The following announcements were made as part of the federal government’s 2013 budget:
- Funding of $121 million over two years to the National Research Council (NRC) to help the growth of innovative businesses in Canada;
- Funding of $20 million over three years, delivered through a new pilot program at NRC- Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), to help small and medium-sized businesses commercialize their research;
- Funding of $37 million per year, through granting councils, to strengthen research partnerships between post-secondary institutions and industry.
- Funding of $325 million over eight years to Sustainable Development Technology Canada;
- Funding of $37 million from 2014-2015 to support genomics research;
- Funding of $141 over 2 years to secure the supply of medical isotopes and maintain safe and reliable operations at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s Chalk River operations.
- Funding of almost $1 billion over 5 years for the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI)
- Funding of $110 million over 4 years to create an Aerospace Technology Demonstration Program to support large-scale technology projects with cross-industry collaboration.
The government made the following announcements in regards to the SR&ED program:
- The CRA will receive funding of $5 million over two years to allow for more direct contact with first-time claimants;
- The CRA will receive funding of $15 million over two years to review SR&ED claims where the risk of non-compliance is perceived to be high and eligibility for the SR&ED program is unlikely;
- Following its consultation on contingency fees, the government concluded that contingency fee arrangements do not diminish the benefits of the SR&ED program to claimants. Nonetheless, claimants will be required to indicate whether contingency fees were used and the amount of fees payable. A penalty of $1,000 per SR&ED claim form is also introduced for non-compliance in providing the appropriate information.
