Genome Canada Funding Cut?
The Globe and Mail reported this morning that the omission of Genome Canada funding details from the 2009 federal budget represents a decision by the Conservative government to cut funding to the agency. Gary Toft, spokesman for the Minister of Science and Technology, defended the decision by saying that the government had invested in Genome Canada for the two previous years but did not seem to mention anything about funding for this year or in future.
Genome Canada received $140-million last year and supported 33 major research projects across the country. Whereas cuts to the other granting agencies were detailed and broken down over the three year projection of the budget, no mention was made of Genome Canada, and it is unclear whether the omission of Genome Canada funding is temporary or whether this sounds the death knell for the agency.
Given the removal of this funding combined with the cuts to CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC, the 2009 budget cuts a total of between $287.9-million and $567.9-million from scientific granting agencies, depending on whether Genome Canada’s funding is restored in 2010-12.
Projects funded by Genome Canada are reported to employ more than 2,000 researchers on major research projects across the country. Genome Canada president Martin Godbout has said he’s “devastated”.
