Science Minister Gary Goodyear commented on the progress of the federal government thus far on R&D spending. Canada continues to lag behind other industrialized nationals in terms of innovation, and the Jenkins Report released earlier this year provided recommendations on federal R&D spending. Goodyear credited the expert panel on the Jenkins Report for their tremendous work, and highlighted the significant changes that have already been made by the government to the SR&ED and IRAP programs. In term, Mr. Jenkins said that he was impressed by the government’s quick adoption of the panel’s recommendations when he spoke with The Hill Times in April.
One of the report’s major recommendations was for the establishment of an Industrial Research and Innovation Council (IRIC) that would coordinate government initiatives to close the Canadian commercialization gap. Goodyear commented that the National Research Council is in the process of being transformed into a research and technology organization to respond to the research needs of the private sector. However, Goodyear said that it was too early to comment on how government will respond to the IRIC recommendation. It also remains unclear whether the NRC would assume the role of the proposed IRIC.
