The Ontario government has announced $100-million in new research funding today, which will be targeted towards genomics and gene-related research. John Wilkinson, Ontario’s Minister of Research and Innovation, says the announcement “is about the fact that Ontario understands the value of science to our economy. We value the work that our world-leading scientists do and the wealth and jobs that they help to create”.
No doubt this is in part about making points at the expense of the federal Conservatives, whose $148-million cut to federal research funding agencies is generating a backlash from the research community. The press release has this thinly veiled criticism of the federal government: ”At a time when economic challenges are tempting some governments to scale back on their innovation spending, Ontario is more committed than ever to its vision of global leadership through collaboration”. The decision to increase funding, though, also recognizes that previous investments to lure top talent to Canada can be easily and quickly lost, especially given the large vote of confidence US President Obama has recently given to research in the US.
The Globe quotes Mick Bhatia, director of the McMaster Stem Cell Institute in Hamilton, who captures the intangible effect of increasing funding rather than cutting it: “it’s not just the resources; it tells me the Ontario government really gets [the value of research]“.
Rob Annan Ontario
I’m a little behind on this one, and need to credit the nice summary at the Cross-Border Biotech Blog for summarizing much of the Ontario budget, released a week or two ago (Industry budget highlights here). Here are the research funding highlights, taken from the Ontario finance page:
- $300 million in capital funds over six years for research infrastructure, which will be available to leverage funding from the federal Canada Foundation for Innovation
- $250 million over five years for a new Emerging Technologies Fund that will focus on clean technologies, health and life sciences, and information and communication technologies, including digital media
- $100 million over four years in operating funds for research performed in the biomedical field, focusing on genomics and gene-related research; this funding, as well as funding for research infrastructure, will be delivered through the Ontario Research Fund
- $50 million over four years to enhance the successful Innovation Demonstration Fund, through which the government will continue to partner with innovative companies to develop emerging technologies, with a preference toward bio-based, environmental and alternative energy technologies
- $10 million over three years to the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation to assist small and medium-sized enterprises with hands-on applied research, technology transfer and commercialization
- $5 million to support the Ontario Genomics Institute, an important partner in fostering genomics research in Ontario
- $2 million annually in proposed tax relief to extend the 10 per cent refundable Ontario Innovation Tax Credit to more small and medium-sized corporations that perform Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) in Ontario
- $110 million of tax relief in 2009-10 from paralleling the proposed federal temporary 100 per cent accelerated CCA rate for eligible computers and software acquired after January 27, 2009 and before February 2011.
So while Genome Canada’s budget has been cut by the Conservative government, some genomics funding will continue in part thanks to the foresight of the Ontario government who, as I mentioned yesterday, is no doubt staring down the death of the auto industry with a view to replacing it with jobs for the “creative age“
Rob Annan Ontario, Provincial Funding News
