TransAlta Keephills Project to attach CCS to a coal-fired power plant near Edmonton; and $30 million for the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line project. In response to the unprecedented demand under the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program, the Government is proposing to allocate $205 million under the Clean Energy Fund to finance up to 120,000 additional retrofits for Canadian homeowners.
- The Economic Action Plan also provided $110 million over three years to the Canadian Space Agency to support Canada's continued leadership in the design and construction of space robotics. This funding supports new opportunities for innovative Canadian companies and provides jobs for highly skilled employees. This new support will also help prepare Canadian astronauts to participate in future international space missions, similar to those in which astronauts Robert Thirsk and Julie Payette recently participated.
Following the Auditor General of Canada's Report of November 3, 2009, Canada Health Infoway is implementing her recommendations to ensure proper accountabilities are in place. The Government will continue to work with Canada Health Infoway to assess progress before taking next steps.
Working for Canadians
Examples of Investments in Federal Laboratories
- $13.1 million will be provided over the next two years to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to upgrade existing forensic laboratories in Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton and Vancouver to assist investigators in solving crime. Some of this work is well advanced. For example, two projects have been completed at the Halifax laboratory, and construction projects are now underway at the Vancouver and Winnipeg laboratories. Work at the remaining laboratories is expected to commence by the end of this fiscal year. In all, this initiative is expected to require 45 person-years of work over the life of the projects.
- $22 million will be provided over the next two years to the Public Health Agency of Canada for the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health in Winnipeg to expand the existing shipping and receiving area. Contracts have been signed for the project and work is underway. The project is expected to create or maintain almost 80 jobs, and will provide additional economic benefits for local suppliers.
- $5.3 million will be used to renovate the Manitoba Regional Laboratory of Health Canada to ensure ongoing operational support space for the Food Laboratory, which provides essential consumer protection services through testing in the areas of food chemistry and nutrition. Work at this site is advancing well; construction has started on two of the four projects at the laboratory, and contracts are expected to be awarded in early 2010 for the remaining work.
- $12 million over the next two years will be used to build a new dairy complex at the Dairy and Swine Research and Development Centre in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The project, which is well into construction, is currently employing more than 20 people on site and creating additional indirect jobs.
- $14.2 million will be provided over the next two years to Transport Canada to update the Motor Vehicle Test Centre in Blainville, Quebec, and expand test capability to address emerging opportunities to reduce road safety risks and casualties.
- $1.8 million will be provided over the next two years for federal laboratories in Nunavut, including the Dr. Neil Trivett Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory in Alert. At this stage, materials have been delivered to the high Arctic site in Alert, and engineering design work is now underway.
| 2009–10 Stimulus Value |
Authorities in Place |
Stimulus Committed |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| (millions of dollars) |
(millions of dollars) |
||
| Improving infrastructure at universities and colleges |
1,000 | Yes | 1,000 |
| Canada Foundation for Innovation | – | Yes | – |
| Institute for Quantum Computing | 17 | Yes | 17 |
| Arctic research infrastructure | 36 | Yes | 36 |
| Canadian Graduate Scholarships program | 35 | Yes | 35 |
| Industrial Research and Development Internship program |
3 | Yes | 3 |
| Modernizing federal laboratories | 100 | Yes | 91 |
| Clean Energy Fund1 | 65 | Yes | 20 |
| Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators |
10 | Yes | 10 |
| Strengthening Canada's nuclear advantage | 351 | Yes | 351 |
| Canada's space industry | 20 | Yes | 10 |
| Extending access to broadband in rural communities |
100 | Yes | – |
| Total | 1,736 | 1,573 | |
| ¹ It is proposed that $205 million in 2009–10 and 2010–11 funding (referred to in Budget 2009 under "Transformation to a Green Energy Economy") be allocated to support up to 120,000 additional home energy retrofits under the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program. | |||
