ARCHIVED - Government of Canada Committed to Stronger Science and Technology Sector

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Date: June 5, 2008

Ottawa – The Honourable Vic Toews, President of the Treasury Board, the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources and the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, today released the report of the Independent Panel of Experts on Transferring Federal Non-Regulatory Laboratories and signalled the Government of Canada's intention to explore partnering for two government laboratories.

"The government is committed to a stronger and more integrated science and technology sector," said Minister Toews. "The Panel's advice has the potential to help us build on our existing capacity for world-leading innovation and competitiveness resulting in a richer scientific environment to the benefit of all Canadians. I would like to thank the Panel for its hard work and significant contribution."

In its report, the Panel identified non-regulatory laboratories it felt would be good candidates for inter-sectoral arrangements. In the coming months, the government will engage partners, to better understand how partnering arrangements could be operationalized, for two of these early candidate laboratories: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Canadian Cereal Research and Innovation Laboratory in Winnipeg and Natural Resources Canada's Geosciences Laboratory in Ottawa.

"I am very pleased that this report will be useful to the government in its efforts to strengthen scientific collaboration, advance research and foster innovation," said Dr. Arnold Naimark, Chair of the Panel. "We are indebted to the science and technology community that made our task much easier by responding so positively and with so much interest during our consultations." Other members of the Panel were Dr. Kevin Keough of Alberta, Dr. Kelvin Ogilvie of Nova Scotia, and Dr. Clive Willis of Quebec.

"Developing strong partnerships between government science and universities is an important part of improving innovation in Canada," said Minister Lunn. "I look forward to continuing our strong history of science and technology collaboration with our university partners as we move forward."

"AAFC has worked closely with the Panel and is committed to exploring the merits of the recommendation for the Canadian Cereal Research and Innovation Laboratory in Winnipeg," said Minister Ritz. "This an opportunity to look at how this laboratory can best contribute to ensuring that Canada continues to be a world leader in grain science."

The Panel's report is posted on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Web site.

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For more information, contact:

Mike Storeshaw
Director of Communications
Office of the President of the Treasury Board
(613) 957-2666

Robert Makichuk
Chief, Media Relations
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
(613) 957-2391

If there is a discrepancy between any printed version and the electronic version of this news release, the electronic version will prevail.

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