Liberals raise funding issues in Question Period
Thanks to Jim for bringing this to my attention.
At the start of yesterday’s question period at the House of Commons, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff used his customary three opening questions, generally used for addressing the most pressing matters of national concern, to address the funding cuts to research granting agencies in the last budget. The transcript of the exchange, which can be read in Jim’s comment or in the the Hansard here, is a bit of an exercise in frustration and comedy.
Ignatieff quotes the $148-million in cuts over three years to the three federal science granting agencies, and raises Genome Canada’s funding omission, but then uses these as a way to attack the Government’s general credibility: “How can we expect to get recovery from a government that has so little confidence in Canada’s scientific community?” Tony Clement, Minister of Industry responds (The Prime Minister is at the Summit of the Americas), and mentions the Government’s oft-repeated figure of $5.1-billion in research spending from the last budget, but then counterattacks: “Speaking of raising, though, it is the hon. member as leader of the Liberal Party who wants to raise taxes… How much will they go up? Who will pay? Those are the questions Canadians want to know about.” The exchange went back and forth, with Ignatieff attacking science cuts and Clement attacking proposed higher taxes, with neither acknowledging or addressing the issues raised by the other.
Nonetheless, it is significant that the Leader of the Opposition raised the issue of research funding in three direct questions in the House, as it places the issue of research funding into play (in fact, these questions were followed by Liberal member Marc Garneau asking about research funding for aerospace – five questions about science and technology research funding to open the session). Ignatieff raised the difference in funding between US and Canadian budgets, Genome Canada’s withdrawal from the stem-cell consortium, and he accused the Government of reducing funding for research, in real terms, every year since it was elected. Clement defended with the $5.1-billion figure twice, defended the Genome Canada budget omission by pointing out that the government isn’t withdrawing existing funding allocated previously, but spent most of his time on the offensive regarding potential Liberal tax increases.
All those working to make science funding a political issue should be pleased that it is now on the agenda. Now that it’s there, let’s work productively to participate in the debate and not, as Jim warned, “become the weapon that others… use to whip the government”.
