The CAP has filed a Brief to the House of Commons Finance Committee (HCFC) for their upcoming deliberations this fall concerning next year’s federal budget.
This represents a continuing effort by the CAP to lobby the government for research funding for physics in Canada. It is the first time the CAP has submitted a brief to the HCFC.
Earlier this summer Science Policy Chair Paul Vincett organized a questionnaire that was sent to all CAP members asking them about the issues that should be raised in the CAP Brief to the HCFC. A short summary of the results is now available .
Based on this input, CAP recently filed its brief. Three recommendations were made:
- CAP recommends that NSERC’s budget for basic science (its “Discovery Grants Program”) be increased by 10%. Cost: about $40M p.a.
- CAP recommends that Canada start detailed planning to supersede the NRU reactor in Chalk River with the proposed Canadian Neutron Centre, a world-class multi-purpose facility for advanced research with neutron beams, for nuclear power R&D, and for isotope production. A formal design and costing would require about $5M.
- CAP recommends that significant new funding be provided for the costs of major science infrastructure, not covered by ongoing programs. Specifically, CAP recommends renewal of funding for TRIUMF and a doubling of NSERC’s Major Resources Support Program. Cost: about $96M p.a.
In addition, Paul Vincett led the drafting of the HCFC Brief filed by CCR (Canadian Consortium for Research) this year. CCR is the largest organization in Canada whose primary concern is the funding of research. It consists of 18 organizations representing 50,000 researchers. CAP continues to play a leading role in CCR.
CAP will keep you informed of our additional lobbying efforts this fall. We are grateful to those CAP members who took the time to respond to the questionnaire. As always, we welcome any comments and thoughts that our members have on this process as it unfolds this fall.